Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health and Care Innovation in the Moray Region

Project impact

12 simulations and 5 Living Labs

2-4 Significant inward investments and 30-50 high value jobs created

Enhancement of existing local health and care/digital-related certified courses to include digital health and care-related modules

The £5m Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health and Care (RCE), funded by the UK Government and managed and delivered by the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI), aims to advance Scotland's digital health agenda and support economic recovery. It includes a Demonstration & Simulation Environment (DSE) in Elgin and Living Labs for innovation collaboration across Moray.

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RCE live hub

DHI identified 4 key areas of focus to support the remobilisation of health and care services in Moray.

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The Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health and Care Innovation (RCE) is a £5M project funded by the UK Government through the Moray Growth Deal. Delivered by Scotland’s National Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) and focussed on the Moray local authority area, the initiative plans on becoming a key driver of the country-wide digital health & care agenda being promoted in Scotland and as a critical component of the remobilisation and economic recovery strategy.

Summary

The £5m Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health and Care (RCE), funded by the UK Government and managed and delivered by the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI), aims to advance Scotland's digital health agenda and support economic recovery. It includes a Demonstration & Simulation Environment (DSE) in Elgin and Living Labs for innovation collaboration across Moray.

Partners

The primary aim of the RCE is to generate inward investment and high-value jobs in the region under the umbrella of the growth deal, in addition, co-creating digital assets will benefit health and social care services and citizens too.

The RCE consists of an infrastructure and 5 living labs (projects) that will deliver assets capable of standalone adoption. The significant impact, however, on health and social care services and the user experience comes from the sum of these parts across the full health and care journey through a unique and innovative integrated approach.

In addition, we have a skills strand aiming to create additional education opportunities to support the transformation of health and social care. This work looks at various aspects of Skills & The Future Workforce through the development and provision of courses and skills, including supporting Living Lab methodology and technical testing.

Impact & value

Living Lab 1 - Supported Self-Management and Living Lab 2 - Long-Term Conditions Co-Management (NHS) are being developed over three consecutive campaigns in partnership with the NHS diabetic and dietetic services, focusing on those living with type 2 diabetes and high BMI.

The first R&D campaign will allow participants to access recommended diet and lifestyle management via the community connections platform and link them to community services such as Moray Leisure Centre (MLC) for targeted support. Campaigns 2 and 3 will develop digital tools to link those being supported by MLC with the dietetic (LL1) and dietetic (LL2) clinical teams via a PDS as required.

Living Lab 3 - Care in Place aims to support easier access to social care services for both unpaid carers and frail older people being cared for, through access to a directory of local and national services, support and information in one place, which can be linked to a Personal Data Store (PDS): data can be reused to refer to services without the need for patients to retell their story. This workstream has now completed development of the first phase of the Community Connections platform and the PDS and will now move this to real-world testing.

Progress to date

230322 - Introducing the RCE on-demand video

230322 - Introducing the RCE slidedeck

230322 - Introducing the RCE post-event write up

What is the Moray Growth Deal YouTube video

My Moray website - Moray Growth Deal

Full Moray Growth Deal official press release

Moray Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health and Care Innovation Launch press release

Blog from Karim Mahmoud on his thoughts on the Moray RCE launch event

Staff related to the project

Catherine has been a part of the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre as Senior Finance Assistant since June 2022 and has the responsibility of monitoring and reporting MRCE project’s financial performance. She holds a master’s degree in business management fields and is experienced in finance and accounting industry.

Catherine is also a volunteer Treasurer for a local Parents Council Committee, providing finance support to be highly involved within education activity.

Dave is the Project Manager for the Digital Products and Services workstream within the Digital Lifelines Scotland programme and works as consultancy support for DHI. He has extensive experience in Project and Programme Management and previous work for DHI includes; Interim Programme Manager for the Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health & Care Innovation, and DHI Exchange Process Redesign.

Prior to joining DHI Dave worked in Programme and Project Management in the Public and Private Sectors for over 30 years.

Jennifer is responsible for managing a programme of work that produces innovative, additional educational opportunities in Moray for frontline health and care employees, and the specialist and technical staff working in digital health and care.

She is a qualified Product Design Engineer and has worked on a broad range of social and economic development projects throughout her career.

Prior to joining DHI in 2019, she successfully managed and delivered several large-scale health and social care research projects for the Scottish Government, NHE Education Scotland and Skills Development Scotland.

She also brings a well-developed knowledge and understanding of the skills landscape in Scotland. Since 2014, Jennifer has managed a range of industry skills studies and contributed research and analysis work to several skills programmes.

John Murray is a contracted Programme Manager, supporting the work of the Rural Centre of Excellence (RCE) for digital health and care innovation in the Moray region.

He is project managing the RCE LL1 (supported self-management) and RCE LL2 (long-term condition management) R&D demonstration projects and opportunity development flowing from this.
John is an accomplished professional with extensive experience in programme and project management, research, development, and innovation.

He has a diverse work background spanning roles at DHI, National Services Scotland, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery, consultancy, private sector and university R&D, university commercialisation, economic development, and company start-ups. His career goal is to help realise person-centred benefits and new capabilities through R&D change management.

With his strong technical expertise, project leadership skills, and innovation-driven mindset, John is well-positioned to help DHI drive transformative initiatives and deliver impactful results.

Karim joined DHI in 2021 as Commercial Innovation Lead, contributing to the development and implementation of DHI’s commercialisation strategy and leading the economic development aspects of the Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health & Care Innovation.

Karim has a comprehensive career in research and innovation management. In his roles, he was responsible for the management of complex R&I projects including European-funded grants and Innovate UK investments. His expertise lies in maximising the impact of projects and in developing appropriate exploitation strategies.

He has worked at three of Scotland’s universities, an award-winning spinout company and has served on the evaluation panel for the UK’s Knowledge Exchange Concordat. He was also an assessor for EARMA’s Certificate in Research Management and previously served on the board of trustees of two charities.

Among Karim’s credentials are two postgraduate degrees in life sciences and health innovation, and professional qualifications in management and leadership from the ILM and PMI.

Marie joined DHI in May 2022 as Programme Manager for the Rural Centre of Excellence, one of eight projects within the Moray Growth Deal.

Based in Moray, she has worked for the last 32 years as an Occupational Therapist across Social Care and mental health, with service development responsibility for an Independent Living Centre, and a Technology Enabled Care Programme. She brings a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the challenges facing clinicians and citizens within health and care services in a rural community.

She is passionate about the difference digital technology can make to both the sustainability of services and health and wellbeing outcomes for citizens and the importance of getting those right through engaging with the community to identify problems and opportunities and working together to co-design person-centred solutions.

Marie is excited at the innovative and transformational opportunities the Moray Growth Deal brings to her own community, and the chance to put Moray on the map as an internationally recognised centre for digital health and care innovation which contributes to the region’s economic sustainability and growth.

Mateus is a Digital Designer with a passion for communication and education. His main area of expertise is motion design, branding, and videography.

Before obtaining his degree in Digital Design, he has gone through various creative fields such as audiovisual arts, 3D Design, UX/UI, and Graphic Design.

Originally from Brazil, he has worked to provide a voice to indigenous minorities in the Amazon jungle. Mateus strongly believes that great design can change human behaviour and leave a lasting positive impact on the world.

Olivia is our Marketing, PR, and Events Assistant at DHI, where she plays a pivotal role in delivering key events and marketing initiatives. With a focus on the #DigiInventors Challenge, Olivia leads the day-to-day development and execution of this flagship programme, ensuring its success across Scotland and internationally.

Olivia's responsibilities extend to overseeing the logistics and promotion of various DHI events, both in-person and online. She provides essential support in public relations, social media management, and marketing communications, working closely with the Head of Communications and Marketing to maintain DHI's public-facing activities.

Her background includes a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Advertising and Public Relations from the City of Glasgow College, equipping her with a robust foundation in marketing and communication.

Sonya is the Research Associate ( R&D Service Innovator) at the GSA and DHI design team. She is a seasoned design researcher with a diverse design education and a strong motivation to bring about change.

She holds an MRes in Healthcare and Design from the Royal College of Art and an MDes in Innovation and Environmental Design from the Glasgow School of Art. Her undergraduate studies were completed in France at the École Supérieure De Design, Troyes, where she earned a BDes in Interior Architecture and Design.

Sonya's design approach focuses on developing solutions and systems that are transition-oriented and mission-driven, integrating design practice, design thinking, and strategic vision. She believes that innovation is inherently uncertain and involves doing things differently in unprecedented ways.

Sonya has experience working on a variety of projects, encompassing hospital design and enhancing carer support. Her expertise also extends to addressing prenatal and perinatal mental health issues, particularly surrounding miscarriages and pregnancies.

Living Lab 4 - Smart Housing/Communities and Living Lab 5 - Mental Well-being are currently in the early stages of development. These initiatives are set to advance significantly over the next 12 months, with focused efforts on defining project objectives, engaging key stakeholders, and securing the necessary resources.

The goal is to rapidly accelerate their progress, ensuring that both Living Labs deliver impactful innovations in their respective areas, contributing to the broader goals of enhancing smart housing solutions and improving mental well-being within communities. As these projects evolve, they will involve extensive collaboration with industry partners, researchers, and community representatives to ensure that the solutions developed are practical, scalable, and address real-world needs.

Next steps

Projects index page

Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health and Care Innovation in the Moray Region

Project impact

12 simulations and 5 Living Labs

2-4 Significant inward investments and 30-50 high value jobs created

Enhancement of existing local health and care/digital-related certified courses to include digital health and care-related modules

RCE live hub

Summary

Partners

Impact & value

Progress to date

Staff related to the project

Next steps

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