The Panel’s focus is on providing both funding and support to develop new skills and unblock issues.
In its first few years the Panel has:
• Held 26 Panel meetings and 3 Pop-Up Panels (where applicants can bid for smaller amounts of funding on the spot)
• Funded 45 full bids • Funded 16 Pop-up bids
• Reached over 2,000 patients and over 2,000 members of staff through funded projects.
The Innovation Panel is our own (less scary) version of Dragon’s den which recognises that staff doing the job have the best view of how we can do things better.
The Panel’s aim is to make innovation accessible to the widest range of staff and support staff to turn their ideas into reality. Applications are open yearlong to all staff, giving them the opportunity to pitch for one-off funding of up to £20k to take forward their ideas.
What the staff say Over 50 members of staff have been involved in taking forward bids funded by the Innovation Panel; here is what they have to say about their experiences;
• “The ability to effect change & be a patient voice is so important”
• “Rewarding – it made me think and motivated me to explore new ideas”
• “What was good was the support to front line staff to be able to make a difference”
• “I was excited to see that the RUH is open to new ideas & change” • “It was great to be able to access funding to turn an idea into reality”
• “An excellent opportunity and feeling of control at clinical level”
• “found the process really helpful and have encouraged others to bid after our experience”
• “positive and supportive process”
• “would never had been trialled without the support of the Panel”
• “Found process very supportive and straightforward”
How it works Applicants submit a brief 2-3 page application form outlining their bid including the costs, benefits and how they will measure success. All ideas are encouraged, stretching across the ‘spectrum of innovation’ – from roll out of best practice to service redesign and even new inventions. The Panel includes a rotating membership of staff (Dragons) from a range of departments across the hospital who are passionate about innovation.
Meetings are held monthly, chaired by the Director of Finance. Previous successful applicants have joined the Panel to help devolve the decision making to staff and recognise their role as successful innovators. At the meetings the Panel receives bids for funding as well as updates from previous applicants on the progress of their bids including any learning or recommendations based on their experiences. Applicants are given 5 minutes to pitch their idea to the Panel, who will have read their application form in advance. The Dragons will usually “grill” the applicants for a further 10 minutes to understand more about their bid and identify any potential issues or support the Panel could offer, with decisions generally made on the day. Staff are supported throughout the process to both develop and refine their bid as well as post approval support to enable staff to overcome any barriers or challenges they encounter along the way and ensure that the benefits are realised and measured to facilitate any future roll out.
If you’d like to find out more about the RUH’s Innovation Panel, contact [email protected]