System Transformation Fund (STF) now live for applications

Updated 13 January 2023: Please note that this initiative is no longer accepting applications.

The System Transformation Fund (STF) is an award to support local lipid pathway transformation across, or within, integrated care systems.

Funding is being made available to help local health systems deploy innovative ideas and solutions which overcome barriers to the use of NICE-endorsed lipid management pathways.

STF funding is intended to

• Enhance successful implementation of the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) lipid management pathway
• Support removal of barriers to deploying the lipid pathways, and use of the associated therapies, with specific reference to health inequalities
• Enable innovative approaches to delivering care in lipid management, specifically around secondary prevention
• Support providers to overcome practical obstacles to deploying the pathway such as service transformation work, education and promotion of the adoption of best practice
• Provide an open call to all ICS’s

STF is supplemented by a national offer of support, including

• A community of practice for idea sharing and peer support, via NHS Futures
• Bespoke learning / webinar sessions for all successful applicants
• Funding to run a project for a period of 12 months

Applicant eligibility

The following criteria must be met for an application to be considered:

• Applications must be ICS-led and written in collaboration with Health Innovation East and provide details around how proposed projects will help tackle healthcare inequality relating to cardiovascular disease.
• Applications must be submitted within the six-week application period. Applications received after this time will not be counted.
• System transformation funding is to be used on interventions which support implementation of the whole of the AAC lipid management pathway
• Interventions must include activity to address secondary prevention, however it is not exclusive to this and may also include for example, activity on blood pressure or primary prevention 
• All applications must have agreed sign off from executive level stakeholders within the applying organisation(s), as well as a clinical lead and financial approval. This is to be referenced in the application form 
• Non-NHS public sector or voluntary organisations will be eligible to apply to the STF in partnership with an ICS, e.g., to enable sufficient local community engagement. Applications must include activity linked to primary care 
• Existing projects that are already operational are eligible to apply for the STF where they can describe a significant boost to their outputs and impact, and specifically reference the impact on addressing health inequalities locally
• Health inequalities data: applications will need to set out clearly the specific aspect of health inequality that the proposal will target and quantify this in terms of need, with the use of evidence behind the assumptions the project has made. This may be derived from local or national data

Funding and timing

The STF is a total award of up to £2.5m across England. There is no upper or lower limit for funding for applications. Previous funding requests from similar opportunities were in the range of £40,000 to £180,000, however this is only indicative, and all applications will be considered in terms of factors such as complexity as well as proposed population reach as relates to the funding request. 

Contracting and administration of the finances for the STF will be undertaken by Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria on behalf of the Accelerated Access Collaborative and Novartis. Successful applicants will be contacted by Health Innovation NENC to complete the contracting process and administer payments.  

The timeline for the STF award process

• 28 September 2022: System transformation fund opens for applications
• 9 November 2022: Deadline for applications
• 5 December 2022: Funding awarded (week commencing)
• 30 January 2023: Conctracting completed (week commencing)
• 27 January 2023: Projects go-live
• 24 April 2023: Project end-date (week commencing)

Please note

NHS England reserves the right to moderate applications as a measure to ensure that there is a reasonable geographical spread of funding that takes account of ICSs with the highest levels of health inequalities, as well as the strongest applications. Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Limited (“Novartis”) has provided the funding for the creation of the System Transformation Fund (“STF”) as part of a collaborative working project between NHS England and Novartis.  Novartis has had (i) no input into the delivery or execution of the STF and (ii) no involvement in the identification and/or selection of the recipients of the STF. Ownership of this Application Guidance document is the responsibility of NHS England. Novartis has checked this document for factual accuracy against applicable codes and both parties are working within applicable codes.