They say the best ideas come from simple insights.

‘What’s the Big Idea?’ invites staff to submit their creative ideas that will be turned into successful projects in just 90 days.

Ariana Carrodus, Project Manager, explained the team is looking for ideas that help answer the most burning questions.

“We are looking for innovative and creative ideas that can give answers to questions like: Who can we stop from coming to hospital? Where would we send them? How can your current team operate differently? How do we reduce length of stay and support patients in the community? What do we need to change so patients stay well at home? and similar,” she said.

In the middle of last year, during lockdowns one and two, Siva Sivarajah, Chief Executive, asked for ideas on how we can develop new models of care, in response to the pandemic. Last year brought numerous changes to the organisation quickly, and the time was right to work on additional transformation ideas.

“Staff started presenting their ideas in a ‘sprint’ manner – as the aim was to make things happen in 8 to 12 weeks. Our Virtual ED triage, launched in October last week, was just one of the ideas. We are now receiving great feedback from patients with this project receiving significant media attention. Other successful projects include Eve, an app for mums in the north, Chemo at Home service and the Musculoskeletal Wellness Project – an online physiotherapy service,” Ariana explained.

Cassie Bramston, Project Officer, said, this year, the call for ideas is open to everyone, organisation-wide.

“We are really interested in ideas from people on the ground. As a clinician myself, I know we do a lot of amazing things across the organisation and this is an opportunity to get more support around it and really implement them at a wider level,” she said.

From Wednesday, 16 June, the IdeasScale portal will be open for new ideas. Staff can not only put new ideas, but also review other people’s ideas, add a comment of support or join an idea group.

“The ideas will then be reviewed by the Innovation Assembly, a multi-disciplinary team with an Executive Sponsor, who will help filter through the projects. Throughout the process, ideas will be shortlisted twice, and the Assembly will pick the final four. Those four will then work on shaping their idea to present to Siva Sivarajah, our Chief Executive,” Cassie said.

The candidates will receive professional support to put their idea into practice. Over the eight weeks, the four successful applicants will be assigned a Business Manager and a Coach and will receive Project Office support, as well as regular catch-ups and training on how to complete a business case, how to implement a research component, and more.

“A really important thing to say is that there is no such thing as a silly idea, and you don’t need any experience to engage with this process. If you are concerned about never doing a project before, you will be supported every step of the way, as we are passionate about setting people up for success. This is also about building capability around the organisation to do rapid innovation improvements. If you are wondering whether to put an idea in, we are saying – 100 per cent do it. Even the smallest ideas can bring amazing change and transformation,” Ariana added.

Please note, ideas will be accepted through IdeasScale from Wednesday, 16 June. Keep an eye on the Intranet for more information or email bigidea@nh.org.au.