CHI-Zone Fellowship: Building a Community for Person-Centred Innovation in Complex Long-Term Conditions
Applications are now open for the 2026/27 CHI-Zone Fellowship, a fully funded programme designed to bring together a diverse cohort of leaders, innovators and change-makers from across health, social care, academia, industry, technology, start-ups and the third sector.
As we reflected on last year's Fellowship, one theme stood out above all others: the quality of the conversations. While the programme was designed to develop commercial skills, expand networks and explore the future of health innovation, what emerged was something even more valuable. Participants created a space where ideas could be tested, assumptions challenged and new perspectives welcomed. Conversations were open, supportive and respectful, often developing naturally as Fellows learned from one another's experiences. We’re excited to build on this for 2026.
Most of us spend our working lives focused on immediate priorities. We become experts in our own organisations, teams and sectors, but rarely get the opportunity to step back, challenge our assumptions and think strategically about the future. The reality is that we all have biases shaped by our experiences and environments, and we naturally see problems through the lens of our own roles and responsibilities. The Fellowship creates space to do something different.
By bringing together people from across the innovation ecosystem, participants are exposed to perspectives they might not otherwise encounter. Researchers learn from practitioners. Technologists hear directly from those working on the frontline. Community organisations connect with academics. Innovators discover the realities of implementation and adoption.
We are learning that the complex challenges facing health and care cannot be solved in isolation. No single organisation, profession or sector has all the answers. Meaningful innovation happens when people with different expertise come together around a shared goal, combining their knowledge to design solutions that are practical, scalable and rooted in real-world needs.
A Shared Vision
This year's theme, Person-Centred Innovation in Complex Long-Term Conditions, reflects one of the most significant challenges facing health and care systems today. As the number of people living with multiple long-term conditions continues to grow, there is an increasing need for solutions that place individuals, their experiences and their needs at the heart of care. This year's Fellowship will explore how innovation can improve outcomes, enhance quality of life and support more joined-up approaches across health and care systems. United by this shared challenge, Fellows will form a community committed to developing new ideas, questioning existing approaches and identifying opportunities to create meaningful impact.
Learning Through Doing
One of the aspects we are most excited about this year is the breadth and quality of expertise that will contribute to the programme.
Last year's Fellowship demonstrated the value of bringing together exceptional speakers and experts from different sectors. An unexpected outcome was the way those relationships continued beyond individual workshops, creating new partnerships, collaborations and mentoring opportunities for Fellows. And so, we have built on that approach for 2026; The programme combines expert insight with practical, hands-on learning. Rather than focusing solely on theory, each session is designed to provide tangible tools, frameworks and approaches that participants can apply in their own work.
Topics will include:
Strategic collaboration and building relationships that create long-term impact
Understanding demand and identifying the stakeholders needed to support adoption
Human-centred design and branding
Good growth, aligning commercial success with social purpose
Regulation and ethics for data-driven innovation
Funding and investment pathways, including conversations with grant funders, angel investors, venture capital firms and other sources of support
We are particularly proud of the balance within the programme. Alongside a high-quality programme of skills development, we have carefully protected space for discussion, reflection and peer learning. Some of the most valuable insights often come not from the front of the room, but from conversations between Fellows who bring different perspectives to a shared challenge.
Looking Ahead
At its heart, the CHI-Zone Fellowship is about creating the conditions for meaningful innovation to flourish. It is about taking time to think differently, learning from people whose experiences challenge our own assumptions, and building relationships that continue long after the final workshop. It is about bringing together a diverse community of people who share the ambition to improve lives through innovation.
We are excited to welcome the 2026/27 cohort and to see the ideas, collaborations and partnerships that emerge.
Applications are now open. If you are passionate about person-centred innovation and want to be part of a community working to improve outcomes for people living with complex long-term conditions, we would love to hear from you.