Best Peer
On Thursday February 26th, it was my privilege to receive the “Best Peer” award at the NIA Summit Awards 2020. In what turned out to be a lovely virtual ceremony, I was able to connect with my distinguished colleagues and celebrate the innovative work that was done in what turned out to be an incredibly challenging year. It was humbling to receive the award from Professor Stephen Powis himself, the National Medical Director of NHS England & NHS Improvement, whose work I have long admired. In the midst of the pandemic and national lockdown, I was honoured to sit in the same (virtual) room as someone who has been on the front line of vaccine administration and distribution.
When I embarked on the NIA journey, I didn’t quite know what to expect. The NIA is an award-winning NHS England initiative. It supports delivery of the NHS Long Term Plan priorities by accelerating the uptake of high-impact innovations for patient, population and NHS staff benefit, and providing practical insights on spread to inform national strategy.
Having been lucky enough to go participate in an established accelerator program in Boulder, US. I have a good understanding of how a traditional Tech Startup Accelerator works. They do not prepare entrepreneurs to work at scale within our unique NHS. They only last 12 weeks for starters, whereas NIA fellows have an intense 12 months and are invited to be an NIA fellow and participate in the program for 3 years. What makes the NIA so special and unique is the people behind it, lead by its co-founder Dr Amanda Begley, Laura Boyd, and supported by a rockstar team of Morgan McKean, Mindy Simon, and Iona Tinker. This small team appears to do the job of a team of 10 people. They were in our corner throughout the rollercoaster year that was 2020. Through the ups and downs of a digital health start-up, I am eternally grateful for all their support over this last year.
Launched in 2015, the NIA is chaired by Professor Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of NHS England and NHS Improvement, and delivered in partnership with the 15 Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), hosted at UCL Partners.Since its launch the NIA has seen 2,214 NHS sites adopt NIA innovations, created 468 jobs and raised £134.8m in funding.
What ensued was a whirlwind of a year of meetings, briefs, research and most importantly...peer mentorship. The relationships I have made through this program have been invaluable. We have struggled to learn together in what might have been the most challenging and disconnected year I’ve ever had. What began with many in-person meetings and events, (including a day of breath training at RADA to present our pitch which I will never forget); quickly shifted. As Coronavirus became more real, my participation in the NIA program became virtual as we mostly connected on zoom to check in with one another. This continues now, and we have turned this prestigious programme into a high-level support system for digital health entrepreneurs.
The advice, education and relationships I have encountered amongst my fellows has been unprecedented, and I’d like to thank them for their peerage. We will never forget 2020, our participation in the NIA and I hope we never lose touch.
—Lee Omar
