News

20 July, 2020

SBRI announce new open call for funding innovation

A syringe appears from the left of the image

The SBRI Centre of Excellence is excited to announce a new open call for funding innovation, in conjunction with Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, NHS Wales and Cardiff Capital Region.

During these unprecedented times, it’s more imperative than ever to ensure that the public within Wales are fully vaccinated. 

NHS Wales each year vaccinate approximately one million adults and children from across Wales, including childhood immunisations and Influenza.

The flu season alone puts increasing pressure on NHS resources and with the potential of a second wave of COVID-19 during the winter months, it’s essential that we ensure the health of the Welsh population is in the best position possible to cope with any further outbreaks.

This year, delivery of these vaccinations will become more of a challenge due to a wider range of more vulnerable groups, new social distancing measures, infection control and the inclusion of the COVID-19 vaccination. In the best case scenario, a COVID-19 vaccine will be delivered rapidly to large numbers of people in alternative venues in the community from this autumn.  

Key areas that this challenge are particularly interested to address are: 

  • Having a flexible range of venues for NHS and social care staff to be vaccinated outside the workplace.
  • Delivering vaccines (COVID-19 and/or flu) safely and effectively especially for care home residents and staff.
  • Improving accessibility for recommended groups unable to access traditional vaccination venues.

A successful outcome for this challenge would meet the current vaccination targets (Influenza) and deliver a COVID-19 vaccination safely and effectively to all eligible groups during these difficult times.

The challenge is looking to identify, develop and demonstrate rapid technologies. At the end of the project, systems will be tested and demonstrated in a live trial with NHS Wales.

Innovations must be suitable for rapid deployment within the NHS and ideally solutions will have wider applicability.  Due to the restricted timescale of this challenge, informatics solutions will not be considered.

The challenge needs ideas that can rapidly be developed and tested with potential to be scaled and used across the UK starting in July and to complete no later than September 2020.

Key Dates:

Challenge Launch: 15 July 2020
Challenge Close: 12:00pm 29 July 2020
Feedback Provided: 5 August 2020
Contracts Issued: 6 August 2020
Demonstration and Testing of Solutions: W/C 17 August 2020
Project Completion including Evaluation: 18 September 2020
Project Closure: 25 September 2020

For further information and to submit an application, please click the following link: www.sdi.click/vaccine