Penny Triantafillou — Associate Director, Warwick Business Partnerships (Warwick Innovation District); Founder and Co-convener of the network and Jane Coleman, Director of Delivery & Operations, Health Innovation, Co-convener of the network
The Healthcare & Innovation Women's Leadership Network
The Healthcare & Innovation Women's Leadership Network brings together senior women leaders from the NHS, academia, industry, policy and innovation to tackle critical challenges in healthcare through collaborative action. Founding members span NHS clinical leadership, policy and regulatory bodies, industry, regional health innovation partners, academic researchers across Warwick, and professional bodies. This grant funded the network's second gathering, on the Warwick campus in March 2026 and some of the third gathering, following the successful inaugural meeting at The Shard in November 2025. The intended outcome was to sustain the network's momentum, deepen relationships across NHS, industry and academic stakeholders, and build toward member-driven priorities on women's health prevention and equity.
Summary of project outcomes
The second gathering took place as planned on the Warwick campus on 10 March 2026. The network's third gathering then took place on 15 June 2026, hosted at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) by Kate Lancaster (CEO, RCOG and a founding network member); this session included a presentation on health literacy from a founding member, which prompted wider member discussion and follow-up interest in developing this as a strand of the network's work as well as the announcements of drafting a collective statement and working with Policy Connect.
Has the project supported further interdisciplinary work
Following the network's formation, Kate Lancaster (CEO, RCOG) committed to delivering a Dean's Distinguished Guest Lecture at Warwick, which she did at WMS on 17 June 2026. Most recently, the March and June gatherings led to a conversation with Dr Beck Taylor and Prof Felicity Boardman about a potential NIHR funding bid, exploring how the network's connections could be leveraged in support of it. The network also connects directly to several Warwick strategic priorities: the Arden Cross HealthTech Campus and Central England Health Partnership (via Jane Coleman and Charlotte Kershaw), the West Midlands Health and Wellbeing Innovation Network (via Julia Dawson), the Women's Health Mission and translational medicine connections (via Charlotte Kershaw.)
