What we do —

Innovation Exchange

Helping innovators meet the needs of the health and care system.

Professional nurses looking through some patients medical papers.
Programme
Overview

Designed to help innovators implement solutions to meet the challenges faced by the health and care system in South West England. 


Working with individuals and organisations who have innovative solutions that can be used to improve the NHS and the care system.


Services, products or new processes can all be part of the programme. 

Detailed Programme Information

Helping innovators understand and meet the needs of the health and care system 

Once we receive your engagement form via the Pathfinder website one of our team will take your innovation forward, as needed, including connecting you with our internal support services. We can advise on

  • Quality Improvement 
  • Spread and adoption 
  • Navigating the system 
  • Understanding and measuring impact 
  • Connections 

We are particularly interested to hear how your innovation meets the needs of the health and care system, while also supporting health equity.

Across the last year in England the Innovation Exchange has:
  • leveraged over £462m of investment into the health and life science sector
  • created 700 jobs in the health and care innovation
  • supported 2,888 companies demonstrating and exploring innovative practice
Pathfinder website

Our Innovation Exchange platform, Pathfinder, is a starting point for any innovator looking to take their innovation to the next stage of development. Here you’ll find case studies of some of the businesses we have worked with and key resources to help you strengthen your business model and value proposition. 

If you have an innovation in the health and care system to develop or implement further, please complete the registration form on Pathfinder.

Health Equity Innovation Challenge 

The Health Equity Innovation Challenge is an exciting initiative by the South West Academic Health Science Network, established in 2021, to support innovators to improve health equity outcomes across the South West through innovation. 

Our Health Equity Innovation Challenge 2022 has been developed as part of our second Regional Health Equity Programme, which identified mental health services for young people as being a key priority for the South West. The theme of this year’s Challenge is anxiety.

Six innovations designed to help close health equity gaps for Children and Young People’s Mental Health in access to care, quality of care, opportunities for a healthy life, and agency in managing individual health, have been selected to receive funding of up to £25K over a six-month period. The Challenge will provide real-world evaluation support to help innovators generate the evidence needed to bring their innovation to market.

To learn more, please visit our Health Equity Innovation Challenge webpage.

Working in partnership with others in the South West 

EPIC2, including a £375k grant scheme to bring digital innovations to market. 

Resonance Health and Wellbeing challenge fund, to support social enterprises addressing key issues in society 

Smartline to help businesses develop digital technologies with the potential to improve health and wellbeing 

Plymouth Health Innovation Alliance: developing the profile of health-related research, innovation, knowledge exchange, research and development led business growth and inward investment locally. 

For more information about the Innovation Exchange contact terry.gorst@swahsn.com 

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Visit the Pathfinder website

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