V.A.2. Internal Sustainability Assessment and Follow-Up Strategy

Estimated Execution Time

3 weeks

Objective

To determine (internally) the sustainability and continuation potential of the innovation roadmap and relationship after the project’s completion. This includes evaluating economic feasibility, organizational readiness, supplier commitment, and alignment with long-term strategic priorities. The goal is to assess whether the developed solution(s) should be adopted and develop a clear follow-up strategy, which may involve procurement, partnership, or additional development phases. This activity should be done after completion of V.A.1, V.B.1, V.C1, V.C.2 and if outcomes of these activities are positive.

Who is Involved

Procurers and financial teams – Lead the assessment of cost, budget availability, and long-term adoption potential.
Innovation providers – Provide a roadmap, cost models, and commitments for further support.
Clinical and technical teams – Assess operational feasibility and resource needs for scaling.
Management and strategic planning units – Ensure alignment with institutional priorities.
Legal teams – Assess procurement pathways, regulatory constraints, and contractual options.

Activities / Tasks

V.A.2.1. Economic and resource feasibility analysis

Evaluate cost models (CAPEX/OPEX, licenses, maintenance, integrations).
Estimate long-term resource needs (IT, training, clinical time, infrastructure).
Conduct a cost-benefit analysis considering clinical and operational impact.
Assess financing opportunities (regional programs, EU funds, innovation budgets).

V.A.2.2. Innovation provider roadmap and commitment assessment

Review supplier roadmaps, support plans and internal timelines.
Analyze innovation provider’s capacity to scale, maintain and upgrade the innovation solution provided.
Identify dependencies or risks, such as proprietary technologies IPRs, market stability, certification pathways and delays.

V.A.2.3. Organisational readiness assessment

Evaluate readiness of internal teams to adopt and sustain the solution, such as: workflow changes, training requirements, IT infrastructures and upgrades.
Analyze innovation provider’s capacity to scale, maintain and upgrade the innovation solution provided.
Identify potential barriers and mitigation actions.

V.A.2.4. Description of continuation options

Evaluate and describe possible continuation pathways and inform the stakeholders to activate them:
- Formal procurement (PPI, negotiated procedure, competitive dialogue, direct award if applicable).
- Co-development agreement for further refinement.
- Pilot extension or real-life adoption with monitoring.
- LOI or MoU to formalize cooperation intentions.
- No continuation, supported by justification based on evaluation outcomes.

V.A.2.5. Description of sustainability strategy and action plan

Create a structure plan that includes:
- Actions required to implement the chosen path.
- Timeline and milestones.
- Roles and responsibilities.
- Budget allocation.
- Risks and mitigation measures.
Look together for funding that supports the implementation of the action plan.

Tips / Common Pitfalls

✅Align sustainability decisions and analysis with both technical/clinical internal evaluation (V.B.1) and market and technology trends (V.C.1).

✅ Consider scalability realities and short pilot results.

❌Avoid any type of continuation commitment, especially procurement without securing long-term financial mechanism and/or organizational readiness for the adoption.

Outcome / Deliverables

Slide deck or document to present the opportunity to management.
A clear GO from management to move forward with the preparation of a strong proposal for the execution of the innovation procurement process and acknowledged its long-term, strategic nature.

Resources

A Framework for the Economic Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions - World Bank Document Guide to developing the Project Business Case - Welsh Government

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Evaluation, Sustainability and Scale-up