Last chance to access £500k Fund for Digital Healthcare Innovation
On 27 June, the South West Academic Health Science Network in conjunction with Creative England, West of England Academic Health Science Network and SETsquared, launched the South West Interactive Healthcare Programme, pledging £500,000 for creative and digital companies to develop innovative healthcare technology and solutions.
The Fund is available for digital and creative SMEs (small or medium-sized enterprises) based in England (excluding Greater London), whose activities will benefit key South West regional Healthcare priorities.
Financed by Creative England’s Regional Growth Fund, the investment fund aims to improve cross-sector collaboration and innovation and open up practical opportunities for creative businesses to work with NHS organisations.
Key information:
• £500,000 is available via investments of between £25,000 to £50,000, with potential to receive up to £200,000.
• Investment funding is available to SMEs based in England (excluding Greater London).
• Companies must be based in England, outside of Greater London.
• The fund opened on 27 June and will close on 30 September 2016.
• Funding will support the development and market traction of innovative digital technology that will improve patient care and health service provision.
• The innovative digital technology must be of benefit to patients within the South West region.
Digital Health: Opportunities for Innovation:
The NHS is currently developing the interoperability and integration of systems to enable care professionals and citizens to manage care better. We are looking for solutions that build on or complement this work, in particular for Long-term conditions and mental health, through the following competition themes:
- Enable the Health & Care workforce, patient and their carers and families to work more effectively in care settings.
Examples could include:
• Providing real time, mobile data that integrates with a mobile workforce.
• Solutions to support the development of the Micro-enterprise care provider market.
• ‘Smart’ homes solutions (including sensing technologies) to support carers or health professionals to manage their patient’s health.
• Solutions that would take advantage of interoperability and integrated health records.
- Enable patients and citizens to manage their health and wellbeing independently
Examples could include:
• Education and raising awareness of digital health resources or local services available to citizens and how they can access and take advantage of such.
• Developing enhanced interfaces giving accessibility to different patient and health staff groups.
• Self-management and monitoring, which includes utilising digital health solutions or technologies such as wearables, apps or social media.
- Influence and incentivise behaviour to improve health outcomes
Examples could include:
• Gamification for health benefits.
• Engaging patients with their electronic health record available from GP.
• Creative solutions that break down stigmas around conditions by interesting approaches of storytelling.
• Online health communities to encourage knowledge, support networks and self-empowerment.
Apply Now
Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis with the final deadline for submissions being 30 September 2016. For the full guidelines and an application form, please click here.
You will be asked to complete an Eligibility Questionnaire and an Expression of Interest in the first instance. Before submitting an expression of interest (EOI), we recommend you speak to your regional AHSN innovation team.
Contact person for the South West (Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly) is Kurt De Freitas: info@swahsn.com or 01392 247903.
Contact person for West of England (Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire) is Urszula Kapoulas: urszula.kapoulas@weahsn.net or 0117 900 2155.
For any questions regarding the application process, please contact Creative England’s Project Manager Tim Evans tim.evans@creativeengland.co.uk.
