Sarah Carroll, podiatrist at The Foot Room, a private podiatry clinic in Longridge, invited her brother to come with her to London for a business talk. Instead he recommended she get involved with Lancaster University. “I quickly found myself with all sorts of new contacts – and discovered there was no need to travel far to learn about business.”

“I found the Health Innovation Workshop inspiring and it really boosted me into action,” she says. “I realised how important it is for all allied health professionals and doctors to work closely together in the health sector – and now we’re working towards hosting events in the town for professionals to come and find a way of creating a better holistic service for patients.”

As the University builds towards its new £41m Health Innovation Campus, funding through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is available to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises based in Lancashire who want to do things differently in health and wellbeing. Over two days, health and non-health businesses come together to discuss opportunities for innovation in health. Participants are introduced to the Design Thinking process that provides a structured approach to concept prototyping and testing of new ideas.

But the workshop’s impact also extends beyond health matters, Sarah says. “The project task we worked on made me realise we needed to do more to ensure all our staff were happy – so we have implemented monthly meetings and team building events with immediate effect. I think everyone who attended the workshop will have taken at least one thing away with them that they can implement into their business. I highly recommend!"

Further Health Innovation Workshops are scheduled 4th & 20th June. Visit the website to find out about ERDF eligibility criteria and information on how to register.