Welcome to Shine

This screening tool is designed to help you decide whether to apply for a programme and to see if your proposal is eligible. Please read all of the Call for Proposals document so that you understand exactly what we are looking for before answering the questions. Upon successful completion, you will be able to move onto the next stage and download an application form and budget template.

This tool will take about five to ten minutes to complete, and can be attempted more than once. Further information is available for each question by clicking on the information icon.

Good luck. We look forward to hearing about your innovation.

All questions are mandatory. Please ensure you answer each one.

  • About your innovation

    1.

    Will the innovative approach lead to a reduction in the need for patients to receive care in a hospital/acute setting, at a lower cost whilst improving, or at least maintaining, other aspects of the quality of care provided?

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    We wish to provide support for organisations that seek to find innovative ways to achieve the savings that the NHS needs to make.

    You will need to be able to clearly explain how the approach will result in a reduction in expenditure as well as the metrics by which you will assess the impact on quality. You will need to back up your figures for financial savings with information demonstrating change and will have to show that costs have not just been transferred from one organisation to another.

  • 2.

    Is the project achievable within the available grant of £75,000?

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    The Health Foundation is seeking proposals which are achievable within the grant of maximum £75,000 available. We will exclude proposals which are only affordable through co-funding. We will expect to see a breakdown of the proposed use of funds in the application.

  • 3.

    With reference to the Institute of Medicine’s 6 domains of quality (Committee on the Quality of Health Care in America 2001), please tick the domain(s) being addressed in addition to efficiency which is 1 of the 6 domains. Please tick all that apply.

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    Delivering efficiency gains should be seen as one aspect of quality; efficiency needs to be improved without sacrificing quality. The challenge for all healthcare systems is achieving a balance between the various aspects of quality and ideally pursuing strategies which maximise quality on different domains simultaneously.

    Please identify the domain/s, in addition to efficiency, that will be used to assess the impact on quality. The domains are defined as:

    (1) Safety: Patients ought to be as safe in healthcare facilities as they are in their own homes.
    (2) Effectiveness: The healthcare system should match care to science, avoiding
    both overuse of ineffective care and underuse of effective care.
    (3) Patient centeredness: Health care should honour the individual patient, respecting the patient’s choices, culture, social context, and specific needs.
    (4) Timeliness: Care should continually reduce waiting times and delays for both patients and those who give care.
    (5) Efficiency: The reduction of waste and, thereby, the reduction of the total cost of care should be never-ending, including, for example, waste of supplies, equipment, space, capital, ideas, and human spirit.
    (6) Equity: The system should seek to close racial and ethnic gaps in health status. Reference: Don M. Berwick, A User’s Manual for the IOM’s ‘Quality Chasm’ Report, Health Affairs, 21:3 pp.80-90, 2002

  • 4.

    Can you demonstrate why you believe this approach is innovative?

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    We want to know that your approach is innovative and the evidence of this.You will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of the field and the relevant literature in relation to the proposal. We are not expecting a full literature review – rather the basis of why you believe this to be innovative and feasible. You will need to explain what evidence you are drawing upon (citing references) and provide sufficient confirmation that this proposal is not replicating previous work or is already being done.

  • 5.

    Can you quantify the impact in terms of number of patients affected and the potential for wider application outside the test area?

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    The applicant will be required to provide an estimate of the impact. This will probably be based on a combination of the savings per patient/activity and the total number of patients/activities this could be applied to. We are looking for informed estimates and not simply guesstimates. You will need to provide evidence of how you reached your figure in your application.

  • 6.

    Has the approach the potential to be applied and replicated on a wider basis?

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    Shine aims to facilitate and support the testing at small scale of promising innovative practices in healthcare in order to assess whether the practice is effective as a mechanism to improve healthcare, and sufficiently designed and specified to be implemented at a larger scale.

    The Health Foundation is looking for innovations which are relevant and applicable to the wider healthcare system that do not depend on particular individuals or circumstances, but could feasibly be scaled up through diffusion, adaptation and local tailoring. A key outcome of the project will be a very clear description of the approach itself, articulated sufficiently clearly so that it could be replicated easily by others.

  • About the delivery

    7.

    Will your methods for testing the idea allow for a clear evaluation of the impact and outcomes?

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    Measurement of impact will be critical to understanding the success of each innovation. Projects will be expected to set measures for each domain of quality that the project is tackling and to collect and analyse data through the project implementation. At the end of the 12-month period, we require robust evidence of improvements in care, savings made and a measure of the reduction of use of secondary care services.

    Shine teams will receive a constructive expert review of the proposed methods from our commissioned Support Provider at the start of the programme.

  • 8.

    Can you demonstrate that your team has the technical skills to measure and evaluate the impact of the approach?

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    You will be asked to demonstrate the knowledge and technical skills of the team in designing methods to measure and evaluate the impact of the approach. The type of skills that are required here are in data collection, research methods, quality improvement and related robust measurement methods.

    We recognise that frontline clinicians may not possess the relevant skills and it may be necessary to draw on the expertise of individuals from within or outside of the organisation for this technical input. In terms of this technical input, applicants will be expected to make arrangements for the additional input required. The cost of this support would need to be met from within the maximum grant of £75,000. The people providing this input will be part of the team.

  • 9.

    Can the project be delivered within a year?

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    The Health Foundation is seeking proposals which are achievable within the given timescale of 12 months. Successful Shine teams will be notified in December 2010.

    We expect all projects to be operational by February 2011 with results ready for sharing at the end of programme conference in March 2012.

    This timescale includes start-up time that may be required for research and development/ethical approval. In the application form you will be asked if research and development/ethical approval is required for any aspect of your work, and if so to state the ethics committee you will be using and expected application/acceptance timelines. We believe that the majority of projects will not require research and development/ethical approval.

  • 10.

    Can the approach be sustained within its location beyond the life of the programme?

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    We are looking for proposals that include a clear commitment for developing and sustaining the approach within its current location beyond the life of the programme.

  • 11.

    Does the project manager have a track record in managing successful quality improvement projects as well as achieving agreed outcomes, on budget and on time?

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    Projects must be led by an individual with a track record in managing successful quality improvement projects (example to be provided) and implemented by a team with sound financial management experience.

  • 12.

    Will you be able to obtain the appropriate support from senior executives within the partner organisations?

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    The project will require organisational backing including clinical support (where appropriate). We are expecting support from senior leadership i.e. board/senior executives. We will also require support and signatures from the relevant finance officer.

  • 13.

    Can you confirm that you and 2 key team members will be willing to attend an induction event in March 2011 (date to be confirmed) and a conference at the end of the programme (March 2012)?

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    Shine teams will be expected to attend two events; the first is an induction event at the start of the programme and the second an end of year conference where Shine teams will be expected to present their projects’ results. Final payment is contingent upon participation in the end of programme conference.

  • 14.

    Can you confirm you and your team are willing to work with the Health Foundation’s commissioned Support Provider?

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    The Shine teams will be expected to report to the commissioned support provider on a quarterly basis. The Shine teams will also receive up to three days consultancy and advice around measurement and evaluation strategies.

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