Innovation Design Service

The Innovation Design Service (IDS) delivered by Health Innovation NENC supports the health and care ecosystem to rapidly discover innovative solutions to complex issues for the benefit of patients, clinicians and the wider ecosystem.

IDS adopts design thinking methodology, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders for a facilitated session, or series of sessions, to fully understand and appreciate the problem at hand, before working together to design a range of solutions and using testing and feedback to narrow these down.

Delivered by HI NENC, IDS’ unique position within the health and life sciences ecosystem allows it to accelerate innovative solutions through the HI NENC Innovation Pathway, bringing in expertise and working with partners from across system. Furthermore, IDS is supported by HI NENC’s track record of supporting the regional and nation adoption and spread of innovation in the NHS and wealth of experience in delivering quality improvement projects.

IDS was launched in July 2023. Over this time IDS projects have attracted participants from across industry, VCSE, health and social care, academia and research.

IDS specialises in:

  • Programme lifecycle development, enabling teams to work towards the development of their strategic objectives, gain buy in across project teams and assign responsibilities to achieve successful outcomes throughout a programme’s lifecycle.
  • Value proposition, helping innovators and SMEs to demonstrate value maximising the potential for adoption into the healthcare system.
  • Strategy development, working with businesses and NHS initiatives to understand their options and decide on a strategic direction which provides a sustainable future.
  • Pathway redesign, providing facilitation to teams to understand existing processes and identify new efficient ways of working in a rapid way.
  • Problem solving for the system, understanding all elements of a problem to codesign solutions alongside experts.

 

Programme Lifecycle Development

A key stage in the programme or project initiation stage is bringing together stakeholders to make decisions on priorities, objectives and ways in which to deliver the programme to achieve success.  The IDS framework is an ideal way to bring the right people together to make these decisions, quickly. The unique approach ensures a shared buy in and understanding of what a programme is setting out to achieve and decisions about who and how things will get done.

Throughout the delivery of a programme or project, IDS can provide an opportunity to discuss progress, shift thinking based on changing priorities and share learning to continually improve on programme or project delivery.

At the point of programme or project closure IDS can bring stakeholders together to provide reflection on what has been achieved, discussing outcomes and lessons learnt.

IDS has worked with programme teams across health and social care to apply the IDS framework throughout a programme’s lifecycle.

 

Value Proposition

The value proposition is a core stage in the development of any innovation for adoption and spread as it demonstrates how it will add value increasing the likelihood of adoption and spread into the healthcare system.

The IDS framework takes innovators and SMEs through vital stages needed to develop a value proposition including; stakeholder mapping, market analysis, empathy mapping, market testing and refining. Combining this framework with the IDS approach and its unique links to the Innovation Pathway, ensures all areas are covered to maximise an innovations potential.

IDS has also found benefit in applying the value proposition approach to healthcare teams when developing solutions.

 

Strategy Development

In an ever-changing landscape, it’s important for innovators, SMEs and initiatives to ensure their strategic plan provides resilience and sustainability.

Through the IDS framework and double diamond approach, teams can work through the elements which make up their business model and consider the different options available to them before refining and deciding on an approach. This ensures buy in across teams, alignment with their strategic goals and an efficient allocation of resources to create maximum impact.

 

Pathway Redesign

IDS helps teams facilitate, design and develop new ways of working in a rapid way. Applying this to existing pathways can create more effective ways of working and pathway redesign to streamline processes. This can release the potential for bringing in new innovations and technology or identify potential unmet needs to then work through using the HI NENC Innovation Pathway.

The user centred approach to IDS allows teams to empathise with the patient or staff at the core of these pathways and redesign with their needs in mind increasing the likelihood of adoption by their users.

IDS’s rapid approach to redesign means that teams are taking a limited amount of time out of the day-to-day to uncover these better ways of working.

Links with experts across the Health and Social Care system provides specialists on hand when working through pathways to offer guidance and support.

 

Problem Solving for Health and Social Care

IDS helps teams work through problems experienced by the system to identify solutions or methods of alleviating pressure.

Working through a problem using the IDS framework, provides a structured approach to gain an understanding of all of the key elements which have an impact on the problem avoiding a solution-centred approach to innovation.

Once a problem has been identified, teams can begin creating solutions by using the IDS toolkits to understand what would overcome any barriers and would work best for the user, patient or public at the centre of this problem.

By bringing together a range of different people, IDS ensures solutions are considered from different perspectives.

The IDS Process

The IDS has been designed to accommodate the challenges faced within health and social care, providing a full service offering which brings together designed-based thinking, service redesign and quality improvement to deliver on projects.

Each IDS project is tailored to address the problem presented, with collaborative rapid discovery sessions and tailored follow up and next steps to improve outcomes.

IDS adopts The Design Council’s double diamond process to explore the problem, understanding this fully before defining the challenge faced and then opening up thinking again to explore potential solutions creatively and collaboratively, before defining the best one/s to take forward.

As an integral part of the HI NENC Innovation Pathway process, IDS is able to bring in experts and provide advice and guidance to support rapid innovation in health and care.

Design Sprints

Design sprints are intensive sessions which traditionally take place over five days. User centric teams come together to rapidly working through five defined stages:

The pressures and challenges faced by those working within the health and social care system mean that taking a full five days out is impossible, however taking advantage of this methodology could lead to the generation of innovative ideas, quicker decision making, more collaborative working and group buy in for solutions.

You can find out more about the IDS in practice through our case studies below.

To find out more or to access the Innovation Design Service please contact Sarah Rendall, Digital Transformation Programme Manager.