Development of a National Ideas Platform

The NHS Institute for Improvement and Innovation commissioned IES to carry out market research to support the development of a National Ideas Platform. This online platform would allow staff in the NHS (and possibly more widely) to share ideas, have them assessed by users and, where appropriate, considered more formally by NHS agencies, and would also be used by the NHS Institute to issue calls for ideas relating to specific topics, to generate propositions for action and, more generally, to provide an environment in which people can share and discuss innovative ways of working. This work explored potential barriers to use and ways to encourage engagement with the platform. The project consisted of a literature review, stakeholder interviews and focus groups with NHS staff.