$1 Million Round Of Innovation Grants Launched
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Second round of Innovation Discovery Grants encourages improvements in patient care.
Partners HealthCare has announced the launch of a new round of Innovation Discovery Grants (IDG) worth $1 million in funding in the hopes of encouraging the development of ideas to improve patient care and patient outcomes. The grant initiative is open to all employees of Partners HealthCare — some 64,000 individuals — and could fund a variety of prototyping, pre-clinical studies, software development, and other approaches to directly improve the delivery of patient care.
“The IDG program aligns perfectly with Partners’ vision of bringing discovery and innovation to the patient’s bedside,” explained Chris Coburn, vice president, Innovation at Partners HealthCare. “It is an important tool among a number we are using to foster the spirit of innovation that permeates our organization and makes our mission possible.”
Ten competitive grants of up to $100,000 each are available under the program, and winning proposals will have the potential to result in the creation of a device, drug, diagnostics, software, or other patient care delivery enhancement that will improve patient outcomes. Winners will be selected by the Partners Innovation Advisory Board and outside industry experts.
“This funding is aimed at making an even stronger connection between the innovative ideas within our health care system and Boston’s biotech and life sciences industry, which can bring those ideas to life,” Dr. Anne Klibanski, chief academic officer, said in a news release.
“These grants, while relatively modest in terms of dollar amount, are important and unique as they allow for innovators to make major scientific advances at a critical time early in the discovery process,” said Jay Austen, MD, Chief of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Without these grants many promising ideas could not possibly get developed as quickly for our patients.
Partners is the state’s largest network of doctors and hospitals, which includes Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals, and has a research budget of $1.5 billion, according to The Boston Globe. Partners’ IDG program is aimed at helping to commercialize research occurring within the Partners HealthCare community.
Last year, $50,000 in grants was awarded to 20 Partners employees, from a pool of 350 applicants.