UP-rAIHSe
Upskilling Professionals for efficient and fast Adoption of Innovation in Health care Settings

Challenge

Innovation has to do with uncertainty. Especially in health, uncertainty originates from complex problems with multiple interdependent layers and difficult to discern causalities. Emerging digital health technologies require different approach for successful implementation. Iterating solutions with idea-driven methods (i.e. business model canvas, lean start-up and design thinking) rarely (5% of the time) render a successful solution. This is especially true for SMEs, with innovation procurement lacking professional approach and process in defining the problem that closes the gap to successful implementation. In survey by BCG, corporations pinpointed the largest challenge for CEOs of the 600 most innovative companies is idea selection. Consequently, research suggests C-suite, procurement and innovation managers, lack tools to describe the need and create strategic understanding of root causes. Unique progressive mental models and tools are needed for exclusive decision frameworks to emerge to explore uncertainty systematically. Public procurement accounts for about 14% GDP in EU and offers an enormous potential market for innovative solutions. 1 in 20 EU companies were involved in public procurement of innovative solutions since 2011 (Innovation-Procurement.org) but only 5% succeed. 50-80% fail due to insufficient problem definition. Healthcare sector has traditionally struggled to consistently identify and adopt digital innovations, with high failures such UK NHS or Swedish Programme for IT.

Solution

The pedagogical model is learning-by-doing to design, create & validate a framework for problem definition. Public sector decision makers, strategists and contracting officers are trained in design of demand-based procurement, quality assurance and best practice of emergent digital technologies by learning how to:
1. FRAME: analyse problem drivers & system mechanisms to explore root causes/capture stakeholder incentives to change or resist change;

2. Design: appraise the risks inherent with digital procurement/synthesize & design demand-based procurement;

3. Problem-Solving: construct problem decision framework and solutions horizon. Impact of knowledge gained will be demonstrated by the internal changes made within NHS to current processes & systems.

This course outlines system-design view, tools and methodologies for innovation procurement and adoption for decision makers, strategist and contracting officers in the public sector. We teach how novel or “great” value propositions RfP and strategies come from defining problems, iterating theories and understanding systems. Innovation procurement is not a specific method or procurement procedure, but a formalised way of promoting development in and through public procurement. Innovation procurement can use broad range of methods and procedures. UP-rAIHSe is about teaching how to improve purchasing innovative goods and contracting of services not available on the market.

Objectives, Activities and Results expected / achieved

Two main Outcome sets are envisaged in the Programme: Education and Training outcome / Learning outcomes and Digital Health outcomes. The beneficiaries will learn to speed up and implement successfully demand-based procurement by reaching the following learning outcomes:
1. FRAME (analyse problem drivers and system mechanisms to explore root causes and capture stakeholder incenves to change or resist change);

2. Design (appraise the risks inherent with digital procurement; synthesize and design demand-based procurement);

3. Problem-Solving (construct problem decision framework and soluons horizon).

With the above, teams enrolled in the Programme will obtain:
i) skills & knowledge on innovang healthcare processes and provision models;

ii) knowledge and guidance for driving innovaon within their instuons;

iii) skills, knowledge & atude on digital health soluons.

We envision that the Programme will be the seed for the adoption of new innovation models, improving the dialogue between healthcare providers and solution providers, and for the generation of new digital solution to be incorporated in the daily practice. KPIs have been defined (see 3.EIT Health KPIs for further detail) to evaluate the impact, beyond the programme meframe, on the capacity of participang teams/instrutions to adopt innovation or to launch innovation initiaves or to influence/support organizations in their stakeholder network to do so.

Objectives Achieved:
• Programme Attractiveness and Demand - 50;

• Number of Professionals and executives trained - 20;

• Number of non-EIT Health events/fairs/conferences where EIT Health partners are present, presenting - 3.