What is a Breakthrough Series Collaborative?

The ‘Breakthrough Series’ (BTS) Collaborative is a tried and tested change model that has been in regular use in healthcare improvement since its development in the mid 1990s by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

The BTS Collaborative is a structured 10-12 month programme, designed to help organisations come together to achieve sustainable change in a specific topic area. The Collaborative is structured into a series of learning events (see image) where up to 10-12 teams commit to coming together to learn improvement theory and share their work, interspersed with action periods where change ideas are tested in PDSA cycles by teams.

NHS Quest is highly experienced at the programme management, facilitation and events management of BTS Collaboratives, providing teams with access to subject experts, Improvement Advisors and a knowledge management infrastructure to support innovation and new ideas.