Following a successful three-day academy in March, we are delighted to announce that the Spread and Scale Academy will return in October 2021.
This will be the third Spread and Scale Academy hosted by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and the Dragon’s Heart Institute in partnership with the Billions Institute, a Los Angeles-based organisation which specialises in supporting innovators to unleash their potential and make large-scale meaningful change.
For the first time the October 2021 Academy will be open to applications from teams in private industry. Small and medium-sized enterprises with a particular focus on health, health innovation, and social justice are encouraged to apply. We are also welcoming applications from teams made up of a mix of public and private sector delegates, especially from cross-sector teams who have collaborated on an innovative service or piece of technology in health and social care.
Places on this 3-day Academy cost £1,500 + VAT per person but those who work in NHS Wales and the publicly-funded social care sector in Wales will have their full course fees covered by All-Wales Intensive Learning Academy for Innovation in Health and Social Care.
The initial Spread and Scale Academy was hosted in the Life Sciences Hub in Cardiff in 2019 and was described by delegates as “the best thing I’ve attended in my career by a long way” and “one of the most valuable courses I’ve ever attended.”
Following their attendance at the 2019 Spread and Scale academy, the tracheostomy team at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board accelerated the spread of their project across Wales leading to the launch of a Challenge Fund worth around £400,000 with the Cardiff Capital Region deal and SBRI Centre for Excellence for a new tracheostomy training programme for staff.
Paul Twose, a Consultant Therapist and the clinical lead for the Challenge Fund, ascribes his team’s recent momentum to what they learnt when taking part in the academy, saying, “Before Spread and Scale, we had not worked out our internal dynamic; it gave us a better understanding of what exactly we were trying to achieve with our project. We came out of the academy with a clear 90-day plan and an idea of what each member of our team should be doing to achieve it. Where we are now, it’s clear that the effect of Spread and Scale has been huge. Without the academy, it would have taken a whole career to get to where we are, but it has taken two years instead.”
In March 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a switch to a digital platform. However, the virtual academy was equally well-received by delegates. Feedback from the virtual session said, “The level of planning and organisation that went into this course was so evident. It felt like a hugely valuable experience with not a moment wasted; the tools used to convey information such as the electronic whiteboard and wordles were so effective and engaging. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend this course.”
Ruth Jordan, Assistant Director for Improvement, Implementation and Spread at Cardiff and Vale UHB, said, “I am thrilled that we are running another Spread and Scale Academy this autumn. Both of the academies we have hosted previously have had excellent representation from across the health and care system in Wales with the teams attending going on to achieve incredible things.
“As the Spread and Scale Academy is now part of the newly formed Dragon’s Heart Institute, I hope that it will now go from strength to strength, allowing us to capitalise on the learning and the partnerships made throughout the COVID-19 response to ensure that innovators in the system have the best possible platform to spread their projects.”
Becky Margiotta, Co-Founder of the Billions Institute and the primary instructor for the Spread and Scale Academy, said, “We are blown away by the successes of the first cohort that attended the Spread and Scale Academy in September 2019 and cannot wait to support further cohorts in learning and applying our Model for Unleashing to their own innovations that are ready for scale. We consider it a matter of justice that we help take what works and ensure it is spread to everyone who can possibly benefit. We are honoured to partner with the Cardiff and Vale UHB to provide this transformational learning experience.”
We are anticipating being able to run the Spread and Scale Academy in person once again in Cardiff and look forward to welcoming the Billions Institute team back to Wales. If the COVID-19 situation worsens, we will run the Academy virtually and will notify successful applicants ahead of time.
If you’re ready to unleash your ideas or project, read more and submit an application to this autumn’s Spread and Scale Academy here.
Alternatively, if you have further questions about the Spread and Scale Academy, and the application process, please contact the team by emailing: Spreadandscale@wales.nhs.uk
