Wessex Cancer Alliance is pleased to share details of our latest transformation funding and welcomes the opportunity to provide clinical teams with small funding grants along with an associated training offer to support individuals/teams to undertake a workforce transformation project that addresses a specific workforce challenge.
The clinical leads/teams leading these service transformation projects will be supported with a development opportunity in Quality Improvement methodology to make improvement a reality in their services. The training is fully funded and project leads/teams will need to be released from their organisation to attend 4 training days over a period of 3-6 months commencing October 2023. Further support will be given to encourage writing for publication, developing abstracts and presenting at conferences.
Background
New models of care will only become a reality if we have enough staff with the right skills, values and behaviours to deliver them. We need to develop a workforce able to work across settings and traditional professional demarcations, with flexible skills. We know that our cancer workforce are well placed to understand rising demands on the cancer services and how redesign of their services, working practices and team skills and capabilities can start to address these challenges and find innovative solutions to increase capacity in a way that supports an already stretched workforce; always maintaining / improving the quality of care for a person undergoing treatment for cancer.
This fund offers individuals, teams and organisations the opportunity to identify and pilot innovative solutions that could address workforce challenges and drive change, enabling service improvement and workforce transformation to be led by those delivering cancer care.
What should the funds be used for:
Funding will need to be used to support workforce transformation in the following ways:
- Improvement project planning to use the current workforce differently to improve the cancer pathway
e.g. review of team competencies matched to patient need - Piloting interventions to build on the existing skill set of the existing workforce, providing support and development so their expertise is used where it is needed most.
- Developing / piloting digital tools to enhance patient experience whilst building capacity in clinical teams.
The funds should be used for doing something differently and not to bridge a short term problem. Consideration of impact on all patients must be considered in the projects. Funding can be applied for project management time; training and development; piloting new posts. Organisations will need to demonstrate the sustainability of the initiative and there is an expectation that learning will be shared across Wessex.
How much can be bid for:
£100,000 is available for the whole of Wessex
Bids can be submitted for a maximum of £20,000. The monies awarded will be paid directly to the successful organisation who will need to manage the money appropriately against the bid outline. Project will need to commence within one month of funds received.
What will be required by those successful in being awarded funding :
A draft project plan is required before funding is allocated. This will be reviewed by the Wessex Cancer Alliance team and relevant stakeholders. Quarterly progress reports will need to be submitted and work and learning captured in poster format. If for any reason the funding is not utilised on the planned work, recipients of funding must inform the Alliance as soon as possible.
Application sign off:
All bids require the support of someone who works at Executive Director level within the organisation/employer. This is to ensure that applicants will be supported by their organisation/employer if successful in being awarded funding.
How to apply:
Please submit your completed bid application form to the Alliance Workforce Programme Manager, Kathy.cooke@wca.uhs.nhs.uk
by Friday 23 June, 2023
Review of bids:
Each bid will be reviewed and scored by Wessex Cancer Alliance and a panel of key stakeholders (including the WCA Patient and Public Involvement representatives) using a scoring matrix to ensure impartiality and to allocate funding for maximum impact. The outcome of the bid process and allocation of funding will be confirmed by 14 July, 2023 with projects starting Aug / September and completing end of March 2024.
Any further queries:
Kathy.cooke@wca.uhs.nhs.uk