Accelerate
The Accelerate programme has now drawn to a close. Accelerate has been widely celebrated as an exemplar of innovation involving NHS, industry and academic partners and the achievements and successes have been well documented.
As an ERDF funded programme, the major driver was economic development enabling companies to develop their offer for the healthcare market and work more effectively with the NHS. This led to high impact with a rapid deployment of projects supporting our COVID response and projects supporting key strategic areas for the NHS such as social prescribing and deployment of services closer to patient’s homes in eg optometry and physiotherapy.
Accelerate for Cardiff meant a new innovative way of working to deliver the Accelerate programme, with the utilisation of the grant providing bespoke support, opening up collaboration opportunities for Cardiff academics, and in doing so establishing strong relationships throughout 18 Schools University wide.
The innovative project for Cardiff returned in excess of £3.4M in kind match (£800K over target), this importantly illustrates the appetite and need to support enterprises to enable them to innovate, and the opportunities this presents to the University in terms of engagement, staff opportunities for upskilling, civic mission, REF return and publications.
Accelerate project outcomes and impacts were evidenced through peer review publications/impact case studies in the 2021 REF return with Schools of:
- Optometry and Vision Sciences
- Dentistry
- Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
- Healthcare Sciences
- Population Medicine
- Clinical Trials Research Unit
Additionally, the cross sectional evidenced alignment with systematic priorities and strategy, which enabled us to evidence the success and impact against:
- Levelling up
- Health and Care Strategies
- Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (Welsh Government, 2015b)
- The Way Forward (2018-2023: recast COVID-19) and Sub-strategies, in particular Civic Mission and Research and Innovation
The success of the work was made possible through the building of effective collaborations; underpinned by the clinical innovation skill set of CIA, and the clinical and commercial expertise of their project partners.
Through the sharing of risk and rewards, the opportunity to develop, refine and advance innovative practices has brought tangible benefits to health and care practices, service provision, education, and social well-being.
The strength of this work lies in the number of sustainable processes and best practice models that are contributing to a pan Wales legacy of delivering a Better Wales.
The impact of this work will continue to be realised beyond the lifespan of Accelerate, with opportunities to translate and commercialise these innovations beyond Wales.
Even though Accelerate has ended, the Clinical Innovation Hub are still available for help and support to all. Please feel free to contact us at colesb2@cardiff.ac.uk
Accelerate - Clinical Innovation Accelerator (CIA)
Project portfolio.
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Accelerate case studies
Our research creates benefits across health, society and the economy.
