We all know these are challenging times for our NHS.  Financial pressures, a population living longer with more years of ill health, the ongoing legacy of the pandemic, and the impact of recent global events over which we have no control, are a few of the issues that have coalesced to create a perfect storm.

The Government’s ‘three shifts’: from analogue to digital, from treatment to prevention, and from hospital to community, have created central pillars on which to focus our efforts.

In particular I embrace the increasing recognition that speeding up the adoption of innovative and transformative technologies and medicines, is central to addressing our challenges and capitalising on new opportunities.

Collaborating to unlock innovation

One key opportunity to accelerate innovation adoption is to foster closer collaboration between NHS organisations and industry – from small HealthTech enterprises through to global innovators and pharmaceutical companies.

During my career I’ve been privileged to work in roles across industry and the NHS, and what stands out for me from both sectors is the collective drive, enthusiasm and passion for transforming patient outcomes.

There are great opportunities to work together to tackle health challenges and long term conditions, with the potential for NHS organisations to benefit from both expertise and investment.

However, there are barriers to developing partnerships from both sectors.

For industry this could be the challenge of navigating through the complexity of national, regional and local health systems to identify the right people to engage.

For NHS colleagues this could be the pressure to focus on tackling immediate challenges making it harder to seek out evidenced innovations that have the best chance of responding to local problems.  There may also be some cultural barriers or mistrust of commercial enterprises which are key to overcome.

The role of the HINs in connecting across sectors

This is where the local health innovation networks (HINs) come in – we partner across sectors to improve patient outcomes, support the NHS workforce, increase capacity in our health service, and boost economic growth.

The 15 HINs operate in our own geographies; embedded in our communities and health and research ecosystems, which means we’re well placed to broker collaboration between NHS partners and industry.

We come together as the Health Innovation Network, so can support broader regional, cross-regional and national partnerships to deliver local change that has a national impact.

Conditions for successful NHS / industry collaboration

How can we navigate this complexity to create mutually beneficial partnerships?

Our colleagues at the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) have worked with NHS Confederation to develop this guidance document that offers a route map to create effective NHS-industry partnerships.

The ABPI also commissioned this King’s Fund research which highlights a series of principles that underpin successful industry-NHS partnerships:

1. Create a shared sense of purpose, with a focus on improvements for people and populations. 

2. Focus on measuring progress and outcomes. 

3. Draw on the ideas and insights of NHS staff. 

4. Prioritise and invest in relationships. 

5. Ensure local leadership to support and champion the work. 

6. Identify and engage key stakeholders. 

7. Put in place robust and transparent processes and governance. 

8. Invest in effective project management and oversight. 

9. Ensure that clear boundaries are maintained in relation to companies’ commercial interests.

Support for developing collaborations

The local health innovation networks may be able to support and highlight partnering opportunities – connecting local NHS systems with companies who have innovative technologies and treatments that align to their specific health challenges.

If you work within the NHS and are interested in exploring the potential for industry collaboration, the Health Innovation Network is hosting a webinar with the ABPI on 3 June 2025 that will share practical advice, along with learning from this successful partnership between Health Innovation Manchester and Eli Lilly & Company (Lilly UK) which is addressing the obesity challenge across Greater Manchester.

Register here for the webinar (a recording will be available from the Health Innovation Network website after the event).