Advanced Wellbeing Accelerator

The Advanced Wellbeing Accelerator is an R&D-focused programme that supports pre-revenue and early-stage companies* developing products or services with applications that support people to live healthier lives. The programme is accessed via a competitive application process and provides the accepted cohort with a range of valuable support to help them to get their innovation closer to market, gain new customers (if at market) and/or enter new markets.

Based in Sheffield Hallam’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC), participants are supported to build a project team alongside our academics and carry out a bespoke R&D project to help the participating company overcome a technical challenge. We are fortunate to have access to world-class R&D facilities to carry out design and rapid prototyping, through to precision engineering of prototype components.

The centre also houses a range of laboratories for technology validation, and a clinical research floor with hosted NHS services covering areas such as cancer, weight management, MSK and stroke for demonstrations with target population. Beyond these we utilise our regional and national links to deliver pilots in community and workplace settings where more appropriate.

Beyond the R&D offer, the AWRC also leverages its ecosystem of supportive individuals and organisations to help startup founders to grow their networks; improve their knowledge; forge new collaborations; and help to secure private investment through investment readiness support and public investment through grant assessments with feedback from our innovation funding managers.

The programme is intended to help build new relationships and following the defined accelerator programme, the programme team will work with the alumni to develop collaborative grant funding applications - decided on a case by case basis following our assessment of the fit to the specific call criteria. Successes here have ranged from £50k Innovate UK fast grants, through to £1million+ UKRI Design for Ageing awards.

*will also consider small, more established SMEs, academics close to spinning out a company, and social enterprises are welcome to apply too.