Applying for an award

The call for applications for round 4 funding is now closed.

The 2010 Clinical Pathway Group recommendations are now available - all applicants must meet at least one of the recommendations.

If you wish to apply for an award you should fill in the appropriate online application form which you can access through the links at the bottom of this page. However please ensure you have read the following information and terms and conditions carefully before submitting your application.

For both the Innovation Sharing Award (up to £5,000) and the Innovation Bursary Award (up to £25,000) all you need to do is complete the online form and submit it with any additional information requested and we will be in touch at a later stage to let you know if your application has been successful.

Please note, there is no Enabling Change award for Round 4. For the Enabling Change Award (up to £250,000), there is a two-stage process. As with the other awards, you must complete the online form (outline application - stage 1). The information provided will then be assessed by the TrusTECH team and an expert assessment panel. Successful applicants will then be requested to complete a full (stage 2) application, again through an online process, which will require significant detail on the likely financial and clinical impact of the application.

It is strongly recommended that you read and follow the guide for applicants.

Conditions

Eligibility for the InnovateNoW awards

NHS organisations, universities, social care providers, voluntary organisations and companies can access the InnovateNoW awards. However, non-NHS organisations must be working in collaboration with an NHS organisation to receive funding from InnovateNoW.

The main applicant for any of the awards must be an NHS organisation. All awards will be paid to the NHS organisation applying for the award (via an allocation to their local PCT). The main applicant's organisation will then be responsible for managing the award and sharing the funding with collaborators as detailed in the application and under appropriate sub-contracting arrangements (e.g. payment outside of the NHS for staff costs, trials, services and other activities such as product development).

Assessment of award applications

Applications are initially sifted to determine: whether they meet the award and funding criteria; the benefits the innovation could deliver; and the deliverability of the project. Applications that pass the sift are reviewed by a panel of independent frontline NHS clinical staff and managers and the panel makes recommendations to NHS North West regarding which applications should be funded.

Information provided during application process

NHS North West and TrusTECH reserve the right to contact the applicant for clarification on information provided in an award application form and/or to ask further questions as necessary.

Use of the InnovateNoW Awards

The award shall not be used for any purpose other than to fund the project and any remaining funding at the end of the project must be repaid to the InnovateNoW Fund.

Progress monitoring of the InnovateNoW Awards

The overall progress of the project funded by an award must meet criteria set by NHS North West and InnovateNoW assessment panel. Each successful team awarded InnovateNoW funding must identify and agree key stages in the project with NHS North West or TrusTECH (as appropriate). The key stages must be achieved by the dates defined in the project plan and the progress against pre-agreed deadlines will be monitored.

The main applicant will be responsible for providing comprehensive project reports at least every six months.

It is also the obligation of the main applicant to ensure that the information on the innovation and progress with the project funded by InnovateNoW, is supplied to NHS North West or TrusTECH upon request for inclusion in NHS North West's annual innovation report.

Duration of the InnovateNoW Awards

Projects will be funded for up to 12 months and for round 4, they must begin in January 2011.

Payment terms of the InnovateNoW Awards

Smaller awards up to £5,000 will be paid in one instalment, once the application has been approved. For larger awards, payments may be spread across the year at pre-defined milestones subject to performance.

Audit of the InnovateNoW Awards

NHS North West reserves the right to conduct a full financial audit on any project and this may be especially appropriate to projects for which larger InnovateNoW awards have been granted.

Claw-back provisions

If the award allocated is not spent in accordance with the InnovateNoW application and subsequent financial agreements, and/or the project plans are not met or completed on time, there may be a requirement to repay the full InnovateNoW award amount back to NHS North West.

Innovation showcase

The applicants must be willing to have the project showcased (highlighted as good practice and widely promoted throughout the NHS at a national level) if the application for funding is successful and the project is selected to be showcased once it has proven benefits.