How do we create the conditions for innovation and technology to thrive?

Guest blog by Nadia Kadhim, CEO at Naq Cyber UK #LPSInnovation

As detailed in the Government's digital and data roadmap ‘Transforming for a Digital Future’, innovation and technology have the potential to transform local public services by enhancing service accessibility, boosting workforce productivity, driving cost efficiencies and delivering better outcomes for citizens.

However, for this transformation to occur, the right conditions must be created to foster the development and adoption of these innovations. As part of TechUK's Local Public Services Innovation Week, we are exploring the impact of compliance on conditions, outlining the barriers present today and the steps to simplify regulatory compliance that can create an environment where these innovations and technologies can thrive.

The Impact of Digital Health

As local governments contend with decreasing budgets and increasing service demands, technological innovation offers an opportunity to transform how public services are delivered. One area where the positive impact of these technologies is increasingly evident is health and social care, where digital health solutions are alleviating pressures on the NHS, improving quality of life, and enhancing health outcomes for the UK population.

In 2016, Barking and Dagenham Council partnered with North East London Foundation Trust to trial Kardia Mobile, a handheld device that diagnoses irregular heartbeats, clinically referred to as atrial fibrillation (AF). Scanning over 700 patients across 13 local pharmacies, the initiative reduced the time from testing for AF to receiving treatment from the national average of 12 weeks to just two to three weeks. It is estimated that if this technology were rolled out across England, it could prevent 1,600 to 1,700 strokes each year.

Recently, Dorset Council partnered with Lilli, a non-intrusive remote monitoring solution that tracks subtle behavioural changes in elderly individuals living alone. This technology monitors potential signs of decline in patients who have recently been discharged from the hospital. It alerts professionals and local service providers to changes in behaviour patterns, enabling teams to intervene promptly before potential issues escalate. In cases where the technology allows someone to remain at home rather than moving into residential care, Lilli is estimated to save Dorset Council £30,000 per person and enable people to live independently for longer.

The Compliance Challenge

Before such innovative technology can be rolled-out, public services need to ensure the technology is efficient, secure and sustainable. This is ‘mission four’ in the Government’s digital roadmap. As such government departments and organisations have established a range of standards that innovators must meet.

Whilst essential, understanding, achieving and monitoring compliance is a significant barrier to innovators developing technology.

It affects innovations from the very beginning of development. Research by the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI) has shown that nearly half of HealthTech companies have withdrawn products from the market due to "insurmountable" regulatory challenges. These challenges disproportionately affect SMEs and new innovators, who must navigate a complex labyrinth of regulatory requirements in order to participate in the procurement process.

Already stretched thin, local governments face the challenge of verifying that these health innovations meet the relevant regulatory requirements. Local governments and councils must ensure new technologies, comply with standards and frameworks such as GDPR, Cyber Essentials, NHS DSPT, DTAC, and ISO 27001.

Furthermore, local authorities often differ in the compliance requirements they demand from their innovators, leaving innovators confused about the standards and frameworks they need to tender requirements and forcing local governments to verify compliance independently, even if the innovator has already undergone the same process in another region.

Driving Innovation by Streamlining Regulatory Compliance

To create an environment conducive to innovation, we must simplify the complex regulatory environment for innovators and the local government bodies looking to implement these new technologies. Removing this significant barrier to innovation requires implementing:

Clear and Concise Regulations: Make the frameworks and standards innovators must meet clear and concise. Provide communication and support on meeting information security, quality, data protection, and clinical safety requirements needed to successfully navigate the procurement process, gain public trust, and be adopted by local governments.
Standardised Compliance Processes: A standardised compliance process consistent across different regions can reduce the complexity that innovators face when trying to comply with multiple regulatory frameworks. It can also streamline the due diligence process for local authorities when implementing a solution that another local authority has already adopted.
Use of Technology: Leverage technology to streamline the achievement and management of regulatory requirements. For example, compliance platforms like Naq can automate up to 80% of the work required to meet regulatory standards, making it easier and faster for innovations to achieve compliance while providing local councils with a single source of truth to monitor the compliance status of the technologies rolled out within their region.
Collaboration and Support: Foster collaboration between regulatory bodies, industry associations, and technology companies to create a supportive environment for innovation. Providing support and resources for SMEs and new innovators can help them navigate the regulatory landscape more effectively.

Conclusion

Faced with escalating demand for local public services, leaders across government and industry, believe technology has the potential to improve the lives of citizens throughout the UK and modernise the way government works. Thousands of innovations are already built to address many of the public's biggest health, social and educational challenges.

But compliance today is stifling the flow of these technologies into the hands of citizens. Half of products don’t make it onto the market due to this factor alone.

Whilst standards are vital to protect public safety, the management of regulations need to be modified to ease the burden of compliance without compromising quality. Regulation, standardisation, use of technology and collaboration are all steps that will remove the compliance barrier and accelerate the government’s vision for the delivery of world-class technology and transform public services.

Local Public Services Programme

techUK's Local Public Services Programme provides the forum for local public services to engage with industry to better understand the innovations out there, horizon-scan how the technologies of today and tomorrow can re-imagine local public services and solve some of the most pressing challenges our communities and places face. It also helps connect suppliers with each other, identify new business partnerships to help grow an ever thriving local government ecosystem.

Learn more