Dr Joanne Thomas

1. Dr Joanne Thomas What makes a good application? RIF event – 29 July 2010

2. Overview • Criteria • Key elements • Common pitfalls and tips for success • Round 4 and post-award

3. Criteria

4. Criteria (1) - recommendations

5. Criteria (2) - QIPP • Quality: • Safety, patient experience, patient outcomes, social value, sustainable communities • Innovation: • New ways, evidence/plausible, scope • Productivity: • Increase productivity/effectiveness, cash released • Prevention: • Impact on healthy life/independence

6. Criteria (3) • Working across boundaries e.g. • Primary and secondary care • Primary care and education • Health and social care • Acute and mental health providers • Total funding available • Executive Director sign-off

7. Key elements

8. People • Key people from each organisation involved • Rights skills • Knowledge • Commitment • Stakeholders

9. The innovation • What is it? • How does it work? • Where does it come from? • totally new • modification • adoption • What are the likely benefits?

10. Proposal should be clear

11. Evaluation • What measures will demonstrate effect • Baseline • How will data be collected and analysed • Who will do it • Pure research excluded

12. Sustainability and transferability • Consider sustainability post-funding: • Resources • Personnel • Provide evidence of transferability and scalability: • NHS North West wants innovation spread • Consider dissemination options

13. Costing • Liaise with your finance department • Contact them early • Include VAT • Include on-costs • Consider financial year

14. Pitfalls and tips

16. Don’t leave it too late!

17. Common pitfalls • Not read guidance • Not answered all questions • Excluded: e.g. research, product development • Didn’t fit award criteria • Too long (2+ years) • Unclear proposal • Funding exceeds maximum available • Funding required unspecified • Applicant provides supporting statement

18. Top tips Read the guidance Make the sound bite clear and memorable Answer all the questions Explain acronyms Use numbers to support your claims (e.g. no. patients, potential cost-savings) Remember that judges are not necessarily experts in your area Provide background information

19. Writing • Sell the problem – why is the issue so important? • Keep names/words consistent • Short sentences • Short paragraphs • Front load text with key info • Message consistent

20. Judging “They will read the applications in this massive bundle in snatched minutes of spare time, in their offices, in their laboratories, during boring meetings, on trains, buses and planes, in taxis, in bathrooms, in hotel dining rooms.” The grant-writer's toolkit - Andrew Derrington (21 January 2010)

21. Sense check

22. Round 4

23. Round 4 timeline

24. Round 4 details • No enabling change awards (up to £250k) • Previous award winners can only apply for an innovation in a different area • Funding available • ~£105k innovation sharing • ~£213k innovation bursary

25. If successful… • Get letter from NHS North West • Paid via PCT allocations • Monitoring of progress and outcomes by TrusTECH : • Start • About 6 months • End

26. Summary • Meet the criteria • Follow the guidance • Make the proposal clear • Remember it is a competition

27. Contact