Improvement Science London

About ISL

Wide recognition of the gap between what we know and what we put into practice, increasing public expectations and scrutiny, tighter budgets and significant changes in the ways that services are configured, all combine to determine that we cannot carry on doing what we have always done and expect to deliver improvements at pace and at scale. We need to do things differently and the practical application of scientific knowledge has much to contribute.

Improvement Science London (ISL) was established in early 2012 by the London Academic Health Science partnerships of Imperial Academic Health Science Centre, King's Health Partners and UCL Partners.

ISL aims to promote and embed the science of improvement and thereby encourage a more evidence-informed approach to improving the way that health services are organised and delivered for patients.

ISL was initially funded for a time-limited period, to function as a catalyst and facilitator to promote and embed the science of improvement across the founding partners. We are now moving to the next phase of our development; using IS to deliver real change for people on the ground

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Our ways of working

• We focus on making a difference for those who use health services by improving the decision making of those who work in the service;
• we support health service researchers to focus on the utility of their work;
• we encourage the Academic Health Science community to promote science as a way of finding practical solutions to the challenge of implementation in the health service;
• we create a stimulating space for people to think differently about the challenges of improvement and implementation, to develop new ways of thinking and working;
• we establish new partnerships and enable people to work collaboratively across disciplinary and sectoral boundaries, sharing ideas and practices across the capital;
• we are open with and actively share ideas.