Anne Gray, Knowledge Officer, NHS Milton Keynes CCG
Academic Health Science Networks, Department of Health, 20 June 2012
An outline of the draft designation and establishment process to create AHSNs.
The core purpose of the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) is to enable the NHS and academia to work collaboratively with industry. AHSNs will play a crucial part in the translation of research into practice and focus on the adoption and spread of innovative clinical practice.
AHSN will build on existing collaborations and bring together the commissioners and providers in the local NHS, higher educational institutions, and other partners, including public health and social care, to work with industry. Deliverables include:
- Ensuring and supporting adoption and spread of the national designated innovations (“High Impact and designated “push” technologies) and identifying others for prioritisation
- Leading local work in the NHS on innovation
- Supporting knowledge exchange networks to support rapid evaluation and adoption of new innovations
- delivering research through the NIHR clinical research networks
- Supporting industry research using NIHR model agreements and processes
- Prime pumping innovation projects
- Running Small Business Research Initiative and similar competitions for SMEs.
- Applying the improvement and change model being developed by the NHS Commissioning Board.
- Providing advice on intellectual property management
- Supporting development of ideas
- Work with procurement teams
The six key functions and levers are:
- Research participation – there needs to be a direct relationship between the governance and management of AHSN and local research management systems.
- Translating research and learning into practice – Important links with NIHR Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRCs)
- education and training – through an active working relationship with Local Education and Training Boards (LETBs) through Health Education England (HEE) and the Leadership Academy
- service improvement – Building on the work of NHS Improvement and use the NHS change model to underpin work with CCGs and strategic clinical networks.
- Information – working together with CCGs, service providers and local structures within PHE to facilitate “added value” information (ie intelligence) services.
- wealth creation – AHSNs will become the single local mechanism to enable productive partnerships with industry and run transparent procurements.
The ambition is that all NHS organisations will have the opportunity to be part of an AHSN by end of March 2014.
