The Consortium

Spearheaded by the White Rose University Consortium  (the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York), together with the University of Bradford, the White Rose Health Innovation Partnership Project was awarded £4.7 million from the Higher Education Innovation Fund in 2006 to provide a framework for accelerating technological, methodological and practical innovations in the healthcare sector.

The Partnership brings together key players in healthcare innovation from the UK and beyond in order to stimulate and progress innovative concepts and ideas.

Key Aims

Our key aims, through the Partnership, are:

• To develop better links between academia, business and clinical delivery that will inform future developments and clinical practice;
• To deliver a step-change in the pace of innovation across a wide range of healthcare technology organisations, with the resulting increase in business R&D, employment in high-tech jobs, and graduate retention;
• To deliver a significant growth in the value of the health sector, and improvement in its performance;
• To promote better alignment of the benefits of economic growth with national objectives for improved public health and patient care.

Keys to Success

Key to the project's success are the opportunities for open debate and discussion it has offered through its open innovation workshops, designed to facilitate understanding of the challenges facing different partners. The workshops also provided an environment through which different parties could come together to discuss ideas and form projects to address specific clinical needs. Along with a full events programme, including the topic specific ‘open innovation' workshops and seminars relating to new technologies, the Partnership has also provided supporting mechanisms such as a Proof of Concept Fund and Health Innovation Fellowships.

The programme is managed by Programme Manager Penny Jackson, who is supported by local Business Development Managers and a Programme Administrator.