A three-year collaborative programme has been launched to improve health and care across the Liverpool City Region.
The £1.9 million Health Matters programme will help businesses take advantage of knowledge and expertise in the partnership to help develop solutions to challenges, receive guidance on funding opportunities and navigate the health ecosystem. The programme will also provide real-world validation of products and services, showing evidence of impact and benefits.
The programme, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), aims to catalyse businesses in the Liverpool City Region to become market leaders in health, wellbeing and care by encouraging the development of products, services and solutions.
More than 80 people attended a launch event at Liverpool John Moores University aimed at promoting the programme and encouraging local businesses to take advantage of the support it offers.
Attendees heard from Dr Liz Mear, Chief Executive of the Innovation Agency, which is a partner in the programme, and from Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram.
Business leaders already working in this field, including Phil Blything, founder of Glow New Media, James Chapman, Director of Safe Steps, and Phil Bridges, founder of Mind Map, also addressed guests.
Over the three years of its delivery, the programme aims to provide support for 70 businesses in the Liverpool City Region. To be eligible, businesses must aim to develop products or services in the health and care sectors and be based in the Liverpool City Region areas: Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Halton, Knowsley and Wirral.
Dr Mear said: “Building on earlier programmes, LCR Health Matters will support innovative Liverpool City Region businesses capable of moving into, or growing within, the health and care sectors with new or existing services or products.
“LCR Health Matters will fill gaps in earlier programmes by providing mechanisms to validate the benefits of an innovation in a practical real-world setting, a key activity to support health system uptake. The programme will also support the region’s ambitions to address the Industrial Strategy’s Grand Challenges and wider activities.”
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “The health and life sciences sector is a major source of world-leading innovation in our city region. This programme will help build on our existing strengths by supporting local businesses to become market leaders in health, wellbeing and care, delivering solutions to health challenges as well as high-quality jobs for local people.”
Photo: Dr Liz Mear, Chief Executive of the Innovation Agency, Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, and Mark Basnett, MD of Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership
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