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Impact in Healthcare Fund

In 2019 the Peter Sowerby Foundation launched the Health Breakthrough Fund. This fund was designed to provide larger scale grants to those projects that are providing innovation and transformation in health and social care. In 2025, the Foundation replaced this with a new Impact in Healthcare Fund.

Aims and Objectives of the Fund

In light of recent challenges within public health and significant pressure on the NHS and other statutory services, the Foundation is currently seeking to fund projects which:

  • Tackle a clear and demonstrable need* across a range of health condition 

AND

  • Are proven to be impactful** and where additional funds could EITHER increase the scale or depth of impact OR sustain projects ‘at risk***.’

The Foundation will prioritise applications which focus on:

  • outreach and delivery in the community, as opposed to formal healthcare settings OR
  • work with a digital or data focus OR
  • preventative health care to improve patient well-being. 

Notes for Applicants

The Foundation will continue to prioritise projects which focus on innovation and transformation in health and social care; however, such projects must show a fit with both of the above two criteria to be considered for funding.

The Foundation will support areas of health provision that are part of statutory funding programmes but, in these cases, projects must reach a significant number of patients/beneficiaries and must be able to fit the two criteria outlined above.

Definitions

*Demonstrating Need

The Foundation is seeking projects where:

  • there is clear evidence of the need for a specific health intervention OR
  • there is a gap in the availability of treatment or support OR
  • the quality of support available is not up to a required standard.

Applicants may look to evidence need in different ways. This might include empirical evidence, academic or sector-led research or consultation (for example, with beneficiary groups or health professionals).

**Defining Impact

We define impact at three levels:

  • patient care - positive changes for individual patients. Priority will be given to projects which offer significant impact, scale and reach within an organisation/project’s target beneficiary group.
  • community - the broader impact of a project on a wider community of people or organisations. For example, this might be a group of people within a specific geographical area, or a group of people contending with a specific health challenge
  • sector-wide - positive and large scale changes in policy and practice across the health sector. For example, this could be a change in the way that the NHS provides treatment for those contending with specific health conditions.

***At Risk Projects

We define ‘at risk’ as impactful projects for which funding is coming to an end and which might be discontinued without investment from the Foundation. For example, these may be projects where statutory funding has been cut or is declining.

Strands of Grant Making

Strand 1

Grants of up to £500,000, potentially over multiple years - for projects which are (projects must fit all of the below):

  • proven - through existing monitoring, evaluation or clinical studies - to show significant impact on beneficiaries.
  • ready to scale with increased investment from the Foundation OR are at scale and where the Foundation can continue to support implementation i.e., we will consider continued funding for high impact existing projects, especially where funds cannot easily be sourced elsewhere.
  • run by organisations with compelling track records and an established leadership team.
  • backed by clear evidence of need.
  • sustainable in the long-term following the Foundation’s investment.

Strand 2

Substantial Grants - c.£2-3million over multiple years.

From time to time, we will invite organisations to develop projects which are impactful in a specific area of the Foundation’s interest, and which align with the aims and objectives of the Impact in Healthcare Fund.

It is envisaged that funds could be spent in a range of different ways for example:

  • supporting infrastructure OR
  • core staffing posts OR
  • existing impactful initiatives and which could be sustained over a long-term period thanks to funds from the Foundation OR
  • scale-up of pilot activities which show proven impact OR
  • other means suggested by the applicant.

Please note, Strands 1 and 2 are discrete strands of grant making and we will only invite organisations to apply for these strands of funding via an Open Call or through solicitation.

Initial discussions with prospective organisations will take place before an invitation to submit a formal application is made. Once a submission is made, applications will be assessed in our normal manner.