Learning with Experts (LWE) is a digital education company recognised for building highly engaging online learning experiences, achieving course completion rates of around 80% in areas where many digital platforms struggle to retain users. Working alongside Polyatrics Limited, developer of the NHS-integrated W:ISH platform, the company identified an opportunity to apply this expertise to one of healthcare's biggest challenges: improving patient engagement in digital social prescribing.
As the NHS continues its shift towards preventative and population health management, social prescribing has become an increasingly important part of patient care. However, many existing digital solutions function primarily as referral systems and struggle to keep patients engaged throughout their health journey, resulting in high dropout rates and reduced clinical impact.
Learning with Experts and Polyatrics wanted to create a new generation of social prescribing technology that places people, rather than processes, at the centre of healthcare delivery. Their vision was to transform the existing W:ISH platform into a highly engaging, NHS-interoperable digital environment that helps people better manage and prevent long-term health conditions through personalised education, behavioural support and expert-led guidance.
GrantUp identified Innovate UK Design Foundations as the ideal funding programme to support this early-stage innovation. The competition's focus on human-centred design aligned perfectly with the project's objective of understanding user needs before progressing into full product development.
Our consultants worked closely with both organisations to develop a compelling funding strategy, demonstrating the significant healthcare challenge, the commercial opportunity and the project's potential impact across the NHS. We strengthened the application by clearly articulating how Learning with Experts' proven expertise in learner engagement could be combined with Polyatrics' NHS-integrated technology to create a differentiated digital health platform capable of delivering measurable improvements in patient outcomes.
Throughout the application, GrantUp refined the innovation narrative, strengthened the commercial positioning and ensured the proposal aligned closely with Innovate UK's assessment criteria. The resulting application positioned the project as a critical first step towards reducing development risk, validating user needs and establishing a scalable platform capable of supporting preventative healthcare across the NHS.
The consortium successfully secured Innovate UK Design Foundations funding, enabling structured discovery work, user research and design validation to begin immediately. With NHS infrastructure already in place and deployment planned across four Primary Care Networks (PCNs) within Hertfordshire Integrated Care Board, the project provides a clear pathway towards full product development and future NHS adoption.