Professor Catharine Ward Thompson has been invited to contribute to a national Design and Dementia Workshop on Wednesday 25 March 2026, alongside colleagues Iain Scott, Senior Lecturer in Architecture, and Caroline Pearce, OPENspace Honorary Research Fellow.

The workshop will focus on the NHS Fit for the Future Dementia Challenge, part of the £500 million R&D Missions Accelerator Programme coordinated by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). The programme sets clear, measurable targets for research and innovation to deliver against the UK Government’s core missions.

The Dementia Patient Flow Research & Innovation Challenge aims to accelerate solutions that improve dementia pathways across the NHS and wider social care settings. By 2029, the ambition is for 92% of patients referred for dementia assessment to receive a diagnosis within 18 weeks.

The workshop will explore how design-led research can contribute to future UKRI-funded projects, focusing on two priorities: enabling faster, more accurate diagnosis through innovative tools and person-centred interventions; and developing post-diagnosis approaches that better identify disease trajectories and reduce avoidable outcomes such as emergency hospital admissions.

The invitation recognises OPENspace Research Centre’s expertise in design-led, interdisciplinary research and its commitment to improving healthcare systems and environments through innovation.