Study of Health Innovation Manchester role published in international journal

A paper examining the role of Health Innovation Manchester as an Academic Health Science System has been published in an international journal.

The paper, published in the International Journal of Integrated Care, is possibly the first examination of the earliest implementation of the Academic Health Science System (AHSS) concept in the UK, and certainly the first implementation at scale.

Titled “Health Innovation Manchester as AHSS – the test of a hypothesis” the paper was written by researchers from The University of Manchester, John Rigby, Godwin Chukwukelu, Jose Pineda Mendoza, Jillian Yeow.

The paper draws and reflects on a longer exploratory study, conducted in 2020 and also written by the paper’s authors, which focussed on the creation of Health Innovation Manchester in 2015, its development, its achievement of a formal structure and its subsequent operation as an innovation actor in local, regional, and national health and social care systems.

The report, titled “Health Innovation Manchester – Origins, Formalization, Operation”, documents in detail the changes made as the AHSS moves from a small-scale initiative to a formal organisation, coordinating the GM-based scientific and innovation capabilities.

Dr John Rigby, Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, said: “We are delighted that our paper has been published in the International Journal of Integrated Care and that our reflections on this important development in health innovation in Manchester will be visible to an international audience. Those wishing to see the report on which the paper is a reflection will be able to access it on the Health Innovation Manchester web pages. The IJIC paper is Gold Open Access and therefore is freely available.”

The report states: “Relaunched as an organisation to solve the problem of coordinating the GM-based scientific and innovation capabilities, Health Innovation Manchester has begun to develop organisational machinery to address the innovation needs of the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership.”

The report adds that “significant outcomes have occurred in terms of improvements to treatment, resulting from the coordination of local and national capabilities and the exploitation of links to industry, and administratively – for example, the sharing of the patient record.”

It continues: “Much early work done by the organisation has been organisational and structural, with ‘learning by doing’ achieved through the connection of scientific, technological, and research resources through defined use cases.”

Evidence for the report was gathered from interviews with a variety of key stakeholders, and from documentary research on a wide range of material including internal documents, minutes, memoranda and presentations.

Professor Ben Bridgewater, Chief Executive of Health Innovation Manchester, said: “We welcome this report and its review of the Health Innovation Manchester’s development over the past five years.

“Since I joined the organisation as Chief Executive in 2018, HInM has gained significant traction within city-region’s health and social care system, working across academia, industry engagement and healthcare innovation and aligned to the needs of our region.

“During that time the organisation itself has continually adapted and changed our internal operating model to ensure that we are as effective and efficient as possible to maximise the benefits delivered for our stakeholders.

“Our ability to deliver value as an integrated academic health science and innovation system has been particularly apparent during COVID-19 where HInM worked hard to stand up and play a significant role, utilising a partnership approach to make a difference within the pandemic response.”

Access the paper: Rigby J, Chukwukelu G, Mendoza JP, Yeow J. Health Innovation Manchester as AHSS – the Test of a Hypothesis. International Journal of Integrated Care. 2021;21(3):5. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/ijic.5837

Access the full report: Rigby J, Yeow J, Chukwukelu G, Pineda Mendoza J. Health Innovation Manchester Origins, Formalization, Operation. ISBN 978-0-946007-36-3. Manchester: The University of Manchester. 2021