In this new ‘From ambition to action’ blog series, key South London stakeholders respond to the South London BIG Ambition Growth Statement.

Over a decade ago, when I started this role, exploring the links between health and the economy, my conversations pretty much started and ended with life sciences. It was exciting – reflecting the brightest and the best our country had to offer, with large flows of investment and world-leading experts and shiny new buildings, equipment and opportunities. Ministers could cut ribbons and declare Britain open for business.

It still is exciting, of course, for all those reasons and more, but the world – and particularly this country – has changed since then. As inequalities have risen, so has the gap between a society that’s thriving and one that is merely surviving. It is in this context which a renewed focus on the broader potential of life sciences can bring benefits that help us all shoot up, rather than trickle down.

Health as an economic and social agent is now much more understood in its broadest sense – a safety net when today is tough and a springboard for tomorrow when things might get better. The pandemic highlighted health as both something people inherently value and something that can be at the centre of local growth plans – think health on the high street or the responses to rising economic inactivity.

What about the future of our life sciences model then? Three quick and connected thoughts below:

Firstly, there is a need to go beyond simply the big acutes. Possibly the most important priority coming out of the 10-year plan for health is the concept of Neighbourhood Health. While local definitions may vary, at the heart of this concept is keeping communities happy, healthy and productive. It’s definitely not just ‘another NHS thing’, but really a part of wider public service reform that will require a new collective local approach to service planning, funding and provision and lead to new community-led interventions. The traditional health innovation partnership approach for actors such as universities and global pharma is through the, equally significant in scale, NHS Trusts. This may not though, be where the neighbourhood action is. Indeed, future local working will not involve single institutions but a myriad of hyper-local actors, including, of course, primary care, coalesced through different governance models and testing different approaches and thinking. It will be time-consuming but worth the investment for the industry to truly find its role in neighbourhoods and how it can be a broker, stimulator and partner in encouraging local innovation work.

Linked to this, and secondly, inequalities continue to pervade. If innovation in healthcare is to mean anything, then it has to directly address these and at the place, not just through vague talk of helping GDP. A model of inclusive innovation is one where this inclusion is put at the centre of the design and development of a product, process, or service. In the context of life sciences, it surely has to be about involving communities and the specific health challenges and inequalities they locally experience, and learning together how the development of new innovations will directly address them. There has to be a direct line drawn between the marketplace large companies are seeking and the local area in which they have chosen to invest, uniting the business and social purposes. Increasingly, too, local areas are experimenting with participatory forms of community engagement, and one of the areas in which this will impact will be on the ‘rules of the game’ when it comes to local investment. Explaining the benefits of what life science developments can bring to an area and its population will help foster a sense of civic pride amongst staff and natives.

Lastly, for now, is the broader issue of place-shaping and regeneration. The experience of places is rapidly changing, with (the lack of) retail the obvious exponent. For local and combined authorities seeking to retain and attract people, businesses and students, for example, their offering needs to evolve. Health is forming a major part of this new approach, given its ability to match hearts and minds with commercial opportunities. With Place Based Business Cases about to change the nature of what gets built, why, where and with whom, life science developments will be not only in demand by themselves but critically as part of a wider strategic attempt to house, move and serve new populations and economies. Major development opportunities must be strategically matched with more hyper-local ones as they all connect not just in developing a functional place but in ensuring the more local plans actually get funded and built. Some of the new Mayoral powers will enable this, but all parties need to better understand the benefits of moving together, even if it adds complexity.

Ironically, perhaps, for such an important sector, it is very possible we have underplayed the significance of life sciences to lives and livelihoods. In keeping with its size and scale, this particular health innovation partnership has been focused on a top-down approach. It will always matter in the boardrooms of Whitehall and the City, of course, but what would the potential be if we could properly complement this with a bottom-up way of working – knitting together and involving local partners, addressing local challenges and shaping local strategies? I would wager that really would bring both health and prosperity to every corner of the country.

Read the South London BIG Ambition growth strategy

 

Michael Wood Bio

Michael is the Head of Health Economic Partnerships at the NHS Confederation. As Head of Health Economic Partnerships, Michael advises NHS leaders nationally and locally on policy, strategy, partnerships and funding relating to the local economy, including in areas such as skills and workforce, estates, innovation, population health and finance.

Prior to this, he developed and held the role of NHS local growth adviser from 2015, for some of this time working as Deputy Local Growth Consultant for the Higher Education Funding Council for England. He was the Senior European Policy Manager at the NHS European Office for more than seven years and has worked for the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and for a Member of the European Parliament in Brussels.

Michael currently holds a range of national and system advisory positions and helped develop the NHS London NHS Anchor Network.