Transformation Directorate

Adoption Fund 2022-2023

Get involved with this year's fund!

The Adoption Fund has been commissioned by NHS England for a second year to support Integrated Care Systems (ICS) who have an active interest in introducing or scaling up digital innovations within one of the following pathway priority areas:

Building on the digital playbooks, the Adoption Fund was set up to support innovation which:

  • has existing evidence base in the NHS and can support current priorities around elective recovery
  • is Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) compliant or on its way to being so
  • is not currently being funded by a national NHS programme
  • has potential for rapid, wider roll-out across the NHS

Key dates

  • The award opens on 4 July 2022
  • The award closes on 31 July 2022
  • Shortlisted applicants notified shortly after
  • Shortlisted applicants contacted for initial discussion, where necessary
  • Awards will be announced by 31 August 2022
  • Final decision made and successful applicants notified

Applications from interested ICSs are to be submitted by the closing date via email to Adoption.Fund@nhs.net

Shortlisting

Due to the volume of bids received, we are only able to provide feedback on bids that reach this stage

Clinical and public/patient partners review

Each Adoption Fund programme team has established a multi-disciplinary panel which will review all applications. The review panel will make the final decision on which applications are successful.

Final selection

The outcome of each application will then be communicated to the main application contact person, outlined in the roles and responsibilities section of the application form.

Eligibility

ICSs are able to apply to more than one specialty for funding, but will need to complete an application form for each specialty. If you do apply for more than one specialty, cross-cutting job roles, (such as a project manager for your ICS Adoption Fund work) can be used. Please highlight this in each application. This will be taken into account at the review stage. The applications will be scored separately and cross-cutting functions do not guarantee that both applications will be successful.

All projects must support people at home.

What are the Supporting People at Home and Personalised Outpatient programmes?

The three clinical workstreams (gastroenterology, musculoskeletal (MSK) and respiratory) which are the focus of this year's Adoption Fund are strategically aligned with the national drive to support elective recovery. The priority criteria outlined in each clinical specialty within the the Adoption Fund contribute directly to the planned benefits of the following national programmes:

The aim of the Supporting People at Home programme is to reach more people being supported in their homes using tech-enabled care, through remote monitoring, digital elective care pathways and improved connectivity. This contributes to the wider NHS elective recovery plans, helping to reduce outpatient appointments, minimise unnecessary travel and minimise waiting times for those in the greatest need. Ultimately, it will help to ensure that patients are seen in the right place, in the right way, at the right time.

The Personalised Outpatients Programme aims to empower patients to play an active part in shaping their own care, equipping them with the knowledge and skills they need to make decisions. It will give people the ability to make appointments when they need them, rather than at routine times, and mean fewer (unnecessary) trips to hospital and access to care more quickly when they really need it. It will also streamline processes to avoid duplication, relieving clinicians of onerous tasks and releasing existing outpatient time.

Funding and support

The 2022-2023 Adoption Fund is revenue funding only, to support ICSs to develop digital pathways for elective care recovery . The following specialties are eligible to apply for monies from the Adoption Fund:

ICSs can bid for any funding up to the amount available across as many of the specialties as they wish to apply for.

It is a condition of accepting funding that all monies are spent within the financial year 2022/23 and that you commit to provide the agreed reporting and metrics for a 12 month period from when the project goes live.

What support will be available?

Each programme will have:

  • Monthly share and learn sessions on relevant topics to support project success
  • An opportunity to collaborate with other partners
  • 1-to-1 meetings with the programme team to report project progress and seek any further support
  • A FutureNHS collaboration space hosting resources, contact details and discussion forums with fellow Adoption Fund partners
  • Advisory group governance from specialists within the field of your workstream to help direct each project towards success
  • Support at hand for you to contact regarding any queries

What will be expected from applicants?

All successful applicants will need to meet the expectations of the programme that are outlined to meet funding requirements. These are to:

  • complete and sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) within the agreed timeframe
  • submit a high level delivery plan which includes, but is not limited to, the below milestones
    • Finalised contract / procurement of supplier
    • Completion of Information Governance sign off where applicable
    • Completion of IT integration where applicable
    • Recruitment of additional staff where applicable
    • Completion of staff training
    • Identification of suitable patient / staff cohorts to pilot the innovations
    • Predicted go-live date
    • Collection of first round of patient feedback
  • submit baseline data as agreed with the specialty team within one month of signing the MOU
  • attend and participate at regular share and learn sessions
  • submit monthly progress report against milestones and associated data items
  • finalise procurement and go live with the innovation by the agreed date in the MOU
  • To provide 12 months worth of data from the point of go live
  • To provide at least one case study in line with the programme requirements

Please refer to the capability self-assessment at the beginning of the application form to ensure you understand and will be able to meet the expectations and prerequisites before submitting your application.

Learn more about the application process by reading some commonly asked questions.

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