Project SNOW is supported by Google.org through the global Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Government. The project was one of 15 selected for funding out of over 2600 applications from across the world.
The Project SNOW consortium takes its name from Dr John Snow, the English physician whose investigation of cholera in London in 1854 helped establish modern epidemiology, the study of how disease affects populations and why. Snow's work was an early example of geospatial data analysis.
The project leverages AI to create healthcare intelligence at community level and uses this to support preventive healthcare prioritisation. The intelligence provided allows healthcare stakeholders to decide where to intervene and who to prioritise, and to evaluate efficacy. This helps address one of the NHS's longest-standing challenges: people who need healthcare most are often the least likely to receive it.
This pattern, known as the Inverse Care Law, has persisted for 50 years. In England, 1 in 4 deaths are linked to failures in public healthcare reaching people in time, and more than 300 lives are lost every day to conditions that earlier identification could have prevented. In the most deprived areas, life expectancy is now up to 9.5 years lower than in the wealthiest.
The Project SNOW consortium is led by Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick and is comprised of FourthSpace Labs, AiMSnet, Avencera ,PUBLIC, working with Thames.
A data problem
The consortium argues that the underlying issue is a lack of infrastructure. Patient records cannot leave clinical settings. Census data is years out of date. Hospital admissions only capture people once they are already unwell. As a result, the NHS has no reliable way to see, in real time, where health need is concentrating in the communities it serves, making it difficult to direct prevention and resources where they are needed most.
Rather than seeking access to clinical data, Project SNOW generates its own community health datasets through three channels: AI-directed mobile health screenings deployed directly into underserved communities, voluntary health self-reports collected at the point of care, and anonymised population movement patterns gathered from instrumented locations. Combined with open deprivation and census data through a purpose-built health data ontology, this produces a continuously updated, zone-level picture of community health need.
Professor Carsten Maple, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), University of Warwick said: "We are extremely proud to be leading the Project SNOW consortium to bring an AI-powered solution to a 50-year problem. Such an ambitious goal requires the interdisciplinary expertise bringing together world-leading academic research in trusted, private and secure AI, with industry leaders in geospatial AI development, communications technology, community healthcare delivery and public-sector evaluation. This enables us to connect technological development with clinical practice, establish appropriate governance and assess its contribution to preventive healthcare."
"FourthSpace Labs lead the technical development of the platform, designed to manage and connect data across different systems, including that made available from hardware and telecommunications infrastructure provided by AiMSnet. The coordination of the local interventions, evaluation and stakeholder engagement are provided by Avencera and PUBLIC, recognised experts with experience in the field. Thames Freeport are the lead beneficiaries of the project, having previously acted in the same capacity in an earlier trial."
Evidence from an initial pilot
A 9-week pilot was carried outacross Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Thurrock, a combined population of 690,000, screened more than 687 individuals. The pilot, led by Avencera and PUBLIC on behalf of the Thames Freeport, delivered free blood pressure and cholesterol tests across 28 deployments and identified over 25 previously undiagnosed conditions. Of those reached, 77% would not have accessed care through any existing NHS route, and the cost per patient fell from £167 to £41, with a 99% patient satisfaction rate.
Next steps
Over the next 2 years, the consortium aims to deliver more than 3,000 screenings, refer over 100 undiagnosed conditions to GPs, and publish its health data ontology as an open standard available to all 42 of England's Integrated Care Boards, which together serve 56 million people nationally.
The work is structured around two connected strands. The first sees preventative health services delivered directly into underserved communities and workplaces across Thames Freeport and the West Midlands, testing two different delivery models, mobile outreach into workplaces and high streets in London, and screening embedded within hospitals, pharmacies and GP surgeries in Birmingham, so the NHS can compare what works best at scale.
The second turns the data this generates into actionable intelligence, structuring it against clinical data standards and using AI to produce a live, zone-level picture of community health risk for the NHS and local authorities. Together, these strands are designed to build an increasingly accurate, continuously updated picture of community health over time.
Maggie Johnson, Global Head of Google.org said: "AI holds incredible potential to transform public services, but there is often a gap between promise and practice. By equipping the 15 selected organizations with funding and pro bono support from Google's own AI experts, we are empowering the people closest to the problem to show what is truly possible. Together, we can ensure that AI makes a profound, positive difference in the everyday lives of communities worldwide."
Florence Mayo, Manger of Innovation Programmes, PUBLIC said: "AI can help the public sector make better decisions about where resources and services will have the greatest impact. For the NHS, that means turning data into practical intelligence that supports prevention, tackles health inequalities and helps services reach people earlier. Project SNOW is an opportunity to show how responsible digital tools can advance key NHS priorities, such as neighbourhood health and earlier intervention.
"PUBLIC's role in Project SNOW is to lead the public sector partnerships, stakeholder engagement and engagement, helping the consortium understand what works, for whom and under what conditions, and translate that evidence into practical decisions for the NHS and its partners."
Katy Weeks, Managing Director, Avencera said: "In the Thames Freeport pilot we've shown that digital technology can help bring preventative healthcare to the people who need it most, in the neighbourhoods where they live and work. We are very pleased to have the opportunity to pilot further, and build out the technology solution, with the University of Warwick and our partners. Reconnecting residents with health services is central to improving outcomes and reducing pressure on the wider health system."
Matthew Reeve, Director, AiMSnet said: "We are extremely proud to be supporting Project SNOW and the consortium led by the University of Warwick. This initiative will demonstrate how AI, data and technology can be used to address major healthcare challenges, improve health outcomes, and address the inequalities experienced by the communities in the most need. We are honoured to be playing our small part in bringing this vision to life."
Sebastian Boncu, Chief Technical Officer, FourthSpace Labs said: "Advancements in computing, AI and the increase availability of data have supported the emergence of computational intelligence, offering new ways to weigh evidence, quantify uncertainty and compare competing hypotheses. However, Absolute certainty is often impossible. The purpose is to reduce decision risk and help us make more rational data driven decisions. Yet much of the data required remains in silos across disconnected systems, making it difficult to apply AI or develop models that reflect the complexity of the populations they represent. Connecting this evidence can help the NHS recognise emerging risks and intervene earlier, tackling the inverse care law that remains a challenge after 50 years and improving lives beyond the point of care.
"We are privileged to work with the University of Warwick and the wider consortium partners, bringing together exceptional multidisciplinary expertise with a shared ambition to use technology to make the world a better place."
