Congratulations to the winners of the 2021-2022 Big Ideas Competition!
Each of the winning teams will be awarded a grant of $50,000 in research funds.
The intent of the Big Ideas Program is to support novel and innovative projects that are clinically relevant, technically feasible, and operationally sustainable. Annually, the program provides an opportunity for collaborative clinical, operational and research teams to develop innovations in informatics and healthcare delivery.
Applicants may request up to $50,000 in grant funding.
The intent of this competition is to support innovative projects that are clinically relevant, rigorously evaluated and operationally sustainable. Applications should explain how their proposed project speaks to these characteristics. Successful proposals could, for example, reflect the following strategies:
- Using personalized health data to inform/optimize care.
- Moving healthcare delivery closer to where patients live, work, and play.
- Harnessing community data to improve community health.
Some examples of successful project ideas might include:
- Evaluating the clinical and financial impact of predictive algorithms for detecting patients at-risk of developing sepsis and using such insights to proactively intervene with those individuals before they deteriorate.
- Assessing the utility of wearable devices for the remote monitoring of patients in a peri-operative contexts in order to reduce complications and/or readmissions.
- Testing the usability and clinical impact of voice assistants in home-care settings in order to deliver behavioral health interventions.
Hear from previous Big Ideas participants about what it’s like to get your idea funded and how it’s helped their team implement the idea in a real clinical setting.
The competition encourages applications from all individuals affiliated with BJC HealthCare and/or the Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM), with a preference for projects that involve collaboration across the two organizations. The Lab and I2 administrations are happy to help facilitate connections between BJC and WUSM partners, if needed.
- High impact proposals that do not involve multiple sites or organizations will also be considered for funding.
- For research fellows or trainees, the mentor (faculty member) must submit the application as the primary investigator. Please describe within the application the trainee-mentor circumstance.
- Primary investigators/project leads may hold only one innovation award at a time and total awarded funds may not exceed $50,000 within a 12-month period. (PIs may serve as team members on multiple teams.)
- Proposals should include at least three members in good standing in order to be considered. An example of a successful team could be: a clinician, a research investigator, and an operational champion.
- The proposal should highlight how funding will be used to advance healthcare delivery.
Dates and deadlines for the 2022 – 2023 competition will be announced soon.
Please submit letters to bigideas@wustl.edu.
Accepted intent proposals will be invited to apply.
For more information or to ask questions, please contact us at bigideas@wustl.edu.