1. Decide which application forms you're going to complete

Some people apply to the SimDH programme to benefit from our one-to-one consultancy and group workshops. It then might take a year or two for these businesses to be in a position to collaborate on a new-to-market or new-to-firm product with us. In the meantime, the knowledge gained from our programme allows these businesses to:

• Perform market and user research
• Raise funds or secure grants
• Protect intellectual property
• Build an MVP.

If you're within six months of a product launch, have just launched a product or would like an existing product to be improved/tested, then you'd be a great fit for a SimDH collaboration - working one-on-one with our experts, academics and student consultants.

Everyone will complete the first form, which covers:

• Company Information
• Company Eligibility
• Product Information
• Support Needs.
  

If you're looking to apply for a SimDH Collaboration, you'll want to complete one of the following forms: Product Development Proposal, or Product Evaluation Proposal. You do not have to complete these forms at the same time.

2. Collect essential information about your business

Due to our funding agreements, we have a strict eligibility criteria for businesses joining the SimDH programme. In order to benefit from our expertise in health and social care, psychology, engineering, computer science and more, businesses must be:

• Launching a new-to-market or new-to-firm digital health product, process or service in the next six months (or looking to test or improve an existing product process or service)
• Registered in Greater London
• An SME: A small-to-medium enterprise with an annual turnover below £43m and with less than 250 employees.
  

To prove you meet our eligibility criteria, you'll need to prepare:

• Your company registration number
• A brief summary about your business.

3. Get competitive

To judge your application, we'll ask you a number of questions about your business and products to assess feasibility and potential.

To make the most out of the space you have, it'd be wise to draft summaries about:

• Your business model
• The product you'd like us to support with creating, testing, launching, evaluating or improving
• Your target customer
• The key people within your business, including their roles and expertise
• The number of FTE (Full Time Employees) working for your business
• The existing relationships you have within the industry
• Key milestones within your product roadmap
• Existing market research you've completed
• Other accelerator programmes you've joined.
  

You'll also have the chance to upload supporting documentation - so if you have a pitch deck, a business model canvas, UX designs or prototypes, this is your opportunity to show us!

4. Be specific

We need to know if SimDH will be a good fit for you, as well as your business being a good fit for us.  

Take some time to consider what support you're looking for - and the more specific you can be, the better we can judge your application.

We'll be asking you about:

• The expertise you require to reach your next milestone(s)
• What you'd like to achieve in the next six months.

5. Product Development or Product Evaluation Proposal?

A Product Development Collaboration with us will help you to access specific areas of expertise in order to launch a new-to-market or new-to-firm product, process or service.

This expertise could be in:

• Mental Health and Psychology
• Business Model and Strategy
• Customer Acquisition & MarketFit
• Software Development
• Machine Learning
• Data Analytics
• Medical Imaging
• Electrical Engineering
• Design and User Experience.
  

It can be performed on prototypes, MVPs, or on existing products needing additional features.

If you already have an MVP or a product/process/service on the market, completing a product evaluation collaboration will help you prove its effectiveness to:

• Future procurers - such as the NHS
• Your existing target audience by substantiating marketing / wellness claims
• Investors to help fund the marketing and sales channel creations for your product
• Other accelerator programmes, such as DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, who can further facilitate the adoption of your innovation into the Health & Social Care System.
  

If neither collaboration option suits your business right now, don't worry - it won't affect your application. You can always come back to complete a collaboration with SimDH after you graduate your current cohort!

6. For your Product Development Proposal, you'll need to:

• Tell us what development you require- full development from idea to MVP, development from prototype to MVP, or development of some functionality aspects from prototype to MVP. If none of these fit your needs, let us know why
• Inform us if you're developing hardware or software, and what support you require for this development. This affects the expertise available to you, and capacity might be limited depending on the applications we receive
• Explain the technical capacity you already have within your business, relevant to the support you've requested
• Describe your tech stack - this will help us identify other support you might need (or might not need)
• Define a proposed timeline, so we can measure where our support could have the greatest impact
• Explain your desired outcomes of the proposed collaboration.

At the end of the application, you'll have a chance to upload any supporting documentation that you feel will support your proposal.

We suggest reviewing NICE Evidence Standards Framework for Digital Health Technologies before beginning your product development proposal, as this will help you understand the standards you may need to reach to be to achieve a successful launch to market.

7. For your Product Evaluation Proposal, you'll need to:

• Tell us whether your product is already on the market, and if so, how long it's been on the market
• Describe the current functionality of your healthtech product or service
• Detail your monthly customer acquisition rate
• Explain which commercial data you are or will be collecting, such as app usage or Net Promotor Score
• Describe how you're already measuring your product's effectiveness
• Give a brief summary of the evidence base supporting your innovation
• This should include any theoretical frameworks which you're applying through your product or have based your product off of
• Outline and describe any previous research projects completed
• Confirm ownership of your IP
• Explain your desired outcomes of the proposed collaboration.
  

At the end of the application, you'll have a final chance to upload any supporting documentation that you feel will support your proposal.

It is also a good idea to review NICE Evidence Standards Framework for Digital Health Technologies before completing this proposal - as these are the standards your innovation is most likely to be tested against.

8. I'm ready to apply - now what?

Grab a beverage, and we suggest using a computer, rather than a smartphone or tablet, to make your experience as stress-free as possible.

The amount of time it takes for an application to be completed depends on a number of variables. Ensuring you're as prepped as possible for your application will make the process go much faster.

SimDH Cohort 3 applications open from 24 October 2021.