Following the announcement by NHS England’s Chief Executive Simon Stevens at Expo last September, the second wave of the NHS Test Beds programme launches today, Monday 26 February 2018.

The Test Beds programme provides funding and support to NHS organisations and industry to test combinations of technology and pathway innovation to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the health service. Find out more about the seven Test Beds currently involved in the first wave of the programme here.

Up to £4.5 million will be available from the Office for Life Sciences for the second wave of Test Beds, with individual projects receiving between £500,000 and £1.5 million. There will also be a separate stream offering up to £1.5 million from NHS England for projects that focus on learning and self-management support for people with Type 2 diabetes.

This competition is open to digital innovators and NHS organisations who can bid for funding to implement and evaluate innovations until March 2020. Projects must tackle health and care challenges (system or clinical) aligned with national and local priorities.

Each Test Bed must be led by an NHS provider organisation, and should be a partnership between NHS organisations and businesses working together to solve a specific and focussed health and care challenge through a combination of digital products and pathway development, which will be evaluated during the programme.

AHSNs are supporting the second wave of the Test Beds programme, and in early April we will be organising a series of collaboration workshops around the country, matching businesses and NHS organisations who have applied.