Competition 23 – Child Health

Key Features

Competition 23: Seeks innovative solutions that improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Programme:     SBRI

Award:     Share of up to £100,000

Opens: 9th Aug 2023

Closes: 13th Sep 2023

! This scheme is now closed

Overview

SBRI Healthcare is delighted to announce the launch of a new funding competition.

Competition 23: Child Health, funded by the Accelerated Access Collaborative and in partnership with the AHSN Network, seeks innovative solutions that improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Scope

Children and young people (CYP) represent almost a third of the UK population and improving their health and wellbeing is a key priority for NHS England with CYP placed front and centre of the NHS Long Term Plan.

The Plan contains several measures which will, if implemented, make a real difference to the health and wellbeing of children. The vision for the NHS is that:

  • By 2028, children and young people in England will have better physical health, mental health and wellbeing
  • Children and young people, and their parents and carers, will experience a seamless service delivered by an integrated health and care system
  • There will be a skilled workforce that listens to, responds, and meets their needs

The competition seeks to address challenges in child health in two key focus areas:

Long term conditions – Many long term conditions develop during childhood. More children are presenting with multiple and complex morbidities requiring tailored management

  • Asthma is the most common long-term condition among children and young people and is among the top ten reasons for emergency hospital admission of children in the UK
  • Epilepsy is the most common long-term neurological condition of childhood
  • Diabetes is becoming increasingly common among young people in the UK, the majority due to Type 1 but there are growing numbers of Type 2.

Prevention of ill-health – Promoting healthy lifestyles and preventing people from becoming ill is key to reducing the existing and future burden of disease and ensuring that everyone can live long and healthy lives.

  • Obesity is a major area of concern, as obese children are highly likely to become obese adults, with an increased chance of developing a range of other health conditions
  • Oral health – Early intervention in childhood fosters healthy behaviours for life, notably in areas such as oral health. Tooth decay can lead to pain and time off school, resulting in loss of work for families, despite dental decay being almost always preventable

Health inequality is a core component of this competition, and equity of access and experience should be a central pillar of any successful innovation.

Applicants are asked to consider 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.

Briefing webinar will take place on 9th August 2023 9.30-11.30 am here

See challenge brief for further information

Eligibility

The competition is open to single organisations (contracts are executed with individual legal entities) based in the UK or EU from the private, public, and third sectors, including companies (large corporates and small and medium enterprises), charities, universities and NHS providers, as long as a strong commercial strategy is provided. Organisations based outside the UK or EU with innovations in remit for this call can apply as subcontractors of a lead UK/EU based organisation or via a UK or EU subsidiary.

Collaborations are encouraged in the form of subcontracted services as appropriate.

Funding Costs

The competition runs in two phases (subject to availability of budget in 2024/25):

• Phase 1 is intended to show the technical and commercial feasibility of the proposed concept. The development contracts placed will be for a maximum of 6 months and up
to £100,000 (excl. VAT) per project.

• Phase 2 contracts are intended to develop and evaluate prototypes or demonstration units over a maximum of 12 months. Only those projects that have completed Phase 1
successfully will be eligible for Phase 2.

Developments will be 100% funded and suppliers for each project will be selected by an open competition process and retain the intellectual property rights (IPR) generated from the project, with certain rights of use retained by the NHS.

Phase 1 contracts for technical and commercial feasibility testing are valued at up to £100,000 (NET) and last for six months. Phase 2 contracts for prototype development are worth up to £800,000 (NET), subject to budget availability, over one year.

Interested in applying for this competition?

Book an appointment to speak to one of our advisors to discuss your eligibility to apply for this Grant Funding opportunity.