Key Lessons Learned from the Innovation Test Bed Programme
An overview of the key lessons we learnt as part of our delivery of the Wave 2 NHS England Innovation Test Bed.
Innovation projects are hard and there is no magic bullet. The ability to iterate, be flexible and responsive to feedback and evaluation is essential to building a successful end product. As a result, in health and care we need technology partners who understand and have capacity to adapt their product and this has been the value of our Test Bed innovation partners.
Some of the best innovation ideas won’t deliver what was expected, with multiple reasons and factors for this. In these cases it is better to rapidly adapt or fail quickly and move on. Those products which are simple to explain, offer tangible solutions to a real world problem and can deliver financial value quickly are much easier to embed and scale and will more easily capture the imagination and commitment of the workforce.
At a national level there is a need to consider how we can support information governance processes which both ensure safety of data but embrace innovation and an acceptable level of risk!
Ultimately, harnessing the power of digital innovations in health and care is still determined by people rather than the technology. People are involved in the procurement, technical integration, information governance, user recruitment, testing and evaluation and will be the storytellers of the success or failure of the project. Engaging the right people effectively, investing in and rewarding early champions and being upfront and transparent about the additional demands which may be required in the short term will help navigate the project successfully from early testing to more widespread adoption and scale
