Forecasting tomorrow’s challenges
From innovation ambition to system readiness
Advances in artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity and quantum technologies are creating new opportunities to improve care, support earlier diagnosis, strengthen resilience and help the NHS move towards more personalised and preventative models of care.
But realising this potential depends on more than the technologies themselves. Health leaders need to understand what must be in place for innovation to be adopted safely, responsibly and in ways that deliver real impact for patients, staff and communities.
UCLPartners and UCL brought together clinicians, academics, policymakers, industry leaders, innovators and patient representatives at the IGNITE Health Innovation Summit. The summit explored how emerging technologies could support the future of healthcare, while focusing on the practical conditions needed for adoption, including better decision-making, trusted data use, cyber resilience, workforce capability and clearer routes from discovery to implementation.
The discussions shaped the IGNITE report, published in October 2026. The report sets out what system readiness means in practice. It includes a practical test to help senior health and care leaders consider whether emerging technologies are ready to be adopted, scaled, paused, redesigned or stopped. It also looks at clinical need, public trust, workforce, governance and real-world implementation.
“The IGNITE partnership between UCL and UCLPartners combines a broad range of academic knowledge with clinical implementation to turn scientific possibility into real-world healthcare solutions.”
Alan Thompson, UCL Pro Provost for London and Dean of the UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences