Smart D8 Opens New Call for Pilot Projects following three years of success
- New call for pilot projects in three areas: Community Health, Health Literacy and Environment
- Up to six pilot projects will be selected from call, following success of 12 projects over three years
- Smart D8 is led by The Digital Hub, St James’s Hospital, Dublin City Council and Smart Dublin
Smart D8, an urban health initiative using innovation to improve and sustain community health and wellbeing in Dublin 8, has opened a new call for pilot projects following three years of successful pilot projects. Smart D8 is set to expand the number of pilot projects selected from this year’s call, with up to six successful pilots to receive support of up to €12,500 in resourcing.
Smart D8 is now seeking applications for pilot projects focused on Community Health, Health Literacy and the Environment to continue developing Dublin 8 as a demonstrator centred on enhancing the health and wellbeing of the 45,000 citizens in the community.
Over the last three years, Smart D8 has engaged with several public organisations and private companies. Through a series of pilot projects as well as ongoing partner collaboration, Dublin 8 has gradually transformed into a demonstrator focused on the health and wellbeing of citizens.
The 2024 pilot call is open to all Enterprise, Academic Institutions, and Public and Private sector organisations who offer innovative and scalable solutions that address unmet needs of the community and can be enabled by collaboration with Smart D8 partners.
Jack Lehane, Smart D8 Ecosystem Manager, said:
“Following the success of our previous pilot projects, which have positively impacted over 6,000 citizens in Dublin 8 by enhancing awareness across various health issues including heart health and mental wellbeing, we are now inviting applicants in the areas of Community Health, Health Literacy and Environmental. Smart D8 provides an excellent opportunity for businesses and researchers to meaningfully contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of citizens in Dublin 8 and beyond, and we strongly encourage any organisations who have developed innovative products or services in these three areas to apply.”
Giulia Camera, Smart D8 Enterprise and Learning Coordinator, added:
“The community is central to the development and innovation at Smart D8. The latest call for pilot projects provides an excellent opportunity for developments to flourish in three critical areas of local health innovation, which will not only support the health and wellbeing of the local community but will also enable improved education on key areas of everyday wellness. By providing access to new projects and resources on health, we can progress the wellbeing of the Dublin 8 community, and beyond, one step further.”
The success of Smart D8 is evident through various pilot projects over recent years. These initiatives include Menopause and the City which aimed at educating women and their surrounding family and friends about menopause so they can be empowered to manage their symptoms, Heart of Our City which aimed at improving awareness and management of cardiovascular disease in the community, and Civic Dollars which enabled people to earn a digital currency through spending time in local parks and nature.
Smart D8 is led by The Digital Hub, Smart Dublin, Dublin City Council and St. James’s Hospital. They are joined by Tyndall National Institute, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Trinity Research & Innovation, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, National College of Art & Design, Guinness Enterprise Centre, Health Innovation Hub Ireland and the HSE in this unique collaborative initiative.
Applications will close on Friday, March 29th at 11pm. For more information on Smart D8 and to find out how to apply for the latest round of pilot projects, please visit https://smartd8.ie
ENDS
Issued by Murray on behalf of Smart D8
For further information, please contact:
- Rachel Power, Murray, rpower@murraygroup.ie, 087 9399 605
Notes to Editors
About Smart D8
‘Smart D8’ is an urban demonstrator providing opportunities for indigenous and international innovators to investigate how smart technology and innovative approaches can be used to improve health and wellbeing in an urban population.
Since October 2020, Smart D8 has brought together innovators and an urban community with a diverse range of entrepreneurs, academics, local government, national healthcare providers and public bodies in a partnership model to work collaboratively to solve real population health and wellbeing challenges at scale.
Lead partners include: The Digital Hub, Smart Dublin, Dublin City Council and St. James’s Hospital. They are joined by Tyndall National Institute, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Trinity Research & Innovation, Trinity Translational Medicine Institute, National College of Art & Design, Guinness Enterprise Centre, Health Innovation Hub Ireland and the HSE in this unique collaborative initiative.
Smart D8 is focused on finding innovative solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of nearly 45,000 people living in Ireland’s capital city. Through funded pilot calls and partnerships, Smart D8 is facilitating future products and services showcasing their potential to positively impact people’s lives nationally and internationally.
Smart D8 was shortlisted for The HealthTech Innovation of the Year in the Public Sector Digital Transformation Awards 2023, globally recognised as Innovation Finalist at the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) 2023, and awarded for Innovation in Public Administration by the European Public Sector Awards 2023 — with final results announced March 2024.
Some of the Smart D8 pilot projects undertaken to date include:
Menopause and the City
Founded and driven by Dr Louise Fitzgerald, Menopause and the City is a sub-project of InforMD Menopause and was selected as a pilot project for Smart D8 in 2023. The Menopause and the City pilot project aims to educate women, their families and friends about menopause so they can be empowered to manage their symptoms using self-management strategies but equally know when to seek professional help appropriately. It is the first national platform wholly dedicated to providing women with information on menopause and resources where they can access support. This pilot is championed by Health Innovation Hub Ireland, St. Patrick’s Mental Health Services, and Dublin City Council to engage clinicians and communities alike.
Heart of our City
This collaboration between Smart D8, St James’s Hospital, Novartis Ireland and the Irish Heart Foundation was actioned following the identification of heart health as a key concern for Dublin 8 residents. 23% of respondents wanted more support and information on heart health, with a public health information campaign launched to encourage attendance at the Irish Heart Foundation’s Mobile Health Unit in four locations across Dublin 8 in early 2022. Over 800 Dublin 8 citizens were engaged with, with 35% identified as having high blood pressure and over 80% reporting positive lifestyle changes as a result.
Civic Dollars
Ireland’s first social currency launched in 2021 through a collaboration between Smart D8, Smart Dublin, Dublin City Council, The Digital Hub and Moai Digital. Designed to incentivise the use of public parks and promote exercise and healthy living, Civic Dollars allowed users to earn currency through time spent in Dublin 8 parks with the community currency being redeemable at participating local businesses. Users were also able to donate their earned Civic Dollars to local community groups, who could put them towards much-needed professional services. Over 1,100 users downloaded the Civic Dollars app throughout the trial phase in March 2022, with 44% of all earned Civic Dollars being donated to local community groups.
Brace
Brace is a community-based recovery app developed by Conor Motyer, which seeks to assist patients who are undergoing physical rehabilitation. With an added focus on the mental wellness aspect of rehabilitation, Brace uses exercise tracking, gamification and community support to improve both recovery engagement and mental health outcomes arising from research that has found that rehab program completion rates can be as low as 50%. Brace is championed by the Guinness Enterprise Centre and collaborating with Health Innovation Hub Ireland and Dublin 8 community groups.
MoveAhead
Founded and developed by Dr Jamie McGann and Dr Johann Issartel, MoveAhead is the world’s first motion tracking and movement analytics platform built specifically for children, which informs games to assist with improving children’s movement skills. MoveAhead is based on years of clinical experience from both founders, as well as practical research carried out with the GAA which has found that children’s movement skills are deteriorating in line with increased use of screens and technology. MoveAhead is collaborating with The Digital Hub Development Agency and scaling through its extended learning programme and partnered schools in Dublin 8.