Health Foundation funding and opportunities in 2025

1. Opportunities to tender for work

We will be commissioning a range of work over the year. Watch out for updates in our newsletter and on our current opportunities page as formal invitations to tender are published:

Now open or coming soon:

• Exploring accountability mechanisms for environmentally sustainable health care delivery in integrated care systems (ICSs) – we are seeking a supplier to work with us to research accountability mechanisms in ICSs in the NHS in England, for progress on the transition to sustainable health care delivery. The budget for the project is a maximum of £90,000 (inclusive of VAT and expenses). Apply by 11 February 2025
   
• Evidence review service – we are seeking providers to express an interest in becoming a supplier for a new evidence review service to undertake high-quality scoping and evidence reviews across a range of topics in a timely and efficient manner. Successful applicants will then be added to a list of preferred suppliers. This opportunity will open for applications in February 2025. 
   

2. Funding and research opportunities  

Florence Nightingale Award for Excellence in Healthcare Data Analytics  

This award from the Royal Statistical Society and the Health Foundation was launched in 2020 to mark the bicentenary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. The award recognises practitioners in applied health care data analytics who have gone the extra mile in delivering innovative improvements in the health care system. The sixth round of the award will open for applications in March 2025. Find out more  

Supporting Q Connections (open to members of the Q community)

Supporting Q Connections is the funding programme for Q members to build and strengthen networks across the improvement landscape, specifically developing system-level networks. Members can apply for up to £20,000 for activities focused on supporting continued collaborative working and collective learning that strengthens improvement work. Deadline for applications is 31 March 2025. Find out more

Exploring the potential of technology and AI

We are currently developing several programmes around the use of technology and AI in health and care. In 2025 we will be launching a programme to support the spread of technology empowered service change, as well as expanding our support for AI in non-clinical settings. Watch this space for more information as our plans develop.

3. Fellowships and networks

Sciana: The Health Leaders Network  

The Sciana Network brings together senior health and wellbeing leaders for a 2-year systems leadership programme and supports cross-country and interdisciplinary connections, innovation and collaboration. Each cohort comprises up to 18 outstanding leaders, at least six each from Germany, Switzerland and the UK. Applications for the eighth Sciana cohort will be opening in spring 2025. More about the Sciana Network

Harkness Fellowships in Health Care Policy and Practice  

This is a unique opportunity to spend 12 months in the United States as a Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice. The Harkness Fellowships aim to produce the next generation of health policy leaders in participating countries. Run by the Commonwealth Fund, in collaboration with the Health Foundation and the National Institute for Health Research, fellowships are suitable for mid-career professionals, including policymakers, researchers, clinical leaders, hospital and insurance managers, and journalists. The next call for applications for the 2026–27 fellowships will be announced in summer 2025. Find out more  

Join Q 

The Q community is a large and vibrant membership community for people working to improve health and care across the UK and Ireland. Q thrives on members’ diverse range of skills, knowledge and perspectives that span health, care and lived experience. With these cross-sector connections, we learn from what works, find support and ideas, and collaborate to address pressing health system challenges. By sharing insight, skills and ideas widely, we bring about individual and collective change that extends far beyond our community. Membership of Q is free. Find out more about joining Q  

Health Anchors Learning Network

The Health Anchors Learning Network (HALN) is a UK-wide network for people responsible for, or interested in, anchor approaches in health (where organisations consciously use their resources to improve health and make a wider contribution to their local communities). The network is free and open to join for colleagues from health organisations and partners including local authorities or other public agencies, voluntary and community and social enterprise sector or educational or housing organisations. Sign up on the HALN website

4. Events

As always, our annual programme of events and webinars will provide plenty of opportunities for learning and reflection.  

Watch out for:

• Hype, hallucination, hope – what might AI mean for our health? Our fifth REAL Challenge annual lecture takes place on 13 February 2025. Our keynote speaker, Chief Executive of the British Academy, Hetan Shah, will warn of the risk of rushing breathlessly to unleash technology. He will explore how policymakers can navigate the hype and critically assess what’s needed to ensure AI gives people what they want and need to improve their health. This is a hybrid event, you can register to attend in person at the Royal College of Physicians, or watch the live stream remotely. Register to attend
   
• Rapid evaluation in health care 2025: The Rapid evaluation conference, organised by the Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation's Improvement Analytics Unit, will take place on 14 May 2025 at the British Medical Association. Now in its seventh year, the conference will provide a platform for representatives from the rapid evaluation community, including analysts, service users and commissioners to discuss current and future challenges, engage in new thinking and develop ideas that can help improve systems and processes. Find out more  

Explore all upcoming webinars and events, or sign up for event updates. 

5. Other ways to get involved  

Health Equals

Health Equals is a coalition of 27 member organisations across different sectors including employment, housing, education and the environment. Together, they are campaigning to increase public understanding of how the world around us shapes our health, and push for government action to put these building blocks of health at the heart of its policymaking.  

In 2025, Health Equals will continue its campaign to ‘Make Health Equal’, which highlights how because of things like income, housing and air quality, where you’re born can cut your life short by up to 16 years. Find out more

THIS Institute research

Our partners at the Health Foundation-funded THIS Institute run large-scale research projects studying interventions aimed at improving quality and safety in health care and driving innovation. Projects are run in collaboration with healthcare staff, patients, policymakers and the public. Explore studies actively recruiting for participants or subscribe to hear about new opportunities.

Thiscovery

Thiscovery are online health and care engagement specialists. Their work gathers knowledge and experience from people who use, deliver and influence health and care services, helping to shape evidence-based solutions to problems. Their unique approach draws on the expertise of an interdisciplinary team of academics, former clinicians and technical innovators, as well as their accessible online platform which leverages sophisticated research methods to engage a growing, diverse crowd of participants. Find out more about Thiscovery, explore opportunities to take part in live projects, or get in touch to discuss a project idea of your own.  

6. Use our resources and stay up to date  

• Ensure you subscribe to our newsletter if you don’t already. We will be moving to a more frequent weekly update in the spring.    
• Subscribe to our monthly podcast featuring high-profile guests each month discussing the big issues affecting health and care.  
• Visit the website at any time to see all opportunities for funding, partnerships and fellowships currently open for application.  
• Join the conversation about current health and care issues by following us on LinkedIn, Bluesky or Facebook.
• Watch out for our running programme of events and webinars, bringing practitioners and policymakers together to discuss issues impacting on health and care.
• We regularly publish new blogs, publications and long reads, presenting the knowledge and ideas gained from our research, improvement programmes and other areas of work.
• We’re constantly adding new content to our Evidence hub – What drives inequalities?, which explores how the circumstances in which we live shape our health. 

This content originally featured in our email newsletter, which explores perspectives and expert opinion on a different health or health care topic each month.