Cross-Sector Programme - network, connect, collaborate

The Academy of Medical Sciences Cross-Sector Programme will bring together innovators and researchers from different fields to promote health innovation.

Key dates

The Cross-Sector Programme launched on 27 September 2022

The next event took place on 20 April 2023 in Cardiff, Wales.

 

Researchers, health professionals, regulators, policymakers and patients and the public need to work together to solve the major challenges facing healthcare. Our research shows there is a lack of understanding about working across sectors, and barriers to connectivity and movement of researchers across industry, NHS and academia in the life sciences.

Our new Cross-Sector Programme will bring together innovators, researchers, health professionals and policymakers working across the life sciences sectors through networking events and a collaborative funding scheme to promote health innovation.  The networking events will be hosted by hubs around the UK and will bring together people working on a health challenge looking to collaborate with others to develop their ideas.

We piloted our first networking hub in partnership with Life Sciences Hub Walesthe first networking event took place on 17 November 2022 in Cardiff focused on innovation in precision medicine. 

network – connect – collaborate

We commissioned independent scoping work in 2019 to look at what can be done to help people to connect across sectors. Key challenges were identified:  

  • a lack of incentives,  
  • difficulties in connecting with the right people/organisations,  
  • little recognition of mobility in career progression appraisals,  
  • cultural gaps between organisations and 
  • lack of resource to support engagement and backfill of mobile researchers, particularly from the NHS and small businesses.

To find solutions to these challenges, the scheme will encompass two main components. Firstly, we are establishing local networking hubs, to foster connections between people from all relevant sectors and offer support to overcome the challenges to collaborating. The hubs will be established in the regions/nations of the UK, in partnership with existing organisations. We are starting with our first hub in Wales, working with the Life Sciences Hub Wales. 

Secondly, funding will be available after hub events to foster connections and longer term support of movement of people between sectors . 

This new programme will seek to boost connections and activity in areas of specific priority to health research, including data analytics and artificial intelligence for genomics, pathology, drug development and medical imaging and cell and gene therapy. 

We are grateful for the support of the UK Government BEIS and Wellcome enabling us to pilot this programme. 

Supporters

Key contacts


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Book Now
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