In collaboration with NHS England and NHS Improvement, the SBRI Healthcare Cancer Programme has announced a £15 million funding competition for innovation in cancer care. The funding is provided by the NHS Cancer Programme.
The competition aims to implement innovative solutions into the following front-line clinical cancer care settings: i) early detection and diagnosis of cancer and ii) diagnostic efficiency of cancer services. Funding is available for a number of innovation types. They include medical devices, digital health and equipment, behaviour intervention, and new models of care.
The competition brief asks applicants to consider the following questions:
- To what extent will the proposed solution impact cancer service? How will the system need to be changed (including people, processes and culture), in order to deliver system-wide benefits?
- How will applicants ensure that the innovation will be acceptable to patients (and their families and wider support network) and to clinician groups/health care professionals? In what way have these groups been involved in the design and development of the innovation?
- How will applicants ensure that the innovation is affordable to the NHS and wider system such as Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) both immediately and throughout the sustained life of the product? What evidence, both health economics and delivery of impact will the NHS and wider system require before the technology can be fully adopted?
- How will applicants ensure that the innovation takes into account equity of access and addresses unwarranted variation (e.g. takes account of underserved ethnic or economic groups/digital poverty) and helps the NHS towards its target to reach net zero carbon?
- What is the likely impact of this innovation in comparison to the current patient pathway? What is the potential impact on stage distribution and survival based on current data?
- How could the implementation of this innovation develop in the long term? You should take into account any relevant commitments in the NHS LTP.
- You should also consider improving staff working experience/practice and effects on patient perspective.
Eligibility
This call is for products at a late stage of development. They must have achieved regulatory approvals and/or be in use in at least one trust. Any size organisation from the private, public and third sector can apply, providing that they are based in Europe. However, clinical sites can only be based in England. In the first instance, projects should last for up to 18 months and cost no more than £5 million.
The SBRI call for innovation in cancer care opens today, 17th March, and will close on 21st April. You can find more information on the SBRI Healthcare website.
RedKnight has significant experience in supporting applications in the health sector; you can read some of our most recent case studies here. If you’d like to discuss your application with one of our advisers, please contact us today.
