This Briefing provides an update on the development of Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) – a new tier of organisations to improve the identification, adoption and spread of innovation in the NHS.
It explores some of the forms that AHSNs could take, what contributions different sectors need to make and, building on the experience of other local innovation partnerships, how AHSNs will need to be supported as they emerge.
This Briefing is part of a series on the NHS innovation landscape. It is accompanied by "Lessons from Health Innovation and Education Clusters" and "Integrating research into practice: the CLAHRC experience". Later this year a summing up paper will be released, updating our 2009 publication "Making sense of the new innovation landscape". (Released 19 June 2012)