Deadline: 10-Sep-2025
The Welsh Government has announced funding opportunities for collaborative projects that will deliver real-world demonstrations to improve healthcare outcomes for women and girls across Wales.
The specific priority areas of interest include improving communication gaps, enhanced patient outcomes, address underserved areas, empowering patients, tackling stigma and awareness, health screening, and localised solutions. The scope of projects may also include prevention as well as treatment, innovative screening to encourage greater engagement, better outcomes, reduction in health inequalities, providing enhancements in accessing required services, ensuring women and girls voices are heard, personalised tools to enable women and girls to make informed choices to manage their own health, and improving access to health care professionals and targeted information that may be required.
A total of £900,000 will be allocated across a portfolio of projects that demonstrate potential to deliver measurable improvements in women’s and girls’ health and support the commitments of NHS Wales under the Women’s Health Plan. Projects must start on 13 October 2025 and be completed by 27 February 2026, with a final report due on 13 March 2026.
This initiative seeks collaborations between businesses, academia, and primary and secondary care providers. Any organisation may apply, although the opportunity is expected to particularly attract SMEs working on innovative processes, materials, devices, products, or services. Universities and registered charities are also eligible, provided they can demonstrate a clear route to market and a plan for commercialisation. Applications must include a health, public, or third sector collaborator within Wales, ideally supported by a signed letter of commitment.
The emphasis is on projects that are near-to-market, demonstrating efficacy, sustainability, affordability, and scalability. Early feasibility studies or research-only proposals will not be supported. Any digital solutions must comply with NHS Wales Digital and Cyber Security standards, be compatible with the NHS Wales app and the new Women’s Health Website, and meet Welsh language standards with potential for multilingual functionality.
Exclusions include projects without regulatory approval where required, feasibility-only studies, proposals lacking engagement with potential users, or those unable to demonstrate accessibility, affordability, societal impact, and equity. Solutions that cannot meet national standards or consider widespread adoption and implementation costs will also be ineligible.
The evidence gathered from these projects will inform future recommendations for 2026 and beyond, with potential Phase 3 funding to expand the most promising solutions through Pathfinder hubs across Wales.
For more information, visit Innovate UK.
