Propose ideas

The concept of ‘co-creation’ is embedded in the way IHI works. When it comes to ideas for potential new call topics, this means that we welcomed suggestions from the wider health and research community. We set up the IHI Ideas Incubator to make it easier for people to submit proposals, and for IHI to assess them. 

Closure of the IHI Ideas Incubator

IHI will launch its final calls for proposals in early 2027 and discussions on the topics are already ongoing. We are therefore closing the Ideas Incubator. Ideas submitted before 14 September 2026 will still be assessed as set out below. However, it will no longer be possible to submit new proposals.

We would like to thank the many people who have submitted inspiring and innovative ideas which have enriched the IHI programme.

1 - Completeness and quality check

When you submit an idea, you’ll receive an automatic acknowledgement from the system with your idea’s reference number. On our side, IHI staff will first carry out a simple completeness and quality check, to ensure that the form contains enough information for review and that your idea is in line with IHI’s objectives. If your idea passes this check, it will go to the next stage (i.e. review by the IHI Science and Innovation Panel). If your idea does not pass this first check, you will receive an e-mail from the IHI Programme Office informing you of this and explaining the reasons behind the decision.

2 - Review by the IHI Science and Innovation Panel and publication online

Ideas that pass the first check are reviewed by the IHI Science and Innovation Panel (SIP), which is made up of experts from diverse sectors, disciplines and stakeholder groups. The SIP discusses the ideas at their meetings and agrees on which ideas merit further consideration, i.e. they are aligned with IHI’s objectives and have the potential to be developed further as all or part of an IHI call topic. The SIP sends its feedback on the ideas to the IHI Governing Board.

All ideas reviewed by the SIP are published here under the 'Ideas' tab above, along with the SIP opinion. This is for transparency purposes. Note that we do not inform idea submitters of the outcome of the SIP review or when their idea is published.

3 - Further development of ideas

Ideas that receive a positive review from the SIP are discussed by the IHI members and may be developed further as part of an IHI call topic. The topic development and approval process involves a wide range of stakeholders and all IHI governance bodies. This means that even if your idea is reviewed positively by the SIP, it may be altered significantly during the subsequent stages of topic development, or it could become a small part of a broader topic. It may also be dropped entirely.

In practice, most external ideas taken on board by IHI are more likely to form just one component/aspect of a call topic. In any case, it is important to understand that if your idea is supported and ultimately used in an IHI call topic, the fact that you submitted the original idea does not give you any rights to participate in the resulting project or receive any IHI funding. If you want to be involved in the project, your options will depend on whether your topic is part of a single-stage or two-stage call, and whether or not you are willing to contribute to the project in kind. Note that not all organisations are eligible to receive IHI funding – further details can be found on our call documents page.

Single-stage calls: If your idea is part of a single-stage call topic, you will need to join / build a consortium and apply via our normal competitive call process. This is regardless of whether you want to receive IHI funding or whether you want to contribute to the project either as an industry partner or IHI contributing partner. Your proposal would be reviewed by independent experts alongside all other eligible proposals.

Two-stage calls for organisations that want to receive IHI funding: If your idea is part of a two-stage call topic, you will need to join / build a consortium and apply via stage 1 of our normal competitive call process. Your proposal would be reviewed by independent experts alongside all other eligible proposals.

Two-stage calls for organisations that are willing to contribute to the project in kind: If you are a member of one of IHI’s industry partners, or are (or are willing to become) an IHI contributing partner, you can be part of the pre-formed industry consortium that contributes to the definition of the topic and, crucially, contributes to the project in kind once it is up and running.