Our Support Offer for Industry

Supporting industry partners to embed patient safety into healthcare technologies and generate meaningful real‑world impact

SafetyNet is the NIHR-funded network of six NIHR Patient Safety Research Collaborations (PSRC) focused on improving the safety of care through applied, real-world research. We work with industry, the NHS and patients to understand how healthcare technologies interact with complex systems and how they can be designed, implemented and used more safely.

We recognise that patient safety can be difficult to define, measure and prioritise during technology development—particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Our role is to provide a clear, accessible route for industry partners to engage with patient safety expertise, generate meaningful evidence and explore evaluation opportunities within NHS settings.

We work with a range of industry partners, including:

• Health technology SMEs and start-ups
• Medical device and diagnostics companies
• Digital health, data and AI developers
• Established MedTech organisations
• NHS and academic partners supporting innovation

Our engagement is particularly focused on organisations seeking to understand, evidence or improve the patient safety impact of healthcare technologies.

What we offer

NIHR PSRCs are particularly interested in how technologies are used in everyday practice and how they affect patients, staff and systems. We provide practical, proportionate support to help industry partners embed patient safety into innovation, including:

• Early-stage advice on patient safety considerations in design and development
• Systems-based assessment of safety risks and unintended consequences
• Human factors and usability evaluation
• Support for real-world evaluation and piloting in NHS settings
• Evidence generation to inform future regulatory, commissioning and adoption decisions
• Co-design activities with patients and healthcare professionals
• Clear signposting to relevant expertise across NIHR and partner networks
• Connections and signposting to the NIHR HealthTech Research Centres (HRC) Network for specialist clinical support and evaluation where relevant

See our industry case studies

Collaboration pathways

Informed by engagement with industry and NHS partners, SafetyNet supports two complementary collaboration routes:

Watch a 3 minute animation for a quick overview of NIHR’s support and services to Industry.

How to collaborate with us

1 – Submit an enquiry

Get in touch with us using our online form and briefly describe your technology, idea, or patient safety challenge. No prior experience of working with the NHS or NIHR is required.

2 – Scoping discussion

We will arrange an initial conversation to understand your organisation, stage of development and how patient safety features in your work. This helps us identify whether the PSRC Network is the right fit and what type of support may be most useful.

We will also work with you to identify which PSRC team(s) and, if applicable, NIHR HealthTech Research Centre(s) are best placed to support your innovation, and where relevant, connect you with wider NIHR infrastructure to ensure you receive the most appropriate and coordinated support at every stage of development.  

Where appropriate, we work with you to agree a potential collaboration, including the focus, scale and form of involvement. This may include patient safety–led work or patient safety as part of a wider evaluation.

3 – Exploring potential funding pathways

If relevant, we will discuss and signpost possible funding or support routes to help progress the work. This may include, for example:

• NIHR research or innovation funding calls
• Collaborative funding with NHS partners
• Opportunities through the NIHR HealthTech Research Centres (HRC) Network
• Regional or national innovation support schemes
• Joint applications with academic or NHS collaborators

Any funding discussions are exploratory and dependent on eligibility, scope and availability.