NHS Cancer Programme Innovation Open Call 4 Announced in England

The NHS Cancer Program Innovation Open Call is funded by NHS England and managed by SBRI Healthcare. Introduced in 2021, it aims to accelerate the adoption of high-quality, proven, late-stage innovations that support earlier cancer detection and diagnosis, in line with the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan. Since its launch, 20 innovations have received more than £39 million in funding across three previous calls.

In June 2026, NHS England announced the fourth round of the Innovation Open Call. Applications are expected to open in September 2026, with further confirmation to follow. Potential applicants are invited to attend a briefing webinar on June 18, 2026.

Innovation Open Call 4 is seeking innovations that address two key challenges:

• Improving productivity through managing demand or improving capacity on cancer care pathways, supporting the NHS to meet all Cancer Waiting Time standards by March 2029;
• Driving earlier detection and diagnosis of cancer through novel screening, prompt presentation, case-finding, or diagnostic tools, helping ensure that by 2035, three-quarters of people diagnosed with cancer are cancer-free or living well with cancer five years after diagnosis.

To reflect the different stages of innovation maturity and distinct adoption barriers, the competition will support two complementary funding models.

Real World Implementation and Evaluation Fund will support the real-world deployment and independent evaluation of market-ready innovations across multiple NHS sites in England. It continues the program’s established approach of generating robust service, patient, and health economic evidence to inform future commissioning decisions. Applications are open to single organizations based in the UK or EU, including those from the private, public, or third sectors. Applicants must demonstrate a partnership with an NHS organization in England and an independent evaluation partner. Additional engagement with Cancer Alliances and/or Health Innovation Networks is strongly encouraged. Projects will be 100% funded up to a total value of £3 million, excluding VAT, over a maximum period of 24 months.

Innovation Spread Fund will support the spread and embedding of mature innovations across multiple sites within at least one Cancer Alliance that have already independently measured and demonstrated positive patient outcomes and a favorable cost‑benefit or cost‑effectiveness profile across multiple sites in England. This model is designed to “fund the change as well as the tech”, which is often crucial to enable the effective adoption and spread of proven innovations. This will be through an outcomes-based, matched funding agreement with Integrated Care Boards. Applications must be led by an Integrated Care Board or Cancer Alliance based in England. Projects will be funded up to a total value of £5 million, excluding VAT, over the first 24 months of a project lasting up to 36 months.

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