Q Lab

Q Lab brings people together to work on complex shared problems facing the health and care system. 

Like other innovation labs, Q Lab works at the early stages of idea generation and testing, which (if successful) is followed by implementing ideas at scale.

Together, over 9 to 12 months or more, we pool what is known about the topic, uncover new insights and develop and test ideas. 

We provide grant funding for a small number of test teams from health care settings to participate in the Q Lab and test the implementation of their ideas in practice. 

Each Q Lab aims to: 

• build a deep and rounded understanding of the issue
• generate and test ideas for improvement
• develop participants’ skills and capabilities to translate the ideas into action
• share the learning widely.

Q Lab is an innovation lab. In January 2024, we published a rapid evidence review on the effectiveness of innovation labs for health and care improvement. 

Q Lab tailors the timeline, structure and methods to each individual project, but every Q Lab follows the same overarching four-step process:

1. Bringing a mix of people together around a shared topic.
2. Giving teams the time, tools and support to creatively design solutions.
3. Providing spaces to explore and reflect on the topic and solutions in depth.
4. Distilling and sharing insights to enable change. 

Anyone with relevant interest and experience in the topic can apply to take part in a Q Lab. It’s all about having the right mindset: curious, open to new ways of thinking, and motivated to design solutions. You do not have to be a Q member.

Once we identify a topic, we share the opportunity and criteria for teams who are tackling a relevant challenge to apply to join the Q Lab as a team. These teams then have an opportunity to apply for Q funding to implement the resulting innovations in practice. 

We also work in partnership with organisations who bring expertise and are best placed to take forward ideas and insights that emerge from the process.

Q Lab identifies topics that are high-priority areas, but also where Q Lab can make progress over a set amount of time. Identifying the lab topics is a collaborative process. We engage with members and our partners to select and refine the topic, taking into account the opportunities in the space and whether it’s of interest and importance for the sector. 

The first four Q Labs worked on the following topics.

• Peer support available to all (2017/18)
• Mental health problems and persistent back and neck pain (2018/19)
• Technology-enabled remote monitoring (2021/23)
• Reducing waits in elective care (2023/24)

Q is proud to be partnering with Macmillan Cancer Support on a new innovation Lab. 

Opening for applications this summer, the Macmillan Q Lab brings together people from local health and care services and communities across the UK to come up with solutions to one big question ​“How might we collectively reimagine holistic cancer care closer to home?”

There are two ways to get involved: as an individual, or as a team. You need to form your team before you apply – so start thinking about who you want to work with. 

Teams will be given £75,000 for 9 months, with an opportunity to apply for up to £200,000 more to put their ideas into practice over a further 12-month period. There is also funding to cover reasonable expenses for individuals with professional and lived expertise of cancer or of caring for someone with cancer.

You can read more, and sign up to be alerted when applications open on the Macmillan website.