ARU secures national contract to deliver NHS Clinical and Patient Entrepreneur Programme for further five years
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) has been awarded a new five-year contract to continue delivering the nationally recognised NHS Clinical and Patient Entrepreneur Programme, reinforcing its position at the forefront of healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship in the UK.
The programme, which supports NHS staff and patients to develop and scale innovative ideas that address real-world healthcare challenges, will continue to be hosted and delivered by ARU following a successful competitive procurement process.
The £4.8 million award comes as the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme (CEP) celebrates its 10th anniversary, a milestone that highlights both the strength of the programme to date and its potential for future growth under ARU’s continued leadership.
This renewed investment comes at a pivotal moment for the NHS, following the publication of the government’s Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, which sets out a clear ambition to transform the health service through innovation, workforce development and new partnerships. Within this context, programmes such as the NHS Clinical and Patient Entrepreneur Programmes play an important role in empowering frontline staff and patients to drive the innovation needed to deliver these system-wide changes.
This momentum was on display at the flagship Big Pitch event on 8th June, which brought together more than 150 exhibitors, 1000 attendees including investors, partners and senior leaders from across health and government. The event showcased the breadth and quality of innovation within the network, with entrepreneurs pitching solutions to some of the NHS’s most pressing challenges.
The Big Pitch also demonstrated the strength of the ecosystem ARU has built around the programme, welcoming influential voices including Preet Kaur Gill MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Samantha Jones, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Care, and Professor Frankie Swords, National Medical Director for the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England. Their participation reflected the growing national importance of the programme and its role in shaping the future of healthcare.
Across its first 10 years, the programme has delivered significant impact, including:
• Over 40,000 hours of mentoring
• 10,693 instances of organisations adopting CEP innovations
• 695 innovations currently in development
• 691 start-ups created
• More than £1.27 billion in funding raised
• 5,184 jobs created
• Over 278 million users benefiting from products, processes and services developed through the programme
(stats for the first 9 years based on response rate of 516)
While tens of thousands of CPD points have been awarded, the programme has also demonstrated impact on workforce retention, with hundreds of clinicians supported to remain in or return to the NHS.
This impact is further explored in new research published in a BMJ preprint marking the programme’s 10-year anniversary, which highlights its role in driving innovation, economic growth and improved patient outcomes across the NHS.
Over the past five years, ARU has worked in partnership with NHS England to expand the programme’s reach, ambition and inclusivity. Applications have increased year-on-year, reflecting rising demand from NHS staff and patients seeking to drive innovation and improve outcomes across the health service.
During this period, ARU introduced the Patient Entrepreneur Programme, ensuring people with lived experience play a central role in shaping healthcare innovation. It has also supported the development of the Dementia Innovators Programme, delivered in partnership with Alzheimer’s Society, and extended the programme’s reach across England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
As delivery partner, ARU has built a strong innovation ecosystem, combining academic expertise, industry partnerships and access to innovation networks to develop an entrepreneurial mindset and accelerate ideas from concept to adoption at scale.
Polly Sullivan, Programme Lead, NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, Anglia Ruskin University, said:
“This award reflects ARU’s deep commitment to innovation and our belief in the power of clinicians and patients to shape the future of healthcare.
The Big Pitch event was a powerful demonstration of what this community has achieved over the past decade; and, more importantly, what it is capable of achieving next. We are incredibly proud of the network that has been built and excited to continue supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs over the next five years.”
Professor Tony Young OBE, National Clinical Lead for Innovation, NHS England, and Director and Clinical Lead of the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, said:
“The NHS Clinical and Patient Entrepreneur Programmes are central to how we identify, support and scale innovation from within the NHS and from our patient communities.
As we celebrate 10 years of the programme, it is clear just how impactful this model has become. Anglia Ruskin University has been instrumental in building a thriving, national innovation community, and their continued leadership will ensure we maintain this momentum and deliver even greater impact in the years ahead.”
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