Obesity Pathway Innovation Programme (OPIP): Strand 2

Overview

Innovate UK, in partnership with the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Eli Lilly, is investing up to £85 million to develop innovative community and primary care-based weight management pathways. This includes £50 million from DSIT, £35 million from Lilly, and at least £10 million ring-fenced for devolved health services.

The programme aims to create holistic, patient-centred services that are clinically effective, resource-efficient, and scalable, helping to reduce health inequalities across the UK.

Scope

Projects must design and implement new care pathways for weight management, providing patients with:

• Access to lifestyle interventions (diet, physical activity, behaviour change support)
• Pharmacological treatment where clinically appropriate
• Psychological support to improve long-term outcomes

Pathways should integrate with existing community-based services, support system readiness by August 2026, and include clear plans for sustainability beyond the funded period.

Regular evaluation and reporting will inform future NICE and SIGN guidelines.

Key themes and topics

Applications must align with one of three strands:

1) Access and management service

The service must provide a comprehensive patient-centred access service within a multi-disciplinary team, to include multiple referral inputs, triage, onward referrals, care pathway management, escalation and reporting. The service will support the optimal use of all available services for weight management, including national and local programmes. An access and management service may cover adults as well as services for children and young people. It may be digital, physical or operate with a hybrid delivery model, but must ensure access according to clinical need and address health inequalities.

2) Care pathway services (this strand)

Services must provide new pathways and models of care for the patient once they have been referred for an intervention. The service must assess patient eligibility, checking for contra-indications and facilitating access to appropriate services, offering choice where available. It must be based around new delivery pathways that demonstrate innovation, for example, but not limited to:

• community pharmacy led service
• services that include digital or remote solutions
• integrating existing community based services

Novel models of care may be able to utilise local or nationally available weight management support services when meeting eligibility criteria. The service may cover adults as well as services for children and young people.

If Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England procure behavioural support locally, they should:

• submit the specification and price to NHS England as part of routine OPIP reporting
• have due regard to the specification for the national framework procurement

The provider would be expected to deliver data in line with the nationally mandated data set, to enable comparisons between locally and nationally procured services.

Scottish health boards should refer to their own local finance and procurement teams for advice relating to this. Scottish health boards considering putting forward an application should ensure they do so in collaboration with their local weight management services, where existing lifestyle services are managed and delivered.

3) Combined access and management service and care pathway services

This competition strand requires the merging of both the access and management service and new care pathway services strands and must meet the innovation requirements expected of both.

Your access and management service must provide a comprehensive patient-centred access service to include multiple referral inputs, triage, onward referrals, care pathway management, escalation and reporting. An access and management service may cover adults as well as services for children and young people. It may be digital, physical or operate with a hybrid delivery model, but must ensure access according to clinical need and address health inequalities.

Your care pathway services must provide new models of care for the patient once they have been referred for an intervention. The service must assess patient eligibility, checking for contra-indications and facilitating access to appropriate services, offering choice where available. It must be based around new delivery pathways that demonstrate innovation, for example, but not limited to:

• community pharmacy led service
• services that include digital or remote solutions
• integrating existing community based services

Project duration

Start date: From 1 May 2026 (permission to incur costs at risk may be granted from 1 February 2026)

Patient delivery: Must begin by 1 August 2026

End date: By 31 March 2029

Award value

For the Care Pathway Services strand, projects must have eligible costs between £2 million and £4.5 million.

Funding rates

Up to £36 million is allocated for this strand.

Grants will fund 100% of eligible project costs.

Projects must be cost-effective, demonstrate scalability, and provide clear value for patients and the NHS.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, projects must:

• Have eligible costs of £2m–£4.5m
• Be carried out entirely in the UK and exploited from the UK
• Start by 1 May 2026 and end by 31 March 2029
• Deliver services to patients by 1 August 2026

Lead organisations must be eligible NHS bodies with strategic responsibility for commissioning care, including:

England: Integrated Care Boards (ICBs)

Scotland: Health Boards

Wales: Public Health Wales and local Health Boards

Northern Ireland: Health and Social Care Trusts, Public Health Agency, Department of Health

Additional rules

• Each eligible organisation can lead on up to two applications across all strands
• Consortia may include community pharmacies, general practices, CICs, and third sector organisations
• Subcontractors are permitted but must represent fair market value