Innovation Fund: Successful recipients announced
We created the Innovation Fund to reward and support innovation in the health sector that will help people recover from injury faster.
We're pleased to announce the recipients of our Innovation Fund.
The successful applicants have each been awarded grants from our Innovation Fund to develop innovative programmes that will help New Zealanders recover from injury faster.
Despite the incredibly busy time, we received over 100 applications for the Fund. The time and effort that was put into the submissions must be recognised and has been a major contributor to the success of this Fund.
The calibre of the submissions was so impressive, we increased our funding to support more initiatives that we initially planned for. Each recipient has been awarded $100,000 to support their innovative projects which will help improve outcomes for injured people.
The ACC Innovation Fund recipients for 2021/ 2022 are:
- ĀKI Innovations Ltd
- HealthOne
- Karo Data Management
- University of Auckland, Te Piha Romiromi and Tūrama Ltd
- Wayfind-TBI Team
- Tū Tonu Limited
"The sector exceeded our expectations"
"Our goal for the Innovation Fund was to create an opportunity to reward and support innovation that will help people recover faster from injury," says Megan Main, Chief Executive Officer, ACC.
"We know there are a huge number of innovative ideas out there that we could learn from and potentially help grow sustainably. We asked for ideas that will help us accelerate our Health Sector Strategy, and the sector exceeded our expectations. We're looking forward to working in partnership with all recipients."
Megan wants to thank the more than 100 health organisations that applied for the Innovation Fund.
“We need to recognise the time and effort that went into each submission and their contribution towards making this fund a success,” she says.
The ideas we received covered a range of proposals, including programme delivery re-design/process changes, holistic rehabilitation programmes designed specifically for Māori and Pasifika and data integration platform proposals.
Delivering for Māori
Three of the recipients will use their funds to further develop or set up their holistic rehabilitation programmes designed specifically for Māori.
Ngākau Oho - University of Auckland, Te Piha Romiromi and Tūrama Practise Ltd are introducing a holistic whānau-centred rongoā programme for ACC clients. They will provide a personalised programme that meets the needs of our clients and their whānau. They will have access to rongoā Māori and online support platforms, alongside a whānau Rapu Ora plan to facilitate self-care. Their intention is that this will work alongside and complement other rehabilitation services.
ĀKI Navigation Pathway - ĀKI Innovations Ltd is developing an integrated assessment tool for tāne Māori with traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in the Waikato. The tool will consider the holistic needs of kiritaki, underpinned by a cultural framework. This will be supported with the introduction of a Kaimanaaki (navigator) role. Providing whānau-centred rehabilitation services with the help of Kaimanaaki will facilitate access to the right services at the right time. This pathway aims to improve whānau outcomes and increase trust in ACC services through early engagement and better communication.
Raranga Takapau - Tū Tonu Limited is establishing a holistic and culturally responsive wrap-around service for women affected by maternal birth injuries. This has been developed specifically for wāhine Māori and Pasifika in the Waikato area and will be available for all people who have given birth. This is a timely initiative with the recent maternal birth injury change. The service meets the needs of two specific kiritaki (client) groups, provides early assessments to enable early intervention if needed and includes a continuous care model.
Digital connections
Continuing with the TBI theme, the Wayfind-TBI team, in partnership with Christchurch Hospital is developing a digital assessment tool for mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI). The tool is being developed for an emergency department setting and uses the Brain Injury Screening Tool (BIST) as its basis. This digital solution will support consistent, high-quality injury screening, diagnosis and treatment of mTBI.
HealthOne is developing a digital interface that will enable ACC allied health providers access to HealthOne, a digital solution that already enables electronic sharing of health records. Via HealthOne, health professionals can access key parts of an individual’s primary healthcare record, presented alongside public hospital records. Providing an efficient way of accessing health records, in turn leading to better and more timely care for clients.
Karo Data Management is a software development company, specialising in the health and social (NGO) sectors. They are developing a digital interface in the Karo platform, Kotahi, that social sector agencies can use to refer their clients to health services they may be missing out on. A high percentage of clients in the social sector are not enrolled into primary care, which means many are missing out on funded programmes that could help improve their health outcomes. This has the potential to contribute positive long-term impacts on the health system, such as a reduction in hospitalisations and recurring claims.
Trying something new
We're trying something new. We already have grants and project funding in place for research or injury prevention initiatives but nothing in place that recognises and rewards health sector innovation.
We created the Innovation Fund to reward and support innovation in the health sector that will help people recover from injury faster.
The objective of the Innovation Fund was to improve outcomes and experiences for people recovering from injury.
We were looking for projects which:
- were ready for implementation
- will be delivered within three to six months after receiving the funding, although we considered projects that were to be delivered within 12 months
- have existing support from clinicians, clients/client groups, a New Zealand-based institution or organisation
- have the potential to be scaled up in partnership.
For more information about the Innovation Fund:
Innovation Fund (acc.co.nz)
