Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Award

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health and Care Award is an NHS AI Lab programme run by the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) in partnership with the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). It will make funding available to accelerate the testing and evaluation of the most promising AI technologies which meet the strategic aims set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.

The Award will support technologies across the spectrum of development: from initial feasibility to evaluation within the NHS. As part of the award, independent evaluations are being commissioned for the most mature technologies in the award programme (Phase 4 technologies) by our Evaluation Partner Group to build evidence to inform recommendations for national roll-out. Find out more about AI Award Evaluation.

The Award forms a key part of the AAC’s ambition to establish a globally leading testing infrastructure for innovation in the UK.

AI Award competition update

Round 3 winners

The winners of the third competition were on 3 March 2023. A total of 9 awards were made across phases 2,3 and 4. Find out more about the winners.

Round 2 winners

The winners of the second competition were announced on 16 June 2021. A total of 38 awards were made across the four Phases. Find out more about the winners.

Round 1 winners

The winners of the first award were announced on 8 September 2020. A total of 42 awards were made across the four Phases. Find out more about the 10 Phase 4 winners.

The winners for Phases 1 to 3 are available on the National Institute for Health Research website.

Following these announcements, we have been working with the winners on:

  • site selection: matching appropriate NHS healthcare services to support the testing for each product.
  • evaluation: ensuring appropriate evidence is collected to enable faster rollout of the AI innovations into the NHS.

This map shows the NHS sites where the Phase 4 winners in Round 1 of the AI Award will be implementing their AI technologies through the award:

NHS AI Virtual Hub

This community of practice is the central place to find information and connect with others about the award. The hub is hosted on the FutureNHS platform.

We encourage anyone considering applying to the award to join the AI Virtual Hub for details about who it is aimed at and why you should apply, an outline of the application and assessment process, and resources available to help.

AI Award innovations

AI technologies may have a variety of applications in health and social care. Below are some examples:

Health Promotion and Prevention:

  • Digital epidemiology and disease surveillance
  • National screening programs
  • Preventative advice
  • Self-management

Diagnosis and Treatment:

  • Symptoms checkers and decision support for differential diagnosis
  • Risk stratification
  • Prediction of deterioration
  • Personalised treatments

System Efficiency:

  • Optimisation of care pathways
  • Identification of resource requirements
  • Electronic roster system
  • Natural Language Processing for administrative tasks

The Award supports AI innovators and technologies across the spectrum of development: from concept through to initial NHS adoption and testing of the AI technology within clinical pathways. Below is an explanation of the four support phases available:

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4
Development stage

Feasibility

Development and clinical evaluation

Real-world testing

Initial health system adoption
Location of lead organisation Within the UK Worldwide (provided you have a UK-registered office or a UK health or social care organisation as a co-lead)
Location of partners Can be outside the UK, provided there is reasonable justification and a clear trajectory to NHS benefit
Eligible organisation types Higher education institutions (HEIs)

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

NHS and social care organisations

Charities

Local authorities

 Higher education institutions (HEIs)

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

NHS and social care organisations

Charities

Local authorities

Large enterprises
Collaborators Not required but encouraged Minimum of two different organisations types Minimum of two different organisation types, one must be NHS or social care Three or more NHS or social care adoption sites
Funding limit Up to £150,000 Uncapped, but typically range £500k-£1.5m Uncapped, but typically range £500k-1.5m Uncapped, but typically range £1-7m
Project duration 6-12 months 12-36 months 12-36 months 12-36 months

Full details of the phases, requirements and how to apply are available on the NIHR website.

For further information and enquiries please contact enquiries@ai-award.info or take a look at our frequently asked questions.