A digital innovation ecosystem for Welsh health and social care

Background

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments and healthcare systems around the world acknowledged the urgency of establishing and refocusing healthcare innovation ecosystems that can meet the changing and diverse needs of patients and wider society. At the same time, there is universal recognition that digital and technological innovations can enhance the design and delivery of healthcare services, in line with increasing patient expectations.

Purpose

This case study highlights how interdisciplinary, research-led collaboration between the Welsh Government and Swansea University has shaped national innovation policy and practice across Wales. Bringing together expertise from the School of Management, Medicine, Health and Life Science, and Science and Engineering, this initiative demonstrates how cross-faculty academic collaboration can address complex, system-wide challenges in digital innovation and public service delivery.

This project received the Association for Information Systems Impact Award (Regulatory Impact) 2025 at ICIS – The International Conference on Information Systems, Nashville, USA. This award recognises information systems research with widespread impact on practice in business and society.

Co-led by Dr. Tom James (Head of Innovation, Health Social Care and Early Years, Welsh Government) and academic colleagues Professor Denis Dennehy (Business Information Systems), Dr Dan Rees (Medicine and Innovation Management), and Dr Rod Thomas (Engineering and Innovation), the partnership exemplifies the power of interdisciplinary engagement.

By integrating perspectives from business, engineering, medicine, and digital systems, the team co-developed research-informed frameworks and executive education programmes within the Innovation Intensive Learning Academy (Innovation ILA). This approach reflects the Welsh Government’s vision, set out in its Innovation Strategy for Wales (2023), for the ILAs to extend their reach beyond health and social care - driving innovation across education, health, and the economy

Through sustained collaboration and evidence-based analysis, the team addressed a key national challenge: how to create a digitally enabled, inclusive innovation system capable of supporting more than 90,000 NHS Wales and social care staff to support, design, test, and adopt innovative solutions that improve services and outcomes for citizens.

The research integrated insights from digital innovation management theory, international standards on innovation management (ISO 56000), and real-world practitioner experience to design and implement a practical digital innovation infrastructure — Health and Social Care Innovation Wales (HSCIW) that now serves as the foundation for Wales’s health and care innovation ecosystem.

Figure 1 – HSCIW home screen.

Benefits and impacts

Launched in March 2025, the HSCIW digital innovation infrastructure provides national coordination, training, and digital tools for innovation delivery across all 11 NHS Wales organisations.

Key outcomes and capabilities include:

• Embedding innovation in national policy and practice
  Research findings directly informed the Welsh Government’s 2023 Innovation Strategy for Wales and Delivery Plan, both endorsed by the Ministerial Cabinet.

• Creation of a national digital innovation infrastructure
  The www.hsciw.wales platform provides access to structured frameworks, tools, and learning resources that support health and social care professionals to innovate effectively.

• A Structured Innovation Framework for NHS Wales
  Developed from global best practice (ISO 56000, technology readiness levels, and design thinking), the framework offers practical guidance for ideation, development, assessing, and scaling innovations. The framework is formally embedded as statutory national guidance in the Welsh Government’s NHS Wales Planning Framework 2024–2027. nhs-wales-technical-planning guidance

Figure 2 – The Digital Innovation Framework

• Innovation Funding Directory: A centralised, digital directory maintained by Life Sciences Hub Wales sources all available innovation funding opportunities for use by NHS Wales organisations.

• National Innovation Leads Network: A formal community of innovation practitioners across all NHS Wales organisations now collaborates under a Government-supported structure, with a dedicated operational budget (£100k per annum) and programme team.

• Professional development and accreditation: ISO 56001:2024 - Innovation management systems accredited training is provided to NHS Wales, equipping practitioners with internationally recognised innovation management skills

• A new “Introduction to Innovation” module which is part of mandatory NHS Wales staff training which directs all 90,000 employees to the HSCIW resources.

• Innovation Assessment and Adoption Tool: A digital self-assessment system helps practitioners evaluate innovation ideas for clinical need, feasibility, finance, and market readiness, ensuring evidence-based decisions.

• Integration with Social Care: The Ymlaen strategy and delivery plan extend these principles to the social care sector, recognising sector-specific challenges and embedding research-driven improvement methods.

• Enhanced National Capability and Culture: The Innovation ILA has trained and supported hundreds of innovation practitioners across Wales, fostering a sustainable culture of innovation within NHS and social care organisations.

Measured, policy and societal impact

• Over 90,000 NHS Wales staff now have direct access to structured innovation tools and training.

• 25 NHS Wales practitioners will be trained annually in ISO56001 Innovation Management Systems, creating a national cohort of trained innovation staff.

• The ILA’s programmes have trained over 4,600 professionals across health, social care, industry, and government, equipping them with innovation management, data-driven decision-making, and leadership capabilities.

• Evidence from independent evaluations demonstrates the real-world results of Innovation ILA activity:

  • 88% of projects improved patient or service-user experience within NHS Wales and social care settings.

  • Over 70% enhanced access, alignment, and integration in primary and community care.

  • 73% contributed to NHS planned care innovation and prevention.

  • 84% demonstrated measurable reductions in health and care costs.  92% reported positive workforce impact through service improvement and digital innovation.

• The new infrastructure has accelerated adoption of digital health innovations, improved access to funding, and enhanced coordination across multiple agencies.

• The collaboration has strengthened academic-government partnerships, supporting practitioner learning and doctoral research (Tom James, PhD candidate, Swansea University).

This project demonstrates how applied research can inform government strategy, drive digital transformation, and build capacity for innovation within a national health and social care system. The model now serves as a reference for other devolved administrations exploring system-level innovation frameworks.