Meet the Support Organisation: HSC Industry Engagement (Northern Ireland)
The NHS Innovation Service brings together expert support organisations, working in partnership to help innovators navigate the health and care system and access support more quickly.
In our Meet the Support Organisation series, we’ll meet the people and teams who are part of the service, helping to turn great ideas into real-world impact.
Each profile introduces one of our partner organisations — exploring who they are, how they support innovation, and their advice for anyone looking to make a difference through the NHS.
1. Who are you, what is your role and what is your involvement with the NHS Innovation Service?
We are Barry Henderson, Senior Industry Manager, and Julie McCullough, Industry Engagement Manager, and we're from HSC Industry Engagement, which is based within Northern Ireland Health and Social Care (HSC). We were established in 2019 and our main focus is to develop and grow clinical research and innovation across Northern Ireland’s health and care system. We provide a front door to commercial clinical research and innovation.
2. What is your organisation’s role in supporting health innovation? What specific expertise do you individually bring to the NHS Innovation Service?
HSC Industry Engagement is a regional team of business development professionals with extensive industry, clinical, and academic expertise. We focus on managing incoming industry enquiries to develop and grow clinical research and innovation across Northern Ireland’s health and care system.
We facilitate and support successful collaborative partnerships, connecting industry, HSCNI, and research and innovation centres, while working proactively to improve our processes and services, making it simpler to engage with HSC and providing a supportive, responsive environment.
We raise the profile of Northern Ireland, helping to ensure it is recognised as an attractive place to conduct industry-sponsored clinical research and innovation.
3. How do you/your organisation help innovators navigate the NHS/HSC and bring their ideas to life?
Our mission is to ensure that people in Northern Ireland gain timely access to advances in therapeutics, diagnostics, medical devices and digital health technologies, as well as opportunities to participate in clinical research.
We therefore work with companies interested in conducting research or clinical investigations into patient-facing innovations that address an unmet clinical need.
We can offer support across a range of areas including; collaboration with clinical researchers, clinical investigations and performance studies, healthcare professional expertise, clinical trials, including randomised controlled trials (RCTs), information, guidance or advice, and helping innovators to understand funding channels.
4. Can you share an example of a successful innovation you’ve supported via the NHS Innovation Service?
We joined the Service earlier this year, and have connected a number of innovators with colleagues across Northern Ireland’s health and life sciences ecosystem. One innovator for example has worked with an occupational health team at Belfast Trust to submit a joint NIHR funding application. Other innovations we work with include smart rehabilitation technologies, a wearable cardiac monitor, and innovations for use in emergency care and women’s health that address unmet clinical needs.
5. What’s your one piece of advice for innovators looking to work with the NHS/HSC?
Connect with patients and clinicians for their expertise and advice early in your product lifecycle, and keep them involved throughout development, funding and testing.
Published at November 10, 2026