Real-world Evaluation (RWE) Competition

Competition Overview

Does your innovation need evidence of impact in a real-world setting? Wessex AHSN is launching a Real-world Evaluation (RWE) Competition which will award the delivery of two real-world evaluations, at no cost to the innovators. 

Wessex AHSN has the capability to carry out RWEs through its Insight team, who are funded by our OLS commission. With this competition, we seek to deliver RWEs that will have the most impact on delivering economic growth for innovators. Innovators are invited to apply by 12 noon on Tuesday 13 June 2023. 

Undertaking a real-world evaluation of the impact of a health innovation and its implementation in practice is a vital part of the pathway towards adoption-readiness.

Even once your innovation can demonstrate that it functions, the adoption needed to support economic growth is often limited by evidence of impact. A real-world evaluation can fill this gap.

Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) are commissioned by the Office for Life Sciences (OLS) to support economic growth in the health and life science sectors. 

The RWE will be undertaken by Wessex AHSN’s Insight team. It will be co-designed with the innovator and the evaluation site(s), and the findings will help innovators demonstrate the impact of their product in the intended healthcare setting. 

This is a competitive process to select innovators who are well-placed to benefit from a RWE, can demonstrate their readiness to undertake evaluation (see Eligibility and Selection Criteria), and are likely to benefit in terms of commercial growth as a result.

An overview of the competition timeline is shown below. 

Overview of Competition Timeline

Eligibility Criteria

You are eligible to apply for the RWE Competition if you meet all of the following criteria:  

1. Wessex AHSN has not evaluated your innovation already.  
2. One innovator can submit more than one application; the innovations must be different and the RWEs distinct. 
3. You have an agreement in place with a health / social care setting to pilot your innovation, or the pilot is already underway.  
4. The health / social care site agrees in principle for an RWE to be undertaken.
5. The RWE can commence before March 2024. 
6. Regulatory compliance is held as a medical device for the intended use in this evaluation, or a letter on file from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) or a medical device regulatory specialist confirming that the system does not fall within the definition of a medical device.
7. If applying with a digital technology:
   1. Compliance with NHS Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC), or actively working towards it and an existing knowledge of the areas where the innovation may be currently non-compliant.
   2. Evidence from structured testing with real users in a test environment that the innovation functions as intended and is safe to put into live use.

How to apply

Please read our Term of Reference documents, which provide further information on the selection criteria, the application process, and details on how you’ll be working with us. 

If you would like to apply, please complete and submit the application form by 12 noon on Tuesday 13 June 2023.

We recommend that you download this PDF copy of the questions and work through your answers before completing the application form, as it is not possible to save your progress.  

If you have any questions or would like further information before applying, please contact Emily Hunter (emily.hunter@wessexahsn.net).