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DHI is delighted to contribute to this new special report examining the digital healthcare landscape in Scotland. In this special report HTN examines the landscape of digital healthcare in Scotland now at present and for the future, as well as speaking to representatives from the Scottish Government, NHS National Services Scotland and Scotland’s Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, to hear their views on projects and priorities. The report covers: Key focuses for Scotland: Jonathan Cameron, deputy director for digital health and care at The Scottish Government Insight from InterSystems:  Colin Henderson , country manager for UK and Ireland at InterSystems UKI How Scotland is using data for healthcare:   Albert King , chief data officer at NHS National Services Scotland NHS Scotland digital transformation  – right data, right people, right place: Identity and access management Imprivata The innovation landscape in Scotland:   Grant Reilly FCIM , Head of Communications & Marketing at Scotland’s Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre Digital Healthcare Innovation in Scotland: To find out more about digital healthcare in Scotland from an innovation perspective, we spoke with Grant Reilly, Head of Communications & Marketing at Scotland’s Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI). The centre is a world-leading collaboration between the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Strathclyde, funded by the Scottish Funding Council and the Scottish Government. With a vision of using research and innovation in digital health and social care to create sustainable services, develop future skills and positively impact people’s lives and health outcomes, DHI works with industry, health and social care providers, academia, the public sector and citizens to create collaborations and co-design person-centred solutions. Additionally, the centre undertakes its own research, facilitates international knowledge exchange and publishes academic outputs to support healthcare wherever it can. Grant shared some of the main programmes DHI has been involved with, including SCOTCAP – the use of video capsule technology, which patients can swallow to reduce the need for invasive colonoscopy procedures: “This particularly helps people in rural communities as they travel long distances to undergo an uncomfortable and stressful procedure. By identifying people who could benefit most from this non-invasive approach, delivered in the local community, we wanted to explore whether we could speed up diagnosis, reduce the need for further invasive investigations and of course remove the need for that travel “In this case, the camera pill technology was already there; working with a German company trialling this technology for the investigation of large bowel disease in Denmark, we identified a research team based in Inverness that was keen to transform how patients could benefit from this innovative approach. This involved the need for careful research into clinical safety and effectiveness of the investigation, but equally importantly developing an efficient service delivery model for the delivery of a community-based service that was acceptable to patients and clinicians alike. There was also a need to develop a business model that demonstrated that this approach was affordable, but that it could actually reduce the cost of the investigation and reduce the negative impact on the environment from less use of chemicals, plastics and other items needed to deliver the more invasive hospital service. We did lots of trial work up in the Highlands with remote communities to prove that it worked, and it has now been adopted and scaled across Scotland. "Other reported benefits include enabling early and effective screening in the community; reducing the total cost of gastrointestinal diagnostics; and avoiding unnecessary referrals for outpatient appointments. We’re now looking at how we can use AI to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and speed up the delivery of results for the patients,” Grant shared. DHI has a research team in place, carrying out international research on behalf of project partners; and facilitates Scotland’s innovation clusters, with a focus at present on healthy ageing and digital mental health. New clusters planned for the future include diabetes and women’s health. When it comes to the impact of DHI’s work on staff, Grant said: “We’ve developed digital tools that have supported health and social care staff at all levels in decision-making by providing decision support services – for example, dose calculators for specialist medicines, as well as instant access to national clinical guidelines and triage and assessment tools.” For patients, he reflected that the benefits are widespread; SCOTCAP, as an example, brings many direct benefits to patients from reduced travel to reduced stress and discomfort . “We’ve also provided products for the general public to support them in making better-informed choices with regards to their own health,” he added. “We’re very citizen-focused at DHI; everything comes back to the question of how we can support patient outcomes or experience.” On data, Grant shared that DHI is currently working on a new approach that will aim to ensure people have access to their data and information, including “grey area data” such as insights from fitness, sleep or nutrition tracking apps that the citizen may be using themselves; but may not see themselves as in control of their data. “By blending health and care data with personal data provided by the person and their families, we can better personalise services to meet their individual needs,” . Grant said. “There’s a lot of value in that data, and we want to empower patients by better utilising it. So that’s a focus for us going forward.” On the topic of the future, Grant shared that DHI has recently been funded for a further 10 years and has developed a strategy with seven key strategic priority areas. These include supporting the transformation of health and social care; developing a digital infrastructure as national assets to de-risk innovation; enhancing Scotland’s connected ecosystem through cross-sectoral innovation clusters; developing a future skills pipeline to deliver workforce capabilities for Scotland’s future; extending commercial engagement to support economic growth; supporting health and care contribution towards net zero; and enhancing Scotland’s international reputation when it comes to research and innovation. “Ultimately, we are bringing together the capabilities that new digital technologies can bring, with the real everyday challenges being experienced by the people of Scotland,” Grant concluded, “along with those tasked with managing and delivering services. We’re focused on designing, developing and deploying new products and services that can empower and activate people to make better-informed health and wellbeing choices, and we are focusing on prevention and keeping people healthy and happy at home and in their communities.” Further reading The full article can be found here: https://htn.co.uk/2024/10/14/digital-healthcare-in-scotland-news-strategies-insights-and-more/

Interface Press Release - 10th October, 2024  Scotland’s premier knowledge exchange awards launch today, celebrating 10 years of exceptional, inspiring and ground-breaking business-academic people and partnerships. The awards will be the biggest yet with two new categories, bringing the total number of categories to 10. We’re excited to reconnect with past winners in the lead-up to the awards, sharing spotlights on their journeys and celebrating how they continue to drive innovation forward. Business Minister, Richard Lochhead, said: “Supported by the Scottish Government, Interface plays an important role connecting businesses to the expertise of our world leading academic institutions, helping drive economic growth. These annual awards, commendably in their 10th year, are an opportunity to highlight important success stories and put the spotlight on Scotland’s entrepreneurial and research excellence.” Amelia Whitelaw, Director of Interface, which organises the annual awards, said: “This is a significant year for the awards, and we are planning a special celebration in March. The introduction of two new categories, Place-based Impact and Inward Investment Impact, reflects the growing range of collaborations between businesses and academia. We are pleased with how the awards are evolving, firmly establishing themselves as a valued platform for celebrating knowledge exchange. I encourage everyone from both business and academia to enter." The 10 awards categories are: ·       Innovation of the Year – sponsored by HGF Limited ·       Innovator of the Future ·       Inward Investment Impact – sponsored by International Social Enterprise Observatory ·       Knowledge Exchange Champion – sponsored by PraxisAuril ·       Knowledge Exchange Heroes – one for team, one for individual ·       Making a Social Difference ·       Making an Environmental Difference  ·       Multiparty Collaboration ·       Place-based Impact ·       Powerful Partnership - Skillfluence The deadline for applications is 5pm, Thursday 12th December, 2024. The Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards will take place in March 2025. Click here for our helpful entry toolkit  and application forms .   Ends

NextGen Technology Enabled Care Sensor Solutions for Assisted Living Overview As our population ages and the demand for high-quality care grows, there is a need to explore how services can be delivered differently. With the Openreach announcement that all analogue phone lines will be replaced with digital by January 2027, there is a significant opportunity to transform how telecare services are delivered and to move to a broader Technology Enabled Care (TEC) service. Traditional telecare solutions often focus on reactive measures - responding to emergencies or health crises after they occur. However, with advancements in IoT and sensor technologies, there is now the potential to create more proactive, person-centred solutions that enhance the quality of life for individuals living independently and support the services providing health and care. This challenge seeks to harness innovative technologies that empower individuals to manage their health more effectively, maintain independence, and live safely in their own homes. We are calling on innovators to reimagine telecare—making it more proactive, predictive, personalised, and integrated into the daily lives of those who rely on these services. One aspect of our work is to develop a specification of devices across all TEC domains for integration into a procured digital platform.  Following development and testing, these solutions will be tested in a real work environment and evaluated to demonstrate the benefits to users and services of adopting a highly personalised TEC pathway. Why This Challenge Matters TEC is at the heart of independent assisted living, offering a safety net for individuals who wish to maintain autonomy while receiving the care and support they need. However, the current landscape presents several challenges: Proactivity:  Most existing systems are reactive, only intervening when a crisis occurs. There is a critical need for solutions that can anticipate issues before they arise, offering timely interventions that prevent emergencies and enhance well-being. Personalisation:  Every individual has unique needs. Solutions must move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches, delivering insights, support and care that is tailored to the specific circumstances, preferences, and health conditions of each person. Integration:  For TEC to be truly effective, it needs to be seamlessly integrated into the fabric of daily life, utilising interoperable smart home technologies, AI, and sensors/IoT devices that work together to provide comprehensive insights and support. By addressing these areas, this challenge aims to push the boundaries of what TEC can achieve, ultimately contributing to better health outcomes, improved quality of life, and greater independence for those who need it most, while supporting statutory services to direct their finite resources where and when they are needed most. What We Are Looking For We are interested in groundbreaking ideas, technologies, solutions or approaches that address one or more of the challenges described above. If your organisation has a solution to some or all of the challenge areas please submit a RapidPitch. If you think your solution addresses another aspect of telecare/telehealth/ambient assisted living/smart housing but has not been listed above, then this may also be of interest. We are particularly interested in device solutions that are standalone or generate data that can be integrated into our partner’s digital platform and  address the following areas: Remote Health Monitoring:  Technologies that allow for continuous monitoring of health parameters (e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels) Fall Detection and Prevention:  Advanced sensor systems capable of detecting falls, and predicting potential falls (e.g. through gait analysis) Emergency Response Systems:  Solutions that provide immediate assistance in emergencies, such as wearable devices with panic buttons, and voice-activated alarms. Ambient Activity Monitoring:  Devices that can gather ongoing personalised data related to functional activity and or environment monitoring (e.g. kitchen device activity, movement patterns/routines, toilet flushing, property humidity or temperature etc) Activity Prompting:   Devices which can prompt or remind users to carry out a task (e.g. medication, appointments, routines etc) Smart Home Automation for Assisted Living:  IoT devices that adapt home environments to individual needs, such as automated lighting, temperature control, and door locking systems that ensure safety and ease of use for elderly or disabled residents. Ambient Psychological Monitoring:  Facial recognition technologies which monitor mood, anxiety, pain etc In all cases, please describe what standards your solution meets and whether your solution integrates with existing platforms or has the capability to do so. Why Participate? Showcase Your Solution:  Selected innovators will be invited to demo their technologies to a smart housing working group which includes health and care professionals and citizens for considered inclusion in a TEC specification being developed. Collaborate with Experts:  Gain feedback and insights from leading professionals in the field, and explore opportunities for partnerships or pilot projects within our Living Labs. Shape the Future of Independent Living:  Be a part of the movement that is redefining how technology can empower individuals to live independently, safely, and with dignity. Please note that this competition is strictly for market review and assessment purposes. Participation does not include any monetary compensation, and there is no commitment to make any purchases based on the pitches presented. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to gain valuable feedback, increase visibility, and explore potential collaborations within the market. How to Respond Submit your challenge response through this form . We will accept submissions on a rolling basis until we have selected potential solutions for inclusion in our living lab activities. Demo Days Selected participants will be invited to present their solutions to partners either in person in Moray or online.   FAQs Can I submit supporting documents (for example a video) as part of my application? You will have the opportunity to submit supporting materials such as non-confidential slide decks, research papers, and videos as part of your application. You may submit a video along with your typed responses. Please be mindful of duration, suggested no more than 5 minutes. Please make sure that you do not submit any information that is non-proprietary or owned by a third party. Can I submit confidential information? Only non-confidential information should be submitted and anything you submit will be treated as non-confidential. What happens with IP (Intellectual Property)? As this is a no strings attached arrangement, DHI does not acquire any IP. We are interested in identifying solutions and understanding the current art of the possible. What are the specific criteria? Your solution should be in existence, i.e. on the market, or in testing, and manifestable as a minimum viable product (MVP). What types of ideas are you interested in? Submissions should have a path to commercialisation. While ideas can be early stage, we are not looking for research projects that are not pursuing a viable potential solution.

Emerging technologies - how do we take advantage? Join us on Friday 20 September 2024 to listen to a panel of experts presenting VR and how it is being used and tested in practice. The webinar is organised as a collaboration between the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, the Scottish Government, and the University of Agder in Norway. The webinar occurs at 12-2 pm CET time (11 am-1 pm UK time) . During this event, our panel of experts will present key findings and recommendations for discussion. About: New technologies are reshaping health and care, offering new opportunities for transformation. Virtual reality (VR), in particular, is gaining traction for its practical applications in healthcare, from enhancing patient treatment and rehabilitation to advancing medical training and research. Agenda: Time Duration Item Who 1200 5 min Welcome and introduction Chair - Santiago Gil Martinez, Ass. professor, Centre for e-health, UiA 1205 25 min Virtual Reality Training in Social Care Sofie Wass, Associate professor, Dep. of information systems, UiA 1230 25 min VR-simulation for training of health care personnel at Southern hospital trust Steinar Omnes, Innovation manager, Southern Hospital Trust, Norway 1255 20 min Care Reality - A new reality for learning Stephen Honnan, Unity Developer and Cloud Engineer at Care Reality, UK 1315 20 min Young People Save Lives - Virtual Reality Project Angela Harkness , Scottish Ambulance Service 1335 15 min Q&A and panel discussion All 1350 10min Final comments from the chair Santiago Gil Martinez Webinar Joining Details: Zoom meeting with registration Meeting ID: 699 8511 3235 Join on your computer, mobile app or room device Register below:

Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London has opened applications for the second cohort of the Accelerating FemTech programme! Funded by Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council, this national programme helps early-stage companies, university spinouts and entrepreneurial-minded academics focused on women’s health to gain commercial and funding momentum they need for long-term success. Accelerating FemTech offers bespoke support, targeted workshops, and mentoring to enhance product development, entrepreneurship skills and stakeholder engagement across the NHS and academia. The programme will also support participants in preparing for a special closed-call feasibility funding opportunity through the Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst, delivered alongside a collaborative learning programme and facilitated networking with key NHS and health sector stakeholders. Abigail Lyons , Senior Business Innovation Manager at Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, said: “Scotland’s Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) is delighted to partner with the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London in the delivery of this exciting Innovate UK-funded FemTech Accelerator, helping companies to develop customer-focused solutions that address unmet needs in women’s healthcare.” Katherine Church, Women's Health Practice Director at SmartCo Consulting (Accelerating FemTech Advisory Panel Member) said: “Accelerating FemTech brings together industry, clinicians, patients and the NHS and will wrap your fantastic innovation in commercial, strategic and technical expertise, taking it to the next level. You'll also be one of a very small number of companies eligible to apply for a special closed-call feasibility funding opportunity through the Biomedical Catalyst." Applications open on Monday 9 September 2024 and close at midnight on Sunday 13 October 2024. Don’t miss this opportunity to shape the future of women's health. Apply now: https://healthinnovationnetwork.com/projects/accelerating-femtech/ Join the 101 Webinar to engage with members of the programme delivery team directly: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/949640770107?aff=oddtdtcreator Frequently asked questions can be found at: https://healthinnovationnetwork.com/accelerating-femtech-faqs/ The application form can be found at: https://healthinnovationhub.smapply.io/prog/2024_accelerating_femtech_programme/

Introduction The mental health landscape in Scotland is changing, with new resources and service providers seeking to bring a range of interventions into the space that seek to provide more creative options for individuals to support their own mental health and wellbeing that harness the power of new and emerging digital technologies. In addition, there are currently a number of funding routes (e.g. Community Mental Health Supports and Services grant to all 32 local authorities) available to support local authorities to think differently about how they can meet the mental health needs of their populations.   Local authorities are bureaucratic organisations however, and there are a number of issues that new providers need to be aware of when seeking to work within this space.   Context is everything – although Scotland is a small nation, each local authority area has it’s own particular profile in terms of demographics, urban/rural geography etc which impact on the types of services that are required to meet the needs of their own populations. In addition, each local authority will have different approaches to contracts, finances etc which require navigating – e.g. in some local authorities, procurement is handled by a specialist team, in others it is devolved to services. There are pros and cons to each, but identifying which system is operating in a local authority you are approaching helps you understand who you need to speak to for different elements of the on-boarding process. Due diligence – part of the bureaucratic nature of local authorities is the amount of regulation that must be adhered to in relation to procurement law, GDPR compliance etc. These processes are often lengthy, requiring the co-ordination of a number of local authority officers across a number of teams (see point 1 above) and can significantly impact on the amount of time it takes to get a product to launch. Failure to adhere to these processes can however have significant consequences, so it’s important to make sure that time and effort is built in to navigate them effectively. Communications & marketing – Dr Chris Wright, Scottish Government’s Advisor in Digital Mental Health, has stated that ‘you spend 25% of your time getting a product operational, and 75% of your time telling people about it.’ This may seem like an exaggeration, but services (particularly those that are universally accessible) are only as good as eligible users awareness of them, so finding ways to support local authorities with an effective communication and marketing plan is key to driving uptake and engagement. Most local authorities have, at best, a limited amount of support from a PR/Comms team, whose responsibilities generally cover the whole range of local authority functions, so ‘in house’ support is limited. Providing a range of ‘off the shelf’ assets and materials that can be easily shared is key, alongside, if possible, face to face engagement sessions with key members of the target population to increase awareness and boost usage figures. Partnership working – spend time getting to know who your key contacts are within a Local Authority and developing your relationship with them to understand what their particular needs and requirements are. Where possible, personalise your approach/offer to meet these specific needs, including in relation to data, recording and reporting.     Conclusion Scottish Local Authorities offer diverse and unique opportunities to develop new and innovative approaches to supporting mental health and wellbeing across the population. Understanding this diversity, both within the population and within the organisational landscape of each Local Authority, is key to building new, effective and sustainable partnerships for the benefit of Scotland’s population.   Lesley Taylor Principal Educational Psychologist, Clackmannanshire Council

NHS Education for Scotland is delivering a series of learning events building on the success of the previous Remote & Rural Series of Learning Events. These events will now run as the  National Centre for Remote & Rural Health & Care Series of Learning Events and will continue to support remote, rural & island communities throughout Scotland. Below you will find a list of sessions available from September 2024 .  Further sessions will be added in due course.  Sessions will run online via MS Teams and will focus on primary and community care and will be relevant to a wide range of audiences including NES staff to support hybrid/remote working and continuous professional development.  Some sessions will also be relevant to community members. If you are interested in attending, please click on the ‘ click here to register ’ link in the table below which will take you to a registration form where you will require to complete your details.  You can find more information on the National Centre for Remote & Rural Health & Care Series of Learning events by visiting the Turas page National Centre for Remote & Rural Health & Care Series of Learning Events | Turas | Learn ( nhs.scot ) .  More sessions are being arranged so please revisit this page regularly for updates. Session Title Date Time Registration Link Supervision for Advanced Practice Tuesday 3 September 2024 1.00pm – 2.00pm Click here to Register   Escape from Information Overload Wednesday 18 September 2024 2.00pm – 4.00pm Click here to Register   When Why and How to use Near Me in Primary Care Wednesday 2 October 2024 2.00pm – 3.00pm Click here to Register The Spider in the Glass (Myra Ross) Wednesday 30 October 2024 2.00pm – 4.00pm Click here to Register Managing Type 2 Diabetes in Group Consultation - Kelso Medical Practice Pilot Project Tuesday 26 November 2024            1.00pm – 2.00pm Click here to Register If you require any further information, please contact nes.ruralteam@nhs.scot

My internship with DHI has been a truly inspiring experience that has significantly influenced my academic and career aspirations.  During my 3-month internship, I had the opportunity to work collaboratively with different teams which allowed me to find out more about the research and projects being carried out by DHI.  This experience not only allowed me to develop my teamwork and communication skills but also inspired me to continue exploring the vast opportunities for innovation and improvement in health and social care. I had the incredible opportunity to delve into the world of Virtual Reality (VR) and explore its potential to revolutionise education and training within the health and social care sectors.  The immersive nature of VR technology has introduced new possibilities for enhancing the learning experience of healthcare professionals, allowing them to engage in realistic simulations and hands-on training in a virtual environment.  I have learned how VR can be utilised to simulate complex medical procedures, create interactive anatomy lessons, and provide realistic patient care scenarios. By researching the art of VR development and troubleshooting, I have gained valuable insights into the power of this technology to improve the skills and knowledge of healthcare professionals. Understanding the potential of VR in transforming traditional educational methods and enhancing learning outcomes in health and social care has led me to consider incorporating this technology into my final year Honours project. This experience has also motivated me to explore further research opportunities in the field of digital health and care technology and potentially pursue a postgraduate degree in the coming years. The invaluable insights and skills acquired through my internship have not only shaped my academic interests but have also set me on a path towards a rewarding and impactful career in the intersection of healthcare and technology. Simone Singh. Reflective Blog

Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) prepares to unveil fresh 10-year strategy following £2 million per year Scottish Funding Council (SFC) award  Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) prepares to unveil fresh 10-year strategy following £2 million per year Scottish Funding Council (SFC) award  Professor George Crooks OBE says Scotland’s integrated health and social care system puts it in a unique position to deliver a shift to person-centric care enabled by data and digital technology DHI is a world-leading collaboration hosted by the University of Strathclyde in collaboration with The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) The head of a world-leading organisation dedicated to accelerating innovation in Scotland’s health and social care sector believes the need ‘has never been greater’ for a radical digital technology-driven modernisation of the nation’s approach to care in the face of unprecedented demand on services. Professor George Crooks OBE, a renowned international digital health and care expert, was speaking after Scotland’s Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) was awarded new funding by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) for at least the next 10 years. DHI, a pioneering initiative hosted by the University of Strathclyde in collaboration with GSA, marked its 10th anniversary last year. During that time the SFC and Scottish Government-backed organisation – which brings partners in the commercial, academic, health and social care, and third sectors together to drive innovation and transformation in Scottish health and social care – has spearheaded major digital advances including accelerating Scotland’s response the Covid-19 pandemic ; the pioneering £5m Rural Centre of Excellence in Moray ; and the celebrated SCOTCAP outpatient gastroenterology technolog y.  DHI has also helped attract an additional £30 million in direct and indirect investment from public and private sources into innovation in health and care in Scotland. As the organisation prepares to launch its new 10-year strategy, Prof Crooks, Chief Executive Officer at DHI, explained how the focus of health and social care in Scotland must shift towards personal empowerment – where individuals have greater control over their health and care requirements through effective use of their data – made possible by advances in digital technology. The vision involves the ongoing health needs of individual Scots being recorded in a data cloud accessible to themselves and those who need it, providing scope for targeted care on a round-the-clock basis. The data could even be used to predict when care might be needed before a problem manifests in such a way that the health need becomes urgent. Professor Crooks, who began his medical career in 1977, said: “Growing waiting lists, ageing populations, difficulties recruiting staff, and a workforce that is still feeling the impact of pandemic and pressures of the health and care system are the realities in Scotland – but they are also global challenges not unique to this country. Demand is outstripping capacity and there has never been a greater urgency to do things differently. “Scotland’s medical model of care, that has served us very well for the past 150 years, is no longer fit for purpose in the 21st Century. We must move away from our existing approach to one where we listen to, activate, and empower our citizens to make better-informed health and well-being choices supported by resources in their communities. “The only way that can happen is through the appropriate use of digital technologies allied to an understanding of the lived experience of people in Scotland, using our expertise to co-design with them, and tailoring services to meet their personal and local circumstances. That’s the crux of the knowledge, skills and experience DHI has acquired over the past 10 years.” He added : “In more than 40 years working in the NHS in Scotland, my experience is that the majority of investment in technology has always been to benefit the healthcare system or people working within it. The patients were only passive recipients of that, and this needs to change. “It’s only in recent years, and as we look forward, that we have begun to invest in technology focused on the people of Scotland that will enable them to make better health and wellbeing choices. It will enable them to curate their own data and access appropriate services more easily and effectively, and relieve the pressure on frontline services. “Scotland’s integrated health and social care environment is the perfect test bed for innovation, where digital advances can reduce the burden on service provision. After 10 years, DHI can help deliver real change at scale, and that’s why experts in nations around the world including Singapore, the Middle East, North America, and mainland Europe are looking to Scotland as leaders in this area.” The £8m per year commitment from the SFC, which supports DHI and three other innovation centres in Scotland – Built Environment - Smarter Transformation (BE-ST); Industrial Biotechnology IC (IBioIC); and The Data Lab (TDL) – will ensure the organisation will continue to make an impact domestically and internationally, where connections have been built on digital health and care with prestigious global institutions including Harvard, MIT, and the European Commission. Educational institutions domestically have been central to DHI’s impact, with the organisation having worked effectively with 16 of Scotland’s 19 universities – including the creation of seven new digital health courses – and direct engagement with more than 60% of the nation’s colleges. The new funding has enabled DHI to set out seven priorities in its new 10 year plan – to transform health and social care; develop digital and data infrastructures as national assets; enhance Scotland’s connected ecosystem through cross sectoral innovation clusters; develop a future skills pipeline which delivers workforce capabilities fit for Scotland’s future; extend commercial engagement to support economic growth; health and care’s contribution to Net Zero targets; and enhance Scotland’s international reputation in R&I.  Prof Crooks added: “In the beginning, DHI recognised innovation is like a child looking in the window of a sweet shop. With no focus or plan of what you want, why you want it, and what you want to do with it – you get a minute of pleasure and no lasting benefit. It was essential we focus the minds of the health and care system in Scotland – the government and those tasked with delivering it day-to-day. It was about how we can use advances in digital tech and data to transform services from their current state into a better future. “Ten years on we've learned and refined our innovation process – utilising networks and influencing policy – so now we can de-risk innovation to deliver tangible outcomes efficiently and effectively. However, technology is the apprentice to us, we are not slaves. It enables us to deliver expected impacts in a tolerable time frame, and how we use it will be pivotal over the next 10 years.” Duncan Graham, Associate Principal and Executive Dean of Science from the University of Strathclyde, said ‘We’re delighted to continue hosting two of the innovation centres announced for funding in DHI and IBioIC. We look forward to supporting the positive impact for Scotland and beyond offered by both, with DHI spearheading the next generation of citizen-centred healthcare that is set to transform the lives of many.” Professor Irene McAra-McWilliam, Deputy Director Research & Innovation at The Glasgow School of Art, said: “Over the past 10 years The Glasgow School of Art has been a foundational part of the DHI initiative through the pioneering work at our creative innovation campus on the Altyre estate in Moray together with our team in Glasgow. We are extremely pleased to be able to continue to be key partners in the next chapter of world class innovations which will be supported by the announcement of this latest round of funding.” Helen Cross, Director of Research and Innovation at the Scottish Funding Council, said: “We are delighted to be continuing to support innovation in what is an increasingly important area for the future health and wellbeing of people in Scotland. I’m proud that SFC has been able to support DHI right from the start. I know that with our long-term commitment to innovation funding the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre will continue to help the people of Scotland live longer, healthier lives and provide sustainable and inclusive economic growth.” DHI Case studies: Case Study 1:  System Impact Response to Covid-19 In March 2020, DHI rapidly redeployed its capacity and capabilities to enable rapid pace and scale to help address Scotland’s response to Covid-19. DHI’s market research and international engagement helped inform Scotland’s approach by adapting the learning from other countries. DHI worked closely with the Scottish Government’s Digital & Digital Health & Care Directorates, NES Digital, NSS, PHS, NHS 24, territorial boards, the Digital Office for Local Government, Scottish Care and key third sector and independent care sector organisations to deliver initiatives in short weeks rather than years. DHI utilised unique, co-design methods, tools and online platforms to ensure that human factors and need principally determined the design of digital solutions. It engaged several academic and industry partners in this national effort, including Scottish SMEs (Storm ID, Sitekit, Daysix, Tactuum and Cohesion Medical) and the Universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier, Glasgow, Strathclyde and West of Scotland. Key senior members of DHI were directly involved in advising the Scottish Government on the digital aspects of the health and care response. Five new Covid-19 projects were initiated, with three of these quickly scaling to become a fundamental part of the Scottish Government’s digital response to Covid-19. These contained standardised and linked data services, improved user experiences and reduced pressure on front line health and care staff. Case Study 2:  Direct Investment - Moray Regional Growth Deal (£5m) DHI led a proposition with Moray Regional Partners (including UHI and Moray College) to develop a Rural Centre of Excellence (RCE) for Digital Health and Care in the Moray Region (2021-25). This focused directly on realising digital opportunities to address rural challenges and benefit local communities. The Moray RCE enabled DHI to leverage £5m directly from the UK Government, attracting additional in-kind resources of approximately £3m from partners. This investment will bring economic, service and skills benefits to the region while contributing towards net-zero targets for Scotland. Successes from the Moray RCE will be extended into other regions that experience similar rural community challenges, to ensure knowledge exchange (KE), positioning Scotland’s rural R&I test beds and expertise on the international stage to encourage further investment.

A pioneering health data initiative by the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre receives the Up-and-Coming TEC Innovation Award. One of our innovative DHI Moray Rural Centre of Excellence's living lab projects, a collaboration with, Archangel ®, and   Mydex CIC , has recently been awarded the distinguished Up-and-Coming TEC Innovation Award at this year’s ITEC Awards. This award reflects the project's profound commitment to enhancing healthcare through an innovative holistic, integrated, and person-centred approach. Focused on the comprehensive assessment of social determinants of health, the initiative stands out for its approach to generating and collating holistic data. The analysis conducted is internationally distinctive, providing both individual and population-level insights. Such data is instrumental in enabling improved self-management, early intervention, and the efficient allocation of healthcare resources. Recognition from the TSA – the voice of technology-enabled care – highlights the significant impact and innovation brought by the project. It underlines the potential for transformative change in citizen well-being and service provision within the sector. As the project continues to evolve, it aims to lay the groundwork for future developments under the Moray Growth Deal, aspiring to contribute to a healthier, more informed community. Engagement from the Moray region is encouraged, especially through participation in our Living Labs. For individuals living in the Moray area and interested in contributing to the advancement of healthcare innovation, more information can be found here. Quotes    Marie Simpson , Programme Manager at DHI collected the award and commented: “This is fantastic recognition for a data project that really could be a ‘game changer’ within the health and care sectors. “It delivers a wide range of benefits for citizens and their carers, health and social care organisations and third sector community bodies with end users empowered to remain at the centre of navigating their personalised journey.”

People at risk of harm through drugs are given digital access and support in a progressive new approach to Scotland’s ‘unacceptable’ drug death rates. Bridging the Digital Divide: Digital Lifelines. The Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre has worked closely with our partners and PR agency, Story Shop, to craft a media package that showcased the vision and impact of the Digital Lifelines Scotland project. This project is a pioneering and progressive digital inclusion programme aimed at reducing ‘unacceptable’ levels of drug-related harm and deaths across the nation. So far, more than 1,700 people have taken part. A total of 908 phones, 103 laptops and 45 other devices have been distributed, along with almost 1,500 connectivity packages. Proving this initiative is more than just a project; it's a lifeline for the most vulnerable among us. Digital Lifelines in the News The journey of Digital Lifelines has captured the attention of media outlets, each shedding light on the project's innovative approach and the tangible benefits it brings to Scotland's at-risk communities. Here's a roundup of the coverage: BBC News : Reports on the initiative's local impact, particularly in Edinburgh, East, and Fife, showcasing how digital tools are making a difference: Read the BBC coverage . BBC Radio: Listen from 1 hour 18 minutes for the story: Listen here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001xl1h  The Herald : Showcases the ambitious £3m effort to tackle Scotland's drug death tally through digital empowerment: Explore the full story . Third Force News : Highlights the provision of digital devices and support to vulnerable Scots, offering them a crucial lifeline: Read more about the impact . DIGIT : Dives into how Digital Lifelines is bridging the digital divide for Scots at risk, providing them with access and support in a ground-breaking approach: Learn more here . Daily Mail: Discusses the impact of the Digital Lifelines project in Scotland: Read the article Silicone Scotland : Focuses on the innovative strategy to give those at risk of harm through drugs digital access and support, marking a progressive step in tackling Scotland's drug death rates: Discover the initiative . For further insights into the project and its objectives, the Digital Lifelines website offers a wealth of information about their mission, the team behind the initiative, and how they're making a difference in Scotland. Visit the Digital Lifelines Scotland website to learn more.

Read the Delivery Plan 2023-24 for Scotland's Digital Health and Care Strategy The national delivery plan was updated and published on Friday 04 August 2023 and describes activities supporting Health Boards, HSCPs, local authorities, primary care, social care, social work, and care providers to offer new or improved services, whether through improved systems and infrastructure, or access to digital services to achieve the aims of our overall Digital Health and Care Strategy ‘Care in the Digital Age’. Published in October 2021. More information is available on The Digital Health & Care Scotland website . Read the updated Delivery Plan

Delve into insights emerging from the DHI and NES Exploratory on XR technologies for mental health education and training, and find out more about the planned next steps.

This Year’s Challenge is Harnessing Digital Technology and E-Gaming to Reimagine Field Hockey, Boost Youth Participation, and Enhance Physical Well-being. The #DigiInventors Challenge is thrilled to announce a dynamic new partnership with Scottish Hockey alongside our portfolio of partners including The Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI), City of Glasgow College, Heriot-Watt University Dubai, the Scottish Tech Army, and dressCode. This collaboration with Scottish Hockey introduces an exciting new question for this year’s challenge: “How can digital technology and/or e-gaming be used to re-invent the game of field hockey to inspire increased physical activity, participation, and well-being of our young people?” Since 2017, the Digi Inventors Challenge has inspired young minds to develop innovative digital health and care solutions. This year's focus aims to leverage the synergy between sports and technology, encouraging students to think creatively about how digital advancements can enhance the sport of field hockey. This initiative supports the challenge's broader mission of promoting health and well-being among youth through digital innovation. Scottish Hockey's involvement brings a wealth of expertise and enthusiasm for the sport, offering participants a unique opportunity to integrate traditional athleticism with modern technology. The challenge will run from August to December, complete with a 2-day boot camp and grand finale where finalists will present their ideas to a panel of esteemed judges. Participants will not only compete for fantastic prizes but also gain invaluable skills and experiences that could pave the way for future careers in the digital health and social care Sector. QUOTES: Grant Reilly Head of Communications & Marketing, DHI "We’re excited to partner with Scottish Hockey to see how young minds will use technology to re-imagine field hockey. This innovative initiative showcases collaborative working between a Scottish Innovation Centre and a Sports Governing Body to engage the citizens of Scotland. It aligns perfectly with our commitment to promoting physical activity and well-being among young people." Keith Macleod, Engagement Manager, Scottish Hockey “The sporting landscape is constantly evolving, using digital means to enhance and perfect the game both for the athlete and audience. In this new and exciting collaboration with The Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, we are excited to see how our young thinkers and disruptors can utilise technology to completely re-invent the game of Field Hockey to increase participation and encourage exercise and wellness among the people of Scotland.” Learn more about Scottish Hockey: https://scottish-hockey.org.uk/

Explore the global challenges of digital transformation in healthcare, the importance of supporting frontline staff, and the effectiveness of different digital working frameworks through international insights. Digital transformation is changing the way care is being delivered globally, and that brings specific challenges to those who are supporting frontline healthcare staff to do their work in the new contexts. With this, frameworks intended to support digital working by healthcare staff have been proliferating around the world. On Wednesday 28th February the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) hosted a webinar featuring an international panel of experts in digital health to launch an international review and analysis of said frameworks intended to support digital working by frontline healthcare staff. The webinar panel was chaired by Professor Lesley Holdsworth (the Clinical Lead for Digital Health & Care at the Scottish Government), and she was joined by Mr Crispin Scotter (HRH Policy Advisor at the World Health Organization), Dr Louise Schaper (Director of Comperio Pty and the former CEO of Australasian Institute of Digital Health), and Dr Ann Wales (Programme Lead, for Knowledge and Decision Support from Healthcare Improvement Scotland). The report and its findings were presented by Dr Sanna Rimpiläinen, the DHI’s Head of Research and Skills and the lead author of the report. The new report generated a lot of attention with almost 100 health workforce leaders from around the globe tuning in to hear the insights and recommendations from this research. The report could be characterised as a reader’s digest to frameworks used to support digital upskilling of frontline healthcare staff, pointing to different approaches taken to achieve this in different countries. The main recommendations of the report boil down to a request to not reinvent the wheel but to select one of the existing well-developed and robust frameworks for use by organisations. The report recommends organisations to consider which upskilling approach works best for their purposes; assess the digital maturity of their healthcare context and where it is headed to, and what the digital upskilling needs of their workforce are. This brought about a discussion by the panel, who were all in agreement supporting the report’s findings and contributing with experiences from their respective roles and positions. The discussion reinforced the relevance of the newly published work which appeared to be welcomed by the attendees. We wish to thank each and every one of the panel members and attendees for taking time and interest in our work and joining us. We are excited for you to read the report and share it onwards, hopefully, inspiring debate about future pieces of work and training opportunities for the workforce across health and care.

Human rights have become a big thing in Scotland, and rightly so. Why shouldn’t people be treated with the dignity and respect they deserve? However, it’s easier to talk about these rights than do them and that’s a problem. *The following guest blog has been written by Alan Mitchell, Chair, Mydex CIC Starting with Backpack, a 2015 project with NHS Grampian and DHI, we (Mydex CIC) have been working with DHI to develop ways to operationalise human rights as they relate to personal data - and therefore, to the services that this data enables. We’ve just published a paper on Control, Agency, and Guardianship that sums up our learnings. Here are some of our findings. First, beware talk of ‘user centric service design’. It sounds great, but, by definition, a ‘user’ is a person using a particular service: ‘user centricity’ never looks at a person in the context of their life, only at one particular interface with one particular organisation. A user-centric approach to design may make it easier and simpler to fill out a form. But individuals have to fill in countless different forms and their real need is to be liberated from the very fact of form filling itself. Likewise, ‘control’ over data. This is usually interpreted to mean individuals being able to exercise control over the data that a particular organisation collects about them. But this does nothing to help them in relation to all the different organisations they deal with, which is what real control is about. Without agency, ‘control’ can be meaningless, and the locus of human agency doesn’t lie within the systems of this or that organisation but within the individual’s life. It means providing individuals with the means to achieve safety, fairness, utility, simplicity and agency in all their data dealings, for example with their own personalised cockpits or dashboards that enable them to manage all their data relationships from one place. The figure below, from a recent DHI report, highlights just how important this context-aware person-centric approach is, as reinforced in the Scottish Digital Health and Care Strategy. In the context of health and care, ‘guardianship’ is a crucial part of this. There are millions of people in the UK today, such as the old, frail or ill, or young people in care, who are not able to act fully and completely on their own behalf: who need someone to act for them in ways big and small. It is precisely in such situations that what little control and agency they have left becomes all the more important to them. Current ways of handling such delegate powers are not fit for purpose. They are either too legalistic and bureaucratic (e.g powers of attorney) or too informal and risky: “Oh love, when you go to the shops, could you buy these items for me? Here’s my card!” On all these fronts the key issue is this. Our society needs the infrastructure, tools and capabilities that make it possible to operationalise a human rights approach to personal data at the level of daily, practical details. After 16 years’ hard labour, that infrastructure is now pretty much built in Scotland by Mydex CIC and DHI, with our Paper providing an introduction to what it means to the practical implementation of human rights. Read the latest Mydex CIC Paper This guest blog has been written by Alan Mitchell, Chair, Mydex CIC

On Thursday 23rd November, the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre's (DHI’s) Rural Centre of Excellence for digital health and care innovation delivered its first R&D skills-related event, hosted by UHI Moray in Elgin. More than 70 people attended this event, the focus of which was exploring the nature of R&D and the transformative impact of digital innovation, supporting digital health and care research and development, and ensuring the local workforce have the skills and capabilities to assist in the innovation process and make use of the impactful innovation across Moray. Setting the Scene: DHI’s Rural Centre of Excellence for Digital Health and Care Innovation Project The focal point of the gathering was DHI’s Rural Centre of Excellence for digital health and care innovation (RCE) project in Moray - a £5 Million capital investment from the UK Government, delivered through the Moray Growth Deal.  The project's mission is clear: to retain and attract young talent and families to the Moray region, creating high-quality jobs and securing the future of its citizens. Key to achieving this is the delivery of additional educational opportunities, courses, and skills provision, addressing the growing demand for a workforce adept in digital health and care. Unveiling Opportunities and Challenges The event not only explored the local impact of digital transformation in Moray but also considered broader Scotland-wide challenges and opportunities.  The morning session opened with an introduction from opening remarks by Janette Hughes (Director of Planning and Performance, DHI) and Fiona Fraser (Associate Director of Innovation & Workforce Diversification, NHS Education for Scotland) followed by a scene-setting presentation by Sanna Rimpiläinen (Head of Research and Skills, DHI). Attendees then had the privilege of hearing from a diverse lineup of speakers discussing the digital skills and competencies required by health and care employers.  This panel was chaired by Janette from DHI and included Simon Bokor-Ingram, (Chief Officer, Moray Health and Social Care Partnership); Stephen Sheridan (Regional Skills Planning Lead, Skills Development Scotland); Gerry Lawrie (Head of Workforce & Development, NHS Grampian); Andy Ord (Account Director – Health, Care & Safety Scotland, Microsoft) and Fiona Fraser. Valuable insights were also provided from the educator’s perspective from a panel chaired by Sanna that included Rosemary McCormack (Head of Curriculum, UHI Moray); Ruth Cochrane (Academic Lead, Glasgow School of Art’s Innovation School); Dylan White (Principal Lead, NHS Youth Academy); Nicola Cooper (Technology & Digital Innovation Lead, Scottish Care) and Professor Plinio Morita from the University of Waterloo in Canada - with each speaker contributing a unique perspective on the changing landscape of digital health and care. The afternoon workshops allowed attendees to learn how digital technologies (including telepresence robots and Artificial Intelligence - AI) can support individuals' health and care needs, with Scott MacLeod from the National Robotarium inviting people to interact with care robots and explain their potential applications in care settings and Calum McDonald from the Scottish AI Alliance discussing the ethical considerations surrounding AI in the context of health and care.  There was also a session facilitated by DHI to demystify the concept of a Personal Data Store and provide a deeper understanding of how personal data can be managed, stored, and utilised, and an introduction to newly developed micro-credentials tailored for carers living and working in Moray by UHI Moray staff.  Finally, representatives from Microsoft delivered a masterclass for individuals seeking employment opportunities or contemplating a career change by providing insights into the latest trends in the job market, as well as giving tailored guidance on crafting an impactful resume, honing interview skills, and leveraging digital tools for professional development. Looking Ahead: What's Next on the Journey? The event wasn't just a static gathering of information; it was a dynamic platform for sharing best practices and fostering collaboration. Representatives from a wide range of organisations (including the NHS, Skills Development Scotland, Moray Council, UHI, the Scottish AI Alliance, Microsoft, and more) were present, emphasizing the importance of stakeholders learning from one another and working together to propel the digital health and care sector forward. Join the Conversation: Shaping the Future of Digital Health and Care As the event concluded, participants were encouraged to contribute to discussions about the skills needed for the future and to contemplate the next steps on the journey toward a digitally advanced health and care sector in Moray and beyond.  In essence, the SkillsFest event served as a catalyst for envisioning and actively participating in the transformative journey toward a digitally empowered future in health and care.

Scots schoolgirl's invention to help baby sister walk wins national award A Scottish mini-inventor has designed an award-winning device to help her sister walk – and it could be brought to life thanks to some budding students. Olivia Thompson, from Bothwell, South Lanarkshire, and her St Bride’s Primary classmates Evie Anderson, Nuala Maria McKnight, and Ellie Lappin are behind The Cloud Walker – their entry for the first Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) primary school #DigiInventors Challenge . Described as an ‘upgraded walker for children with cerebral palsy’, the device – still at the design stage – includes an iPad with apps to help youngsters ‘learn, walk, and exercise all at once’.Olivia, 11, was inspired by her sister Gabriella who has cerebral palsy. The group of incurable, lifelong conditions, caused by brain development issues, affect mobility and coordination. Gabriella, three, was diagnosed with the condition after she was born prematurely at 31 weeks, and now has difficulty moving her legs and receives physiotherapy. “Gabriella loves to dance but she struggles to walk, she sort of bunny hops to move about,” Olivia said. “If nobody tries to help children with cerebral palsy they won’t be able to get around places in life. I feel proud that we had the chance to create something that could help make walking and physio sessions more fun and interactive.” Under the tagline, ‘reach for the clouds’, the gadget's apps would provide stretching exercises, memory games, drawing activities and more. Some only work when the child moves the walker. The P7 classmates created a video presentation for their invention which was entered into the  DHI #DigiInventors Challenge earlier this year. Entrants were invited to present ideas inspired by health care challenges that could be transformed into a digital health and care solution. Judges crowned The Cloud Walker the 2023 winner and City of Glasgow College engineering students may now make it into a working prototype. “I am amazed that we won,” Olivia added. “When our headteacher announced it, I’d never seen my friends so happy. We worked on it for weeks, I can’t believe we were chosen.”The pupils have also appealed for a ‘designer and marketing company’ to get plans for The Cloud Walker off the ground – and Olivia is determined to take matters into her own hands. “If it doesn’t get invented I will try to make it happen when I’m older, it’s important to help children with cerebral palsy, like my sister.” Nobody is more delighted than Olivia’s parents, Aileen, 39 and Steven, 40. The dentists also share a middle child, eight-year-old Philip. “I am extremely proud of Olivia and her friends,” Aileen said. “It’s probably the achievement of hers that I am most proud of. Both Olivia and Philip are so good at taking care of their sister.” The Thompsons watched on as the girls picked up their prizes at a special awards ceremony at City of Glasgow College on April 18. Some 67 applications were submitted from a number of primary schools from across Scotland for the first-ever #DigiInventors Challenge, and judges praised the standard of entries across the board. George Crooks OBE, Chief Executive at Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, said: “The DigiInventors challenge has proven a real catalyst to unlock the potential of our younger pupils to create digital supported solutions to real life problems and hopefully create a long-lasting interest in digital health and care as a possible future career. We were presented with many good examples of real digital innovation. Congratulations to all participants this year and in particular to our worthy winners.” Roy Gardner, Vice Principal Corporate Development and Innovation at City of Glasgow College said: "Huge congratulations to all the finalists and winners of the first #DigiInventors Challenge Primary School Edition. This competition not only showcases the huge level of innovation and creativity within our young people, but it also reinforces City of Glasgow College’s commitment to let learning flourish. “We were delighted to host this special celebration and would like to thank our partners at the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre for providing the opportunity to collaborate on this great initiative. The possibility of this year’s winning entry being developed by our students is an exciting prospect, and we look forward to supporting the next steps, as well as more innovation through many more DigiInventors challenges to come.” Lead judge, Gillian Reilly, Primary Science, STEM and Sustainability Development Officer, South Lanarkshire Council/ RAiSE, said: “The judging of this challenge was not easy. It was inspiring to see our younger learners make real-life links to digital health and care solutions and STEM learning, showing a great amount of skill, creativity and imagination in their designs. All young people should be very proud of what they achieved.” Darren Tobin, EMEA Channel Director, Sphero, said: "We are honoured to have been able to contribute to such a worthwhile event," said Darren Tobin. "The ideas that were shared at DigiInventors have the potential to make a real difference in people's lives, and we are excited to see where they will lead." The #DigiInventors Challenge opened to secondary schools in 2017 and primary schools in 2023, in partnership with Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre, Raising Aspirations in Science Education, City of Glasgow College and Sphero.

On 5 September 2023, representatives from organisations across Scotland came together for the annual Digital Lifelines Scotland conference in Perth, hosted by the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI). Digital Lifelines Scotland (DLS) aims to reduce drug deaths in Scotland through digital inclusion and digital solutions that support people who use drugs. For me personally, it was inspiring to see the hard work that is being put in on this in a very person-centred and human-rights oriented way. In the morning, attendees heard a talk from Elena Whitham, Scotland’s Minister for Drugs and Alcohol policy, followed by an update from Dr Margaret Whoriskey from the Scottish Government’s Digital Health and Care Directorate on the work of the programme over the past year. They also heard talks from Professor Catriona Matheson on the evaluation of the programme and international speakers Dr Ivan Montoya and Gordon Casey on the work which is being done overseas to prevent drug deaths. Afterwards, attendees separated out into breakout workshops to discuss two strands of Digital Lifelines: Digital Inclusion and Digital Products. I joined the Digital Products workshop, where we saw a summary of the different products being used in Scotland to prevent drug overdose. After the presentations, we discussed what could be done to combine efforts where the products overlapped (for example, around service provision). We also discussed what the products weren’t doing and how we can expand our efforts to improve coverage in future. Above: Marissa leading the afternoon workshop on the stage at Perth Concert Hall. In the afternoon, I was given the task of leading a design workshop to discuss and define the future impacts and benefits of DLS. Normally for a workshop like this we would expect around 10-20 attendees. In this case, we were expecting around 100 people to participate! Luckily, I was aided very ably by my colleagues who circulated around the room supporting attendees as we went through the activity. I planned out a simple brainstorming exercise in groups followed by dot voting, which attendees were likely to be familiar with. I led the activity from the main stage, with instructions projected on a large screen at the front for attendees to refer to. We also provided more detailed step-by-step instruction sheets on each table. Above: worksheet for the impacts and benefits activity. The blue shapes show themes for future improvement from DHI’s Phase 1 research. The bottom section for discussing measures of success was folded underneath until it was needed in the second part of the activity. This kept things visually simple for the participants. To complete the activity, each group was provided with a large worksheet. These had been printed with themes for future improvement which were identified during the Phase 1: DHI Discover and Define research undertaken with people in recovery from drug addiction and the services who support them. Each group was asked to write down their ideas for future impacts and benefits which they would like to see emerge from the next phase of DLS. They reviewed these as a group and discussed what they thought about the different ideas, and then used sticky dots to vote on which ones they felt were the highest priority. For the next phase of the activity, each group moved their top voted idea (or ideas) down to a pre-marked square at the bottom of the worksheet. Next to it, they considered how success would be measured for this area of impact. Above: attendees working in groups. After the day, I reviewed the ideas that had been put together by the activity participants to understand what areas were suggested as top priorities for the next phase of DLS. Participants identified the following themes for future work: The big stuff – Participants wanted to address high-level issues such as a reduction in drug deaths and an overall reduction in drug use, and would like to see a national approach being taken towards this. Working together – Participants wanted services to be better coordinated with local initiatives/third sector, and have less fragmented services and duplication of effort, using a “no wrong door” approach. They also wanted to increase staff retention and sustainability of their work. Digital at the ground level – Participants felt that services should have digital baked in from the ground up. They wanted to have better data sharing with services and service users, and to build a shared evidence base to inform future work. Digital access and skills – Participants wanted to give service users more digital access to information and services. To enable this, they wanted to see more skills training for service users (particularly using digital champions), and to help service users stay safe and access trusted resources online. Co-production – Participants wanted to involve service users more in the development of services, and to give them more ownership and choice around their support. The benefit of trusted relationships with staff was highlighted as an important outcome of this. Supporting the individual - Participants wanted to give service users tailored, personalized support that addressed holistic needs such as housing and mental health problems. Stigma & trauma – Participants wanted to reduce the stigma and trauma faced by service users by making them part of the community, not forcing them to tell their stories multiple times, and offering peer support. Equity & inclusion – Participants wanted to address overall issues of equity and inclusion (particularly digital inclusion) by addressing the intersectional support needed by disadvantaged groups, and giving better options for remote/rural access. Above: a digitized version of the combined input from all groups. A big thank you to everyone who participated in our workshop on the day! Design can play a crucial role in tackling complex health and care challenges. Through collaboration and participatory methods, it can be used to explore and address tangible and intangible issues, transforming them into change opportunities. Design helps reconfigure services, products, and processes, meeting the needs of citizens and leveraging new insights for transformation. Our next steps will be to continue to refine this with the wider group and to pull together a plan for the next phase of our work. Learn more: Digital Lifelines Programme DHI's Phase 1 Research Marissa Cummings is an innovation designer and research fellow with the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre and The Glasgow School of Art. She is starting work on the next phase of the Digital Lifelines Scotland programme.

Developing and delivering an international conference on inclusive design and research. A two-year journey Over the past two years, I have been a member of Magnify , an international community of designers and researchers who are dedicated to inclusive practice. I first joined Magnify as a speaker at their first conference in 2021, where I presented some techniques on safeguarding participants and researchers during research of emotional, sensitive topics. The work came from the Masters of Research degree I completed with The Glasgow School of Art, and was funded by the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI ) , which developed digital prototypes for health storytelling with people who had multiple long-term health conditions (multimorbidity). At the time, I was immediately struck by how welcoming Magnify’s community is. Oftentimes, working in inclusion feels very isolated. You might be the only person in your organisation who cares about inclusion, and constantly having to defend your practice. Or you might be surrounded by people who are supportive and curious about inclusion, but might know little about it themselves. The Magnify community is small but dedicated. Many of the members are experienced practitioners who are leading important, international projects. However, people at all levels of experience are welcome and no question is considered too basic to ask. It’s rare to attend a conference where every person is working on something of interest to you, and are also more than happy to talk about it. “Something unexpected for me was the level of community. I came along thinking about the talks and workshops, but have actually got loads out of the Slack and conversations with other attendees. Have connected with a lot of people on LinkedIn as a result.”  – 2023 conference attendee Magnify is largely the work of one person: Claudia Hopkins . Claudia was born in the UK but spent many years living and working in Canada. When she returned to the UK, she was struck by how little conversation around inclusion there was here compared to what she was used to in Canada. This motivated her to put together the conference in 2021. After the conference she couldn’t continue on her own, so she started running smaller monthly unconference events instead. I continued to attend these after the conference and got to know Claudia quite well. I had always been very encouraging of her to try putting together another conference, so when she asked me to help her last year, I couldn’t say no! Putting together the conference Nowadays, most conferences are organised by large corporations or professional event organisers. A community-organised conference like Magnify is rare, and allows different types of conversations to happen than what might occur in a more corporate setting. It also requires a great deal of work. Altogether, it took us about a year to put together the conference from start to finish. Our small team of volunteers took time out from their work and family lives to make this happen. We also had to go out and try to get funding from sponsors. This funding is crucial to being able to pay speakers and workshop hosts, as well as cover our running costs (including our sliding scale tickets), and ensures that people are able to participate regardless of income. Magnify’s team of volunteers Luckily, DHI agreed to be one of our sponsors this year, recognising the crucial importance of inclusive practice in the work it does, and the benefits of international knowledge exchange. When I hear some of the horror stories from other inclusive practitioners on the way that their work is disregarded, I feel both proud and pleased to be part of a team which is so committed to equitable practice. The 2023 conference lasted around two weeks from 6 – 15 November. To keep the conference accessible to as wide an audience as possible, all of the events were held online. From an organising perspective, having events online helped us keep costs down (and therefore ticket prices down), but it is also important for preserving a safe, accessible space for people who might be excluded from in-person events (for example, those with disabilities and/or chronic illness). Talks and workshops covered a wide range of topics, everything from practical tips to making events accessible, to theoretical discussions on the future of inclusive design. Many of the talks showed case studies of work with vulnerable and/or marginalised populations (for example, trans and non-binary people, migrant communities, and young people who have experienced trauma). These are also groups which may be misrepresented or even under attack in the media, so researchers should consider how to keep the work safe for themselves in addition to participants. Designers and researchers still represent a largely privileged group, and its sometimes easy to forget that inclusion practices need to look inwards as well as out. Making work environments accessible, supportive, and transparent helps to support participation from a wide range of backgrounds. Our attendees questioned the nature of what it means to “do good” in the context of inclusive design. With so much of design practice drawn from Western culture, there is a need to work closely with communities to understand what “doing good” means at a more local level. Our conference Slack was also very active. This year we tried posting daily questions for the group to reflect on, which had been taken from the unconference meet ups. Our most popular question was on trauma-informed methods, which had 34 replies. A wide-ranging audience Altogether, the 2023 conference attracted 153 attendees. Most attendees came from the UK (87), followed by Canada (29) and the USA (21). The location of our attendees   We also covered a wide range of experience, with most attendees holding senior (63) or mid-level (47) positions. What attendees said After the conference, we circulated a feedback form for attendees which got 28 replies. It was lovely seeing the positive feedback from people on their experiences. Of the people who replied: 25% said Magnify met their expectations, and 75% said that we went beyond it 89% were very satisfied with the quality of our talks and workshops Some of our attendees said: “It's just a very high quality event. So much care goes into the curation, running and organisation which results in a high quality experience.” “The organisers of this conference should be so proud of what they created. I really felt like I was a part of something special. The things I learnt here will stay with me throughout my career. With so much happening in the world to feel sad and angry about, Magnify was a brilliant ray of sunshine.” You can see more of Magnify’s talks on our YouTube channel. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The author of this blog is - Marissa Cummings - an innovation designer and research fellow with DHI and The Glasgow School of Art.