Together, we are the voice of health innovation
Health innovation networks bring together the NHS, industry, academic, third sector and local organisations. Our collaboration ensures innovations, improvements and best practice benefit more patients faster.
Our national innovation pipeline features more than 1,200 proven technologies ready to be matched to local health and care challenges.
A national network of local organisations
There are 15 health innovation networks across the country, established by NHS England in 2013 to improve health and generate economic growth in regionally distinct ways.
Each health innovation network is small enough to be responsive, while staying highly connected to spread innovation at pace and scale:
How we’re making a difference
Identify
innovation and improvements to specific problems within the NHS, creating an innovation pipeline
Empower
innovators and those developing improvements to further their ideas and get them in front of the right people
Advance
the uptake and spread of innovation and improvements by delivering national programmes and local initiatives within the NHS and social care
Our collective strategy
We are commissioned by NHS England and the Government’s Office for Life Sciences. We’re also a partner in the NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative, which brings together key organisations to streamline the adoption of new innovations in healthcare.
In 2021, we published our five-year strategy, where we set out our ambition to support the NHS through an increased emphasis on health outcomes, our innovation pipeline, and by being an authoritative voice on transforming care through innovation.
Our impact
Since the Health Innovation Network was formed, we have played a key role in making transformative change operational: developing and spreading innovation, enabling impactful pathway redesign, and building workforce capacity and capability.
Here are some of our most recent impacts. In 2021/22:
> 48,000
patients benefited from our national programmes and initiatives
2,438
companies were supported
£455m
investment leveraged by companies supported by Health Innovation Networks
124
companies created long-term strategic partnerships