The Softer Side of Digital Innovation

When I joined the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) in 2015, digital health and care was still an emerging field. While enthusiasm for technology’s potential was abundant, there was much less certainty about how innovation would scale, how services would adapt, or what the future workforce might need.

More than a decade later, digital transformation has become firmly embedded in health and social care. We have seen remarkable advances in technologies, data, services and infrastructure. Yet one lesson that has stayed with me throughout my time at DHI is this: digital transformation is not fundamentally a challenge about technology, but people.

The success of digital innovation depends on skills, confidence, culture, relationships and a willingness to work differently. Technology matters, of course, but it is ultimately down to people whether innovation succeeds, stalls or scales. Looking back over the past eleven years, much of the work I am proudest of has focused on what might be called the softer side of innovation: the people and their capabilities that support digital transformation and innovation adoption.

One of the most encouraging developments has been seeing digital health and care mature into a recognised field of study in Scotland.

When I took responsibility for DHI's scholarship programme in 2016, there were no dedicated digital health and care master's programmes in Scottish universities. This created a rare opportunity to help shape an emerging field, facilitating the development of new programmes while fostering a more interdisciplinary approach to digital transformation through the scholarship funding. What has been most rewarding is seeing students from disciplines as diverse as nursing, psychology, design, policy, computer science, sport studies, engineering and AI come together. The varied perspectives have consistently demonstrated that meaningful innovation rarely comes from a single discipline; it happens when different forms of expertise meet and combine in unexpected ways. Many graduates have moved into leadership, research, practice and innovation roles across Scotland’s health and care ecosystem, leaving an impact that will continue long after individual programme have ended.

A second theme has been the growing recognition that digital transformation is everyone's business.

Early in my time at DHI, workforce research highlighted a disconnect: many health and social care professionals were still being educated for a largely non-digital workplace, while technology students often had little exposure to care settings. If we want technology to work in practice, these worlds needed to come closer together.

Progress has not happened overnight, but the conversation has shifted significantly. Digital capabilities are increasingly embedded within educational programmes, professional development activities and workforce planning discussions. The recent inclusion of digital capabilities within National Occupational Standards for health and social care feels

particularly significant, helping to position digital skills not as optional extras but as core components of modern professional practice.

Another change I have observed is the growing sophistication of the conversation around skills.

In the early years, conversations about digital skills could be frustratingly imprecise. Different groups often used the same language to describe very different needs, or different language to describe essentially the same thing. Through research on digital skills and capabilities requirements, workforce and recruitment needs, skills frameworks, and emerging trends in digital health and care, DHI has helped develop a more nuanced understanding of the capabilities required to support digital transformation. We have come to recognise that the skills needed by frontline practitioners are different from those required by digital and data specialists and technology developers. While this may seem a subtle distinction, it has played an important role in shaping more informed and productive conversations about education, workforce development and policy.

Much of this work has taken place behind the scenes and attracted fewer headlines than new technologies or service innovations. Yet, this may have a longer-lasting impact because it has helped establish shared understanding and language around what digital transformation requires.

One aspect of my time at DHI that I will miss most is the opportunity to collaborate across sectors, professions and disciplines.

Some of my favourite projects brought together individuals who would not normally find themselves in the same room. Initiatives such as FUTUREquipped connected educators and students from health and social care, digital technologies and construction to explore future challenges through the lens of smart housing. The ideas generated were important, but so were the relationships that emerged. Many of those connections continued long after the projects themselves had ended. The same spirit of collaboration underpinned work supporting entrepreneurship and innovation. Whether through the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, social care innovation or more recent projects such as Digital Shoots, I have been fortunate to work alongside people who are passionate about improving services, solving problems and creating opportunities for others.

Reflecting on the past eleven years, I realise that curiosity has been one of the greatest gifts of the role. It has given me the opportunity to explore emerging technologies, tackle workforce challenges, contribute to policy and education, and collaborate with people across government, academia, industry, health and social care. Through these experiences, I’ve learned that innovation rarely happens in isolation, but flourishes through partnerships, networks and shared ambition, where bringing the right people together can be just as important as finding the right answers. I have also learned that progress is seldom linear: some ideas take root quickly, while others take years to find their moment, often leading to opportunities never originally imagined.

As I move on to a new role at Edinburgh College, I feel both reflective and optimistic. Reflective because DHI has been such an important part of my professional life, and optimistic

because many ideas that once seemed ambitious are now part of mainstream thinking, with a new generation of students, practitioners and innovators shaping what comes next.

Most of all, I leave with gratitude. To the many colleagues, partners, students, researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators whose expertise, generosity and enthusiasm have shaped and inspired my thinking and taught me far more than any project or publication ever could: thank you. While this chapter is closing, the relationships, conversations and shared commitment to improving health and social care through innovation will continue. So rather than goodbye, perhaps it is simply: thank you, and see you around the block.

Dr Sanna Rimpiläinen