NHS England to launch £50 million fund to improve innovation

NHS England to launch £50 million fund to improve innovation NHS England has published details about a new innovation evaluation fund, specifically focused on those prescribed specialised services which it is responsible for directly commissioning. The introduction of the fund will significantly improve and speed up the process of adopting new innovations within these services and contribute to the aims of the NHS as described by the Outcomes Framework including saving lives, helping patients recover from acute episodes of illness, and transforming services for long term conditions.

The Specialised Services Commissioning Innovation Fund (SSCIF) will transform the way that new innovations are identified, tested and adopted. The fund will open for business w/c 2 September 2013, and will specifically focus on innovations in those clinical areas that are defined as prescribed specialised services commissioned directly by NHS England.

Applications to the SSCIF will be invited via an open web-based submission process. The first stage of the application process – the Step 1 Self-Assessment form – is now ‘live’, providing applicants with an opportunity to see whether or not their innovation is likely to meet the necessary criteria for progressing through the SSCIF process.

It is anticipated that innovations will cover a diverse range of areas including care pathways, workforce, technologies, devices and diagnostics. Applicants are expected to include manufacturers, patient groups, voluntary sector organisations, commissioners, NHS frontline staff and non-NHS service providers. NHS Commissioning Board

See more information about the SSCIF.