Our partners
We engage and involve people and organisations across the HealthTech ecosystem to further the development and adoption of medical devices, digital technologies and diagnostics.
A collaborative space for HealthTech professionals
The HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) Network has established the HealthTech Forum: a community of like-minded professionals, united to share expertise, build networks and generate insights that advance the UK’s HealthTech innovation landscape. The Forum is centred around an online collaboration space, a directory of HealthTech professionals and a series of events to share knowledge and networking opportunities. We welcome researchers, clinicians, industry professionals and public contributors with an interest in HealthTech innovation to join the Forum and our events.
We have recently explored:
- The role of NIHR and NICE in HealthTech evidence generation
- HealthTech innovation in rehabilitation
- Artificial intelligence, innovation and public involvement in paediatric HealthTech.
Sign-up for the HealthTech Forum by completing our short registration form.
Supporting a thriving ecosystem
We support UK HealthTech and life sciences priorities by working with national agencies, regulatory bodies and other partners on shared priorities to develop and adopt transformative HealthTech in the UK. Our network unites insights and expertise from our 14 HealthTech Research Centres to influence policy and support our partners.
The MHRA regulates medicines and medical devices in the UK. The HRC Network has connected clinical engineering, HealthTech industry and public contributor representatives into MHRA groups advising on Clinical Investigations regulations.
We support the MHRA’s AI Airlock programme, a first-of-its-kind regulatory sandpit to develop safe and effective regulations for AI as a medical device (AIaMD), with data & AI expertise from across the HRCs.
The 15 local HINs support innovators and the health and care system to develop and adopt innovations at scale.
We work with the HINs to create clearer pathways for HealthTech innovators navigating both national and local support, reducing duplication and strengthening the route to adoption across the system.
NICE produces guidance and recommendations for the use of new and existing health technologies to health and care practitioners and commissioners.
We work with NICE to ensure the HealthTech industry understands how evidence is generated and assessed, supporting a more consistent and streamlined route from evidence to national adoption.
Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency supporting business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions, and is one of the UKRI’s research councils. Innovate UK’s Business Growth service supports small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to grow and scale successfully.
A number of HRCs have joined Innovate UK Business Growth’s Research and Technology Organisation (RTO) programme, providing innovative businesses with funded access to RTOs.
BIVDA is the national association for the IVD industry, representing 97% of the market and nearly 250 organisations.
We contribute to BIVDA's Innovation Working Party, helping to shape UK IVD policy and drive innovation through shared intelligence and cross-sector collaboration.
The Health Tech Alliance is a coalition of leading HealthTech organisations, public and private health bodies, and key voices from across the NHS and the wider health system. We are an associate member of the Alliance.
Collaborating with NIHR research infrastructure
We work with research infrastructure and programmes across the NIHR to maximise the impact and influence of our HRCs and support NIHR’s mission to improve the nation’s health and wealth.
NIHR i4i manages translational HealthTech research funding, applying new scientific discoveries to address existing and emerging health and social care needs.
We work with i4i to develop Funding At the Speed of Translation (FAST) calls — targeted funding opportunities designed to address specific clinical and care priorities. For each call, we consult with HRCs to identify where the greatest need lies, agree the clinical priority to be addressed, and set out what applications need to demonstrate to deliver impact. This ensures funding is directed towards unmet needs in the health and care system, informed by frontline expertise in the HRCs. The HRC Network and HRCs have worked with i4i to develop the following FAST calls:
- April 2026: real-world integration of preventive technologies into the workflow of community care settings.
- September 2025: development of technology-assisted workforce solutions that prevent the progression of a chronic condition to multi-morbidity in community, home and care settings.
- March 2025: development of health technologies to reduce community and hospital waiting lists for children and young people.
NIHR provides and funds training and support to health and care researchers at all stages of their careers through the NIHR Academy. We streamline HRCs’ support to Academy members within their HRCs, supporting career development and training for HealthTech researchers.
We work closely with the Research Support Service to develop support and training for HealthTech innovators, such as a grant-writing workshop for the i4i Product Development Award (PDA) in April 2026. We are collectively committed to designing and adopting innovative new methods for research and development, encouraging collaboration in various NIHR methods development programmes.
As the nation's largest funder of health and care research, NIHR recognises the key role that HRCs play in driving and promoting sustainable health and care systems.
We have partnered with the NIHR Sustainability Team and Pd-m, a leading product design agency, to deliver the NIHR Net Zero Innovation Catalyst. The Catalyst provides hands-on support for HealthTech innovators to embed sustainability early on in product design.