Overview

Living with autism and a learning disability can be difficult for patients and their families due to significant health inequalities these communities face, including lack of access to sufficient support and care, which are well documented not just in the UK but globally. Despite attempts to tackle these challenges across a range of settings and services, the pressures on healthcare systems continue to grow due to multiple factors.

Funded by NHS England through the Accelerated Access Collaborative, and in collaboration with Autistica and the AHSN Network, SBRI Healthcare was pleased to announce the opening of Competition 20 in May 2022 for funding innovations to support care in Autism and Learning Disabilities.

Only those projects that have completed Phase 1 successfully will be eligible to apply for Phase 2.

Scope

This competition seeks to address three primary issues, taking into account the systemic complexity and recognising some of the key influences on care delivery. The requirement is to find innovative solutions that will tackle challenges associated with:

1. Early identification and diagnosis
2. Health inequalities and access to care
3. Access to effective support and services

Applicants are asked to consider whether their innovation addresses any of the above challenges, the impact of their innovation on the whole system, and to be aware of the competitive environment, even considering working together with other companies and organisations to bring forward solutions that can make a real difference.

Applicants are further asked to consider the impact of their innovation in addressing and/or alleviating variations currently experienced in autism and learning disability care, for example through addressing inequality in access to care, intersectionality (e.g. related to cultural/ethnic minority groups), and geographic disparities.

This competition is open to all types of innovations, including but not limited to, medical devices, in vitro diagnostics, digital health solutions, software, artificial intelligence, services or new models of care.

Under the overall theme of “Autism and Learning Disabilities”, three categories have been identified via consultation with clinicians and other stakeholders working in provision of care across the spectrum. Applicants are expected to respond to one of the three categories and should consider if their solution is specific to or can be tailored to other categories, whilst being mindful of the broader impact on the autism and learning disabilities care system.