A Regional Innovation Fund (RIF) of £2.5m is available this year to support and promote the adoption of innovation and the spread of best practice across the NHS.

The fund is open to NHS England, as well as the NHS and AHSNs. All allocations made through the fund will seek to deliver significant improvements in quality and efficiency in the NHS through innovation. Bids can be developed alone, or through collaboration with other partners such as providers, local government, the third-sector, private healthcare and industry.

RIF applications can be a) be aligned to supporting the spread and adoption of current innovations promoted within NHS England, or b), support the development or adoption of new ideas.

The closing date for submitting applications is 5pm, Friday 30th May 2014. All allocations made through the fund will be allocated by end June 2014.

For more information on the RIF competition process and to access the RIF application form and guidance, please visit Innovation Exchange, NHS England’s Innovation web-portal

You will need to register with the website in order to access the competition information. This only takes a few moments. Once you are logged in, go to the funding for innovation page and click on the RIF link. Once you have registered, you will receive an email with a verification pin – please note that is some instances this may end up in your spam folder.

If you have any queries or questions please contact the RIF team at england.rif@nhs.net