The Health Innovation Hub’s journey so far shows the strong foundations we have built and our ambition to create a collaborative home for innovation that brings system partners, expertise, and innovations together to accelerate progress and deliver meaningful benefits for our region.
Where we have been
The Health Innovation Hub was created to meet a shared need for clearer innovation pathways, stronger collaboration and a simpler way for individuals to engage with innovation across Leicestershire and the wider East Midlands.
Our early work with regional partners shaped the purpose and direction of the Hub and helped build strong relationships across the system. This collaborative approach ensured the Hub reflects shared priorities and supports the needs of innovators and organisations involved in innovation projects.
This early phase focused on creating the foundations for a central home for innovation and preparing the work needed to bring the virtual hub to life. We are moving from planning to delivery and can now provide a clear route for people to submit ideas, explore opportunities, and access support.
Where we are now
The virtual hub is now live and gives clinicians, innovators, and commercial partners one place to submit ideas, explore opportunities and access support. It brings key innovation information together in a clear and simple way and highlights regional success stories to build visibility and confidence.
Our focus is on strengthening engagement and making the Hub a trusted space. We are triaging innovation projects with our partners and directing them to the right teams so ideas move faster and reach the people who can support them. This is helping to speed up early-stage projects and reduce delays.
We are committed to raising the profile of the Hub and building recognition across the region. These steps position the Health Innovation Hub as the main gateway for innovation at UHL and a strong foundation for growth through the year.
Where we are going
The focus now is to strengthen the Health Innovation Hub, so it becomes the central place for innovation across UHL and the East Midlands. We will improve how innovation projects are triaged and link people to the right support with the support of our external partners so that innovation ideas can move forward with more pace and clarity.
A key priority is securing funding by applying for external grant schemes, identifying new opportunities, and unlocking support that can help projects grow. This will allow us to strengthen the Hub and support more innovation activity across the system. The Health Innovation Hub will continue to build strong partnerships across the Leicestershire and East Midlands region, so the Hub creates a shared space for collaboration.
Embedding health inequalities in everything we do
Addressing health inequalities is a central part of our vision, and a key driver behind the work of the Health Innovation Hub. In a region as diverse as Leicester, Leicestershire, and the East Midlands, it is important that innovation meets the needs of every community we serve.
Across all project scopes we will ensure health inequalities are not treated as a tick box exercise but built into how we design, prioritise and deliver our work by considering who benefits and who may be excluded and how each project can support more equitable outcomes.
We will continue to work with partners and communities to make innovation accessible and culturally appropriate so our innovation work can be beneficial for all. By embedding this approach, we aim to support fairer access to care and help reduce gaps in health outcomes across the Leicestershire and East Midlands region.