Meet the innovators set to improve Welsh public services
Managed by Y Lab and funded by Welsh Government, Innovate to
Save grants will be used to test new ideas that have the potential
to improve public services and generate cashable savings.
These seven projects, the second group of successful applicants,
tackle a diverse range of challenges, including energy efficiency,
managing vital fire safety equipment across a rural fire service,
community-based social care, older people’s housing needs, and
increasing the retention rates of foster carers.
Mark Drakeford, Cabinet Secretary for Finance said ‘I am pleased
we are able to announce the second tranche of projects for the
Innovate to Save initiative. This second funding round will help
continue the momentum and build on the innovative ideas and
proposals put forward in the first bidding round, improving public
services and generating cash savings.’
The seven organisations to receive funding are:
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service (MAWWFRS) has
been awarded £30,000 to use artificial intelligence to
predict the way that vital safety equipment is procured, stored and
accessed across MAWW Fire Service’s 58 fire stations.
Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board (ABMUHB)
have been awarded £30,000 to model a not-for-profit
Community Interest Company for NHS Wales to dispense and deliver
high-cost medicines directly to patients in their own homes and
test the use of technology to improve efficiency in the pharmacy
service.
Newport City Council have been awarded £15,000
to work with Surple to reduce energy consumption in Council-run
buildings, through a combination of behaviour change methods and
digital technologies including software to help people understand
and tackle their energy use.
Pro-Mo Cymru has been awarded £15,000 to work
with Public Health Wales to develop new ways of communicating
sexual health information to young people in Cardiff and test
whether this reduces STI rates.
Care and Repair Cymru has been awarded £15,000
to test their ‘Help to Move’ project which will help older people
to move house successfully rather than ‘stay put’ in a house that
no longer meets their needs. The service will help people assess
their housing needs, identify options, offer counselling and
emotional support, and evaluate whether the project improves
independence, health and well-being.
Solva Care has been awarded £14,401 to explore
and develop a new approach to using Direct Payments for Social Care
where eligible individuals can be encouraged to pool payments with
the support of a locally based Care Cooperative. This approach may
improve choice and ability to access care and the project will
assess the viability and economics of provision and the impact on
Local Authority expenditure, quality and provision.
Flintshire Council has been awarded £30,000 to
test a Mockingbird™ ‘constellation’ fostering hub with peer
support, regular sleepovers and combined social activities for
foster carers and their families.
Y Lab, the public services innovation lab for Wales, which is a
partnership between Cardiff University and Nesta, the UK’s
innovation foundation will provide support and guidance to the
projects over a 12-month period as they test and trial their idea.
Further support will be offered by WCVA.
The first version of Innovate to Save, launched in 2017, has
seen its first implementation loan issued to Leonard Cheshire to
support the scaling of their pilot project, Innovation for Active
Communities across Wales.
Y Lab Co-Lead and Academic Director, Professor James Lewis, said
‘These projects are all excellent examples of how public sector
organisations can use research and innovation to make significant
improvements to the services they provide. I am looking forward to
supporting the teams from the seven organisations as they work to
solve some of the most pressing public sector challenges.’
For more information on Innovate to Save visit the
project website.
