Academic Health Science Networks

1. Academic Health Science Networks June 2012

2. Innovation Health and Wealth Innovation Health and Wealth was launched in December 2011 by the Prime Minister Why is innovation important to the NHS? What should be done to drive innovation? Innovation transforms patient outcomes Innovation can simultaneously improve quality and productivity Innovation is good for economic growth Reduce variation and increase compliance of NICE guidelines Publish uptake metrics Establish a more systematic delivery mechanism Align incentives and rewards Improve procurement Develop our people and hard wire innovation into training Strength leadership in innovation Identify and mandate High Impact Innovations

3. Academic Health Science Networks Academic Health Science Networks are: • A “more systematic delivery mechanism for diffusion and collaboration” • To “align … clinical research, informatics, training and education and healthcare delivery” • To “improve patient and population health outcomes” Innovation Health and Wealth says • Public commitments: • The NHS Chief Executive and the Chief Medical Officer will work with the NHS and industry to designate these networks with the first to go live during 2012/13 • We will publish details of the AHSN designation process in March 2012 - however it was not possible to publish in March because of purdah

4. What is an Academic Health Science Network? • An Academic Health Science Network provides a systematic delivery mechanism for the local NHS, universities working with industry and other partners such as local government to transform the identification, adoption and spread of innovations and best practice. • It is a partnership organisation in which the partners are committed to working together to improve the quality and productivity of health care resulting in better patient outcomes and population health. • The AHSN aims for universal participation by bringing together a range of partners who are primarily focused on a defined geography, including Clinical Commissioning Groups and providers of primary, community, secondary and tertiary NHS services in a defined area, higher educational institutions active in health care, representatives of industry, local government and other partners. • The AHSN will need to develop links with levers and functions that benefit from and support innovation including research, education and training, service improvement, wealth creation and information.

5. Clarity of Purpose Core Purpose Identification, adoption and spread of innovation and best practice Key Linkages and Levers that enable the core purpose of AHSNs to be delivered Additional functions that locally the partners want to deliver through the AHSN

6. Essential Levers and Linkages: to support the core purpose of innovation Academia Academic Health Science Centres In localities where they exist, they will nest within AHSNs Industry NHS

7. Participation in AHSNs (1) • There is great enthusiasm to participate in AHSNs – we must build on this and allow local flexibility in how bodies participate. Thus participation is voluntary and we need to make the case as to why organisations would they not want to participate • For commissioners – because • They want to know that they are commissioning services that reflect state-of-the art proven innovations and best practice • They want to be assured that the CQUIN payments are going to providers that are benefiting from the sharing of learning and expertise about innovation and best practice in an innovation network. • For all providers and multi-disciplinary clinical teams – to work within and across organisational boundaries in developing and testing innovations and in learning from others to ensure they deliver state-of-the-art services • For higher education institutions – helps demonstrate impact of research as part of the life sciences agenda but the offer needs to be attractive and tangible • For industry – helps creates the new relationship that is described in Innovation Health and Wealth

8. Participation in AHSNs (2) NHS commissioners and providers of NHS services would aspire to participate in their local geographical AHSN and could be affiliated to other AHSNs for particular themes or projects, such as specialised services AHSNs need to work together - there could be the development of a network of AHSNs (or an Academy of AHSNs) to work together to spread innovations and have a national voice.

9. Governance of the AHSN The participants in the AHSN should work together to design the governance model but this must meet minimum national expectations. The AHSN will probably be an incorporated body with a clear public interest with its own local participation model. (note VAT issues linked to non-NHS partners) There should be Board providing leadership to the AHSN with an independent chair and an accountable officer. The Board should have governance links with the LETBs and CRNs Further work is needed to think how industry participates in the governance of the AHSN. There would be conflicts of interest if specific companies are involved but there should be other mechanisms.

10. The proposed designation process • The NHS Commissioning Board will lead on the designation of AHSNs and will involve partners, including DH and CMO (who will lead on the designation of AHSCs, which will take place for 2014). • An independent panel will make recommendations on applications and can conclude to designate, designate with qualifications or to require resubmission. • The designation could lead to a five year licence from the NHS Commissioning Board to the AHSN that would be: • An agreement between the members of the network and the NHS Commissioning Board that they will work together to improve patient care and population health; • A “contract” to deliver defined tasks and outcomes for which network will receive significant annual funding from the NHS Commissioning Board, including local resources that the members will contribute. The Sunset Review will help identify funding that is available from 2013 onwards. These tasks will support delivery of the NHS Outcomes Framework.

11. The proposed application process STAGE 1: For 20 July 2012 A short expression of interest in making an application setting out the proposed footprint and links with other functions • STAGE 2: Round 1 for September 2012 • An application to a panel with three elements: • The AHSN model: • Overall vision and goals of the AHSN, the challenges it will address and partners/footprint; • The development of clinical and organisational partnerships on innovation in the patch • The track record of working together on innovation in the patch • The mechanisms and levers that the network proposes to use • The approach to delivering the specific functions in relation to research; • The measures by which the AHSN will measure its progress; • The governance, leadership and culture model of the proposed AHSN; • Evidence on demonstrable progress and collaborative working on the adoption and • spread of the High Impact Innovations and the iTAPP push technologies; • The draft business plan for the proposed AHSN setting out its ambitions for the • next 5 years in each area of its work. STAGE 3: Round 1 in autumn 2012 An interview with the panel

12. Expressions of interest Expressions of interest in submitting an application to become an AHSN should be submitted by 20 July and feedback will be provided by end of July. This will cover footprint and links with key other parts of the architecture We suggest that there are between 12 and 18 AHSNs in England covering a population normally of between 3 or 5 million hopefully with all local NHS organisations and all relevant local Higher Education Institutions as participants . Footprints need to be large enough for the AHSN to deliver at scale and do not need to be based on existing SHA or SHA cluster boundaries though alignment/nesting with other geographies, such as clinical senates and LETBs is encouraged.

13. Next Steps 2. Round 1 Designation: Applications 30 September 2012 and decisions by November 2012 so operational before April 2013 1. Expressions of Interest: By 20 July 2012 with rapid feedback 3. Round 2 Designation: Applications 28 February 2013 and decisions by May 2013