The Innovation Ecosystem Programme report was published in England

On November 28, 2024, NHS England published a report summarising the Innovation Ecosystem Programme’s (IEP) findings from the last 18 months and recommendations for the next steps.The IEP aimed to foster collaboration between the NHS and key stakeholders (industry, academia, and regulators) to streamline healthcare innovation. 

The recommendations provided in the report are based on an analysis of extensive engagement – multiple interviews, roundtables, and working group discussions. They focus on how the NHS can work with partner organizations to enable research, development, adoption, and spread of innovations in the NHS.

Recommendations are summarised in four areas; the key ones are presented below.

A. Setting the direction: The innovation ecosystem and the NHS must be aligned to support the transformation of healthcare and the government’s health and growth missions.

• Make innovation core to NHS business;
• Prioritise and co-ordinate innovation around the shifts and goals for health: Focus on healthcare shifts such as digitalization, prevention, and home care, with priorities harmonized across NHS plans;
• Establish co-ordinated oversight and aligned innovation funding: Consolidate funding and oversight to support the innovation priorities with clearer accountability;
• Develop incentives to support and monitor delivery: Use key performance indicators (KPIs) to track and incentivize innovation adoption within NHS governance and oversight.

B. Structures and tools for delivery: Accountability, oversight, and leadership at all levels. This must be supported by standardized tools, policy, and guidance for the key enablers of innovation testing and adoption to support confident local decision-making.

• Simplify and strengthen the structures and functions for innovation in the NHS: Boost NHS leadership and capacity to test and adopt innovation and develop the missing expertise in collaboration with Health Innovation Network (HIN) support;
• Align procurement to facilitate rollout of tested innovations: Standardise procurement and facilitate easy transfer of innovations across the NHS;
• Develop commercial approaches to share value and adoption in testing innovations: Update intellectual property policies and share value through risk-managed partnerships.

C. People, skills, and capabilities: Build the skills, capabilities, capacity, and culture required to prepare the NHS workforce for future ways of working and to help them collaborate confidently with patients and citizens, industry, and academia.

D. Acceleration: Alongside action to redesign the architecture and wiring of innovation, the program partners should work together to mobilize major geographies behind current priorities – working with centers across the UK that have shown excellence in innovation development and adoption.

• Mobilise local systems behind work: Key localities should lead on priority innovations, collaborate with industry, and share best practices for scaling and implementation;
• Evaluate what works: Build robust evaluation into innovation efforts to assess health, social, and economic impacts;
• Establish peer-learning networks: Create networks to connect successful innovators with policymakers and others for shared learning and support.

See the full details here and here.

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