The Health Foundation’s non-clinical A.I. sounding board
Please notify your interest to Fiona Conaty (E: [email protected])
Context
What is the non-clinical AI project?
As part of The Health Foundation’s wider portfolio of work on artificial intelligence (A.I.), the Improvement and Innovation Directorate have embarked on a programme to advance non-clinical A.I. in the NHS. Our definition of non-clinical A.I. is in appendix 1, acknowledging the boundaries between definitions may change in this emergent field. Based on engagement with non-clinical AI developers and with NHS decision makers and staff in summer 2024, we understand we can specifically support advancement of non-clinical A.I. through raising awareness and supporting implementation and use of responsible non-clinical A.I.
Why do we want a non-clinical AI external sounding board?
User, public and expert engagement is critical to ensure innovations are effective, impactful, and inclusive. Ensuring that A.I., including non-clinical A.I. has been developed with these needs in mind is no exception, and to support the Health Foundation’s own work in this area, external engagement is important and necessary. An external sounding-board will provide external input and advice to help shape the Health Foundations projects that aim to support advancement of responsible non-clinical A.I.
Remit and Purpose
The specific scope for this sounding board will be to bring lived experience and subject-matter expertise relevant to advancing knowledge and use of responsible non-clinical AI (see appendix 1) in the NHS to:
- Inform the scope, delivery and dissemination of THF’s work on non-clinical AI so that it’s designed and delivered with NHS staff & patients' needs in mind, and takes on board feedback from wider experts involved in effective awareness, implementation and use of responsible non-clinical AI
- Contribute to our thinking on where the more promising areas for advancing the knowledge and use of responsible non-clinical AI are and where the needs for it could lie
- Help inform what activities could achieve greatest impact given resources available
- Help identify risks and opportunities from a lived experience and / or subject-matter expert perspective
- Provide feedback to ensure we engage and attract inclusive and diverse applications for phase 2 from a wide pool.
Specific activities members of the group will be asked to support include:
- Review and provide feedback on the high-level Theory of Change and design for the programme
- Provide feedback on early design of materials intended for NHS staff and industry (respectively) to help ensure it is accessible to needs
- Give input in the specific design and approach for engaging phase 2 applications, considering the objectives desired, so it can maximise reach.
The group will not be required to:
- Assist in running activities of the fund
- Approval of any outputs including milestones, resources or reports arising from contracts, grants or publications developed
- Make final decisions on who will receive funding for Phase 2 (but will be invited to give feedback on relevant proposals).
Why be involved
- An opportunity to help ensure problems or opportunities you have experience of are considered or addressed
- A chance to influence national-level programmes that will help unlock capacity and improve outcomes in the NHS
- A fast track to learning about where and how AI is being used within the NHS
- An opportunity to increase knowledge and experience within the field of non-clinical AI within the NHS
- Opportunities to engage with the wider stakeholders involved in AI within health and care will also be provided (e.g. invites to events or roundtables).
Time commitment and timescales
The group will run for 9 months, approximately from mid-February to November 2025. At this point in time the remit and scope of the group will be reviewed. We will be in touch to identify a date and time in mid-February that will work for all or most of the sound board members. The estimated time commitment will be approximate 1 day a quarter across a mix of group or individual activities (see below) with no more than two meetings per quarter.
Forms of engagement:
Anticipate this will be a mix of methods. Some activities will lend themselves to group workshops, whilst in other cases you may be asked to give comments / contributions on work outside of a set meeting. Any meetings will be online and not more than 2 hours in length.