Tag: Call for Pilots

Following four years of success in engaging Enterprise, Academia and a range of relevant stakeholders, the Smart D8 initiative has delivered 16 impactful and scalable pilots. In 2025 this engagement will continue with a fifth open call for pilots.

Continuing to focus on the measured health and wellbeing needs of the 45,000 strong diverse Dublin 8 population, this call will focus on three themes, namely:

• Connected Patient in the Community,
• Positive and Healthy Ageing, and
• Community

Smart D8 seeks to support the development of impactful and sustainable pilots with the potential to scale that involve enterprise, academic and other relevant public and private stakeholders. The pilot proposals should be ready to deploy with end-users in a general population and should be in a position to measure impacts within a six-month timeframe. Up to three pilots will be chosen to market-validate their innovation, and includes individual project resourcing of up to €10,000 including VAT as part of their market-validation with citizens in real-world environments to scale.

To apply, please submit your proposal here: https://bit.ly/SmartD8_PilotApplication2025 by Wednesday, 02nd April 2025 at 23:00 (GMT+1)

Smart D8 Pilot Call Themes

Some examples of the types of pilots which would be relevant to the Dublin 8 population are given here for illustrative purposes. Smart D8 takes a very broad perspective on population health and wellbeing. Balancing preventative approaches with the support for citizens in the community and including innovation in the delivery of health and wellbeing, the pilot call is broad in the application areas.

Connected Patient in the Community

Health and wellbeing services focused on patients living in the community and community-based services in the following focus areas:

• Chronic Disease Management.
• Women’s health.
• Social prescribing and related services.
• Health and wellbeing education and learning.

Positive and Healthy Ageing

• General Preventative Health solutions that can be implemented in a community setting to maintain good health and wellbeing (e.g. nutrition and exercise).
• Support for citizens living in the community and their broad-ranging impacts on habits, lifestyles and experiences such as women’s health.
• Ways to better integrate the ageing population into communities.
• Creative approaches to foster intergenerational connections within neighbourhoods.
• Providing support for the ageing population making a valuable contribution to communities.
• Health and wellbeing services focused on an ageing population.
• Innovative approaches to addressing frailty and caring for older people living in the community.

Community

• Innovative community development projects that foster collaboration and engagement and connect to Smart D8.
• Initiatives to reduce social isolation and enhance mental health support networks and cohesion at the community level.
• Sustainable practices for creating inclusive and accessible community spaces or living/working environments that promote physical and mental wellbeing.
• Programs that empower local residents to take an active role in shaping health-conscious communities.
• Projects aimed at improving cultural diversity and inclusion within the community for wellbeing.

Who Should Apply

The pilot call is open to all Enterprise, Academic, and Public and Private sector organisations, who:

• Offer innovative and scalable solutions (products, services, content or devices).
• Provides new practices/solutions/perspectives that address an unmet need in the community.
• Have a solution that is ready for end-user deployment in a general population, and a pilot timeline within six months.
• Can be enabled by a co-creation and collaboration with the Smart D8 partners and beyond.

Why Apply?

• Opportunity to market-validate your innovation by piloting it in a real-world community setting; demonstrating its impact and scalability in a general population.
• Access to a unique collaborative ecosystem with established clinical, academic, public and private sector engagement.
• Funding support available for selected pilots.
• Programme management support.
• Marketing and promotion support.
• Access to free workspace in Dublin 8 during the pilot period.

Application Process and Timelines

• Applicants must submit a completed application form through the Smart D8 website here. Applicants can apply for more than one call. If your institution cannot access Google Forms via a Google account, you can access the Pilot Application Template, with email submission instructions, here.
• Call opens: Thursday, 27th February 2025
• Call closes: Wednesday, 02nd April 2025 at 23:00
• Evaluation of proposals:
  Your submission will be reviewed by an expert panel drawn from the Smart D8 partners. A shortlist of applicants will be selected and will be asked to make a presentation to the evaluation panel. An update on the call outcome will be provided to all applicants at the end of the review process, anticipated by Friday 16th May 2025.
• Projects to start: May 2025
• Projects to present results/interim results: October 2025

Eligibility, Evaluation & Selection Criteria

Pilot applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

• Impacts at Scale
  Smart D8 wants to back scalable projects which can produce and measure clear impacts on the health and wellbeing of a local population. Applications will be studied on the basis of the ambitions for scale during and after the pilot timeline and how this will be achieved, as well as integration with existing services. Innovations that can demonstrate engagement with higher numbers of citizens will be prioritised for population-scale impacts and outcomes.
• Innovativeness
  A level of innovation in terms of product/service will be required that addresses an unmet or underserved need. Innovation in the incremental or disruptive approach taken to advance the pilot with end-users as it relates to health habits and social norms will also be evaluated; as a key determinant of successful health outcomes.
• Team & Resources
  The Smart D8 evaluation panel will consider what resources and people are being supplied to the pilot and what the ask is in terms of people and resources from Smart D8, including competence of team members for their project delivery. Explicit communication of resource contribution (including budget) is also required, such as what resources are provided versus those requested of Smart D8.
• User-Centric
  The evaluation team will look for proposals that are end-user focused. The measures of response to needs of community or service users for health and wellbeing impacts of the population of D8 will be scored.
• Alignment with the objectives of the Smart D8 project.
  Smart D8 takes a very broad perspective on population health and wellbeing. It has built direct connections with citizens in a wide and diverse population. Smart D8 is inspired by the concept of blue zones – areas where people live the longest. Smart D8 offers a template for replicating and scaling elements of population health innovation and impact on a wide range of social and economic determinants. Pilots will be evaluated against these objectives as they relate to the Smart D8 programme and involvement of Smart D8 partners.

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 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 to solve real population health and wellbeing challenges at scale.

Smart D8 is led by The Digital Hub, Dublin City Council, St James’s Hospital and Smart Dublin. They are joined by Tyndall National Institute, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Trinity College Dublin, 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 the design, testing and development of 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, awarded for Innovation in Public Administration by the European Public Sector Awards 2023-24, and most recently Digital Community finalist at the .ie Digital Town Awards 2024.

Smart D8 Opens Doors to Health and Wellbeing Innovators for Fifth Consecutive Year of Successfully Engaging Dublin 8 Community

• Smart D8 population health demonstrator has successfully reached over 40% of the Dublin 8 community over four years.
• Pilot call follows year of record reach with international entries in 2024 from the EU, UK and USA.
• Smart D8 is a consortium initiative led by The Digital Hub, Dublin City Council, St James’s Hospital and Smart Dublin.
  

Smart D8, Dublin’s first smart district dedicated to addressing community health and wellbeing needs and located in the heart of Dublin 8, has officially launched its fifth open call for pilot projects.

Since October 2020, the Smart D8 partnership has gathered expertise from across enterprise, healthcare, academia, local government and other areas of the public sector; collectively aiming to address health and wellbeing challenges identified by the Dublin 8 community.

It has established strong community connections through outreach with residents, businesses, schools, local organisations and networks. Engaging with service providers, innovators and entrepreneurs to trial and test new ideas, products and services, Smart D8 works to matchmake innovative solutions and smart technologies with community needs, and demonstrate their impacts on population health.

Operating through funded pilot calls and partnerships, the Smart D8 testbed provides access to local knowledge and expertise and facilitates the development of innovative approaches aimed at enhancing health and wellbeing within the local community. Through the combined effort of pilot calls, local workshop activities and engagement with existing community groups, Smart D8 has reached over 18,500 people living and working in the 45,000-strong population of Dublin 8.

Now entering its fifth year, this year’s call focuses on innovative pilot projects across three key themes:

• Connected Patient in the Community
• Positive and Healthy Ageing
• Community

Speaking on the opening of pilot applications, Smart D8 Ecosystem Manager Jack Lehane said:

“As Smart D8 enters its fifth year, we are immensely proud of the work that has been done to date but equally acknowledge that more is yet to come. Having reached over 40% of the close-knit Dublin 8 community in such a short period is a remarkable achievement. Given this high level of engagement, this year we have focused on themes that have yielded the most impacts to meaningfully contribute to the health of the local area. 

It provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs and researchers to market-validate their innovations in a real-world environment, while also demonstrating their scalability and transferability to wider populations. We strongly encourage any organisations who have near-to-market products or services in these areas to apply, and we look forward to seeing more projects measure population-scale impacts and outcomes in the coming year.”

Giulia Camera, Enterprise and Learning Coordinator at Smart D8 added:

“At Smart D8, our mission is to enhance the health and wellbeing of the Dublin 8 community by fostering meaningful collaboration with local organisations and amplifying the efforts of those already committed to making a difference in people’s lives. Since our inception, we have built a strong network of community-centred programs, engaging residents, workers, and students to promote healthier lives. This year, we are expanding our impact by welcoming pilot proposals inspired by blue zones – regions known for exceptional longevity and wellbeing. By integrating their core principles, such as healthy lifestyles and illness prevention, we aim to bring innovative health solutions to Dublin 8, paving the way for a stronger, healthier, and ultimately happier community.”

The positive impact of Smart D8 has become evident through its collection of successful pilot projects that have been tested within the local community. The initiative has supported a total of 16 projects to date, including Kids Speech Labs, which filled gender and cultural data gaps for early-intervention speech and language screening; Menopause and the City, a menopause education initiative to empower women and their family and friends to manage menopause symptoms; and MoveAhead, which pioneered motion-analytics technology to improve children’s movement skills and enhanced the skills of more than 500 Dublin 8 schoolchildren. 

Selected pilots will have the opportunity to trial and evaluate new and emerging technologies in a general population to measure their population health impacts – demonstrating their potential to positively impact people’s lives locally, nationally and internationally. 

Smart D8 is led by The Digital Hub, Dublin City Council, St James’s Hospital and Smart Dublin. They are joined by Tyndall National Institute, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Trinity College Dublin, 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 Wednesday, April 2nd at 11pm (GMT+1). 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

View the criteria here: https://smartd8.ie/smart-d8-call-for-pilots-2025 | Apply here: https://bit.ly/SmartD8_PilotApplication2025