Understanding ADD4kids by deconstructing each component of the name
I know sometimes I tend to explain too much. This is not the exception. Or maybe it is. It might be the case that you may take a look at the ADD4kids logo, and the extended name, and you already understand everything. Well, if you add the little hints in what each word of the name stand for, you may have a clearer idea.
Let's try to clarify what ADD4kids project name stands for. Let's see:
Let's break down those questions with some elements that represent what this project is aiming to achieve... with your help.
A for Accelerating: This is a reference to the gap between the journey of innovative solutions to become mainstrem practice. It also reflects the dreadful "valley of death" that innovators phase when they are starting up. But it also represents, accelerating the use of...
DD for Demand-driven tools: This refers to innovations that are driven by the demand (pull) vis à vis business-driven innovations (push), where the main driven is the return. But let's break down those three words: demand, driven and tools.
Demand: The starting point is the demand. This means the main bearer of the problem, or those professionals that are close to understanding the issues that are not being well address by off-the-shelf solutions. Therefore the need for innovative solutions. But also, the demand is the main concern: the impact on resolving an unmet need.
Driven: Demand-driven is putting the emphasis of who's driving the effort tackle these unresolved issues in paediatrics. This means that the value that the demand-side actors, as patients, families, care givers, heath professionals or health systems, are also relevant actors who play a big role in the adoption the innovations that are trully helping the transformation of healthcare systems, and in this particular case, in the paediatric care, of our children. And this drive represents understanding and addressing what those unmet needs that not being addressed by the market, to be carefully worked out by aggregating value to the pursue of innovative solutions for those greates challenges in paediatrics.
Tools: By tools or instruments, we are referring to funding mechanisms who's origin derives from an unmet need. The emphasis in using these instruments is putting the focus on the demand-side actors to come together to express an unmet need in order to attract the interest of innovators to tackle this problem, given the desireability to achieve a certain set of outcomes. Through the design and preparation of such tools, the demand-side actors may create new opportunities for innovators to tackle some of paediatrics biggest challenges. We are talking about pre-comercial procurement (PCP), public procurement of innovation (PPI) and social impact bonds (SIB).
4kids, that is to bring transformative change through paediatrics innovation adoption. The challenges in paediatrics innovation represent a particular situation when compared to innovation in adult health issues. For one thing, the children population is diverse, they are expected to be healthy, and when affected, as is the case with rare diseases, the small number of people with that same situation makes it difficult for market-driven innovation to find the ROI vis à vis the opportunity cost of investing somewhere else, where market retuns makes it more profitable.
So demand-driven instruments face the challenge of addressing those issues by establishing common elements among cross-border paediatric populations, which represent legal, regulatory and administrative burden, also considering the ethical aspects of a population who cannot decide on its own, as they have no legal age to do so.
The complexity of innovation in paediatrics represent a challenge on its own, and finding ways to approach these challenges with a more holistic and collaborative perspective seems like a rational choice. Driving impact and change that could signfically improve the health in kids is one of our great societal challenges, and communities, networks, professionals, families, children, and many other actors, like investors and innovators, may be addressed in order to tackle the desired new standards that could allow more equitable access to innovative high-value care in paediatrics.
Collaborative roadmap: How are going to do this? By addressing the issues in a series of working groups and events that are intended to involve different actors, from the paediatric ecosystem, together with the health innovation ecosystem, the innovators and investors, and as well as systemic actors. We are going to address how peadiatric healthcare providers play a role in uptaking these demand-driven funding mechanisms in a way that it becomes part of their strategic approach to driven impact and desired outcomes for the paediatric population they cover. And this is where you may play a role, as a pediatrician, or clinitian working in paediatrics, or the innovation manager, or an IT professional from the children hospital, or the procurement manager involved in regular procurement and now dealing with the complexities of a slightly different procedure: a PCP, a PPI or a SIB. Or even the decision makers, the CEO of children hospitals, or the value-based procurement director of health system.
The experience in these kinds of instruments, in paediatrics, is limited. But they represent an opportunity to influence the market, and to attract a mix of stakeholders that might be willing to shake up the status quo. This is where you come in. You might have some experience, or interest, in this field, and these series of events has been designed to engage with different actors to collaboratively build the elements that add up to a solution that tackles this great unmet need.
Paediatric global health ecosystems may be able to influence the market by setting some new types of incentives. And innovators, startups, SMEs or corporate enterprises, may find this systemic and more holistic approach a good fit to try to make a difference in tackling paediatrics greatest challenges, provided the demand-side actors come together to do so.
In Europe: ADD4kids is a EU funded project, and within the European ecosystems there is a broad diversity of paediatric innovation ecosystems, with leading institutions and health systems that have developed amazing results in Research and developement of the last few decades. The levels of preparedness for certain paediatric hospitals, or certain health care systems to address the uptake of demand-driven instruments may vary according to their resources, policies and mechanisms. The mainstreaming of demand-driven instruments by public bodies accross different sectors and systems is key strategic objective from the EC, and it represent a funding opportunity to tackle some of the great challenges, and measure the impact while we are at it. Leveraging how public institutions and buyers, like healthcare providers, but also health care systems assume this as opportunity to mobilize both the internal resoruces and professionals, as well as the innovative community that is helping to drive this transformation by addressing peadiatric greatest challenges.
Are you ready to be part in ADD4kids?
Join this collaborative effor to make a difference in Paediatric innovation. Join the ADD4kids Feedback event on the 5th of November in an online event (register here now). Share this event with other collegues who would like contribute to this quest!