The Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund is a new £5 million grant programme for projects which will provide innovative healthcare treatments for Armed Forces veterans.

Grants are designed to support organisations looking to research and trail cutting-edge technology, innovative medical treatments or new clinical pathways could help veterans with complex healthcare needs. The Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA) welcomes bids that give due regard to minority veterans (for example, women, LGBT+, ethnic minorities etc.) and their unique circumstances.

The competition is looking for proposals which address the following challenges areas:

o Challenge 1: Digital, data and technology. This challenge area is aimed at harnessing the latest digital, data and technology capabilities to improve our understanding of veterans’ healthcare needs.
o Challenge 2: Surgical technology, bioengineering and rehabilitation with blast injuries. This challenge area is aimed at proposals that offer improvements in innovative surgical techniques, bioengineering and rehabilitation interventions to support veterans who have been subject to blast injuries.
o Challenge 3: Public Health, pain management, hearing loss and visual impairment. This challenge area is aimed at improvements for veterans in the areas of pain, hearing loss and visual impairment. In addition, we are interested in applications that plug knowledge gaps and/or trail interventions for public health challenges faced by veterans, especially in the areas of addiction, cardiovascular disease prevention, mental health and nutrition, and
o Challenge 4: Initiatives to help identify and/or provide solutions to disparities in female veterans’ health and healthcare. This challenge area is interested in projects that could improve our understanding of female veterans’ health challenges, and what care pathways can be put in place to better support them.

Organisations will receive grants or contracts to research or trial cutting-edge treatments, techniques and interventions for physical and mental health challenges to help veterans enjoy civilian life to the fullest of their ability.

Up to £2.7 million is available to fund multiple proposals from the Veterans’ Health Innovation Fund, with up to £300,000 (including VAT where applicable) available per proposal.

Further information, guidance and details about how to apply is available on the GOV.UK website.

The deadline for applications is Wednesday 31st August 2022.