Overview

SBRI Healthcare provides a mechanism to signal the challenges that the NHS and the wider system face and invites organisations to deploy innovative solutions to deliver improved outcomes of care. Our individual competition themes are scoped by working in close collaboration with Academic Health Science Network (AHSNs), frontline NHS and social care staff.

Competition 24: Delivering a Net Zero NHS for a Healthier Future is intended to accelerate the development of greener innovations towards a more sustainable healthcare system. The projects will be expected to demonstrate significant contribution to NHS carbon emission reduction through the proposed solution.

In 2023/24, the SBRI Healthcare Programme seeks to address the challenges of meeting the NHS’s net zero targets while supporting net zero clinical innovation and continuing to improve care for patients. This considers the systemic complexity and the supply chain associated with all innovations proposed as well as the impact that these solutions will have on carbon emissions across the delivery of care.

Innovative solutions and approaches that will significantly support reduction in carbon emissions and have potential for implementation in the NHS are sought across three key focus areas:

1. Clinical community engagement
2. Novel business models to enable circularity in perioperative care and critical care settings
3. Net zero transformation across clinical pathways

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.

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

Scope

The SBRI Healthcare funding competition invites outstanding entrepreneurs working across frontline services and the broader system to put forward breakthrough innovations, which address clearly articulated challenges faced by the NHS and/or the social care community. The aim of the open tender is to facilitate the validation and development of such innovations and build on the value proposition required by commissioners and regulators to make purchasing or other recommendations and decisions.

Proposals should concentrate on activities which will significantly contribute to proving the technical feasibility of the proposed innovation. This competition aims to accelerate the development of greener innovations towards a more sustainable healthcare system.