Health innovation more urgent than ever
Sweden’s regions are facing historically large financial deficits, and major redundancies are being announced in the health sector, but even in better economic times, the human resources are not enough to meet our societal challenges linked to health in the long term.
Therefore, we are hopeful about the results and impacts that DigitalWell Arena’s work contributes to in: quality assurance, innovation through procurement, incubation for startups, and demand-driven research infrastructure.
During the year, we received the long-awaited news that we had been granted funding to be the first in Sweden to test quality frameworks for health applications – an area that is crucial to streamlining the requirements and implementation of digital health technologies.
Methodology promoted internationally
The Demand Acceleration methodology, which integrates procurement into innovation processes, was highlighted by the European Commissioner as a Best Practice for knowledge valorisation. The methodology has also been widely recognised by the UNECE and presented at several conferences. The first procurement with the methodology was carried out in 2022 in Karlstad municipality and the service that was developed has been scaled to eleven new, paying customers in just one year. The municipality itself has been a driving force in the development of the methodology and expresses that DigitalWell Arena as an environment and platform has helped to increase their ability, from being an innovation supporter to an innovation driver.
In 2020/2021, DigitalWell Arena introduced a structure for incubation and acceleration for startups. Over time, the initiative has developed into independent businesses that in 2023 have been spun off to a long-term owner, the Inova Foundation. The change of ownership contributes to sustainable businesses with a focus on health and interaction with the public sector – both regionally, nationally and internationally.
Strong research infrastructure
The establishment of a digital health innovation infrastructure consisting of six research groups at Karlstad University has strengthened interdisciplinary research and also contributed to an increased degree of both counselling and collaboration with the public sector and companies. The formation strengthens applied research and contributes to both developing the evidence needed for the new digital technology, but also for faster dissemination of research results.
Health data key to better care
DigitalWell Arena’s service portfolio is also further strengthened through the partnership in the Health Data Sweden(HDS) consortium – a digital innovation hub. The aim is to accelerate digital maturity in society and improve the use of health data, to contribute to more efficient healthcare and better health. The free services delivered through HDS are aimed at SMEs and the public sector in Sweden and Europe. In 2023 alone, DigitalWell Arena has delivered services worth €3 million in the areas of Demand Acceleration, Quality Assurance, and Incubation Support.
Necessary transition
The systemic transition to a new mode linked to our health challenges is a long-term endeavour that we need to drive together. Every year, around 400 actors collaborate within the DigitalWell Arena ecosystem. We need to continue this over the next five years and keep our sights set on utilising health data and the digital technologies that contribute to a more sustainable society.
Together we achieve results for both Sweden and the world!
Four inspiring figures from DigitalWell Arena in 2023:
- SEK89 million in capital attracted to our ecosystem operators
- 67 beneficiaries, 42 companies and 25 public organisations
- 22 completed tests of new products and services
- 20 scientific publications thanks to our research centres
Scroll on to read more in-depth about what has happened in our four priority areas!
Quality assurance
DigitalWell Arena has long highlighted the need for common standards for quality assurance of digital health applications. In 2023, a project was initiated to take these ambitions further. The aim is to ultimately introduce harmonised quality requirements so that health services can be used safely by both individuals and the public sector.
Currently, there are around 270 000 health services available for download in the EU, but the lack of harmonised quality requirements makes it difficult for users to determine which ones are safe and effective.
This poses challenges for the public sector, both in procuring and recommending these services. At the same time, it also creates constraints for businesses, which cannot foresee the potential for their services to reach a wider market.
– Companies often lack specifications or minimum requirements to develop against. This means they are reluctant to invest in a new solution. In addition, the threshold for adoption is just as high for a lifestyle application for relaxation, or step counting, as it is for a medical technology application aimed at monitoring or treating a disease,” says Marie Granander, Project Manager for DigitalWell Arena.
Three companies show the way
During the project, NordDEC, a Nordic quality framework, will be tested on three Swedish health services. The companies involved in this endeavour are Imagine Care, Probits, Everon. The aim is to promote knowledge exchange and increase understanding of how new digital health services can be made more accessible by applying agreed standards.
The project to create a uniform assessment of health services runs until August 2024 and is a collaboration between the health service in Region Värmland, Equalis, RISE, the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), the Swedish eHealth Agency, the Medical Products Agency, Swedish Medtech, RISE, the eHealth Institute and DigitalWell Arena.
Training that attracted participants from all over the country
Increasing the digital maturity of the public sector, including through training, is also an important part of contributing to the development of health applications. In 2023, the second edition of the “Digitisation Leaders in the Welfare Sector” training course was completed. In total, the two training rounds have attracted almost 50 participants from 20 municipalities and two regions. Participants have come from a wide variety of organisations, from emergency care to social services. The aim is to offer new training places in 2024.
Innovation through procurement
Based in Karlstad, DigitalWell Arena has created a new method for procuring innovation in the public sector. In 2023, the Demand Acceleration methodology has been rolled out on an international playing field – while initiating a series of new procurement processes.
In 2022, the very first service created using the Demand Acceleration methodology saw the light of day. In Karlstad, the health and social care unit had long been looking for a better way to train carers to deal with customers with cognitive impairment, a collective diagnosis that includes dementia.
The solution was a brand new VR service, where staff can experience everyday challenges from the customers’ perspective in a number of scenarios. As no solution was available on the market, a new service was created, where seven innovative companies were procured to interact with the municipality’s own operations.
Bringing together public procurement and innovation
The Demand Acceleration methodology integrates procurement into innovation processes. Several different companies are procured to participate, assessing both their ability to create a solution that meets the needs of the organisation and their ability to bring the solution to market. Companies that are deemed to have potential continue step by step in the process. In Karlstad’s procurement, it was Virotea’s solution that went all the way, and since the service was implemented, it has been sold on to a further 11 municipalities and care providers.
Scalability is a key principle of Demand Acceleration, where good solutions can easily reach a larger public market. In 2023, it can also be said that the idea of scalability has been applied to the methodology itself.
Growing number of procurements – in several sectors
During the year, three municipalities have initiated new procurements with the support of Demand Acceleration: Hammarö, Helsingborg and Karlstad, which is conducting its second procurement. In both Hammarö’s and Helsingborg’s cases, challenges outside the direct health sphere are also being addressed – sustainability and municipal services. Helsingborg can be said to be the actor that has so far tested the methodology in the most challenging context, where the ambition is to find new ways to halve the carbon emissions from the city’s public consumption.
Together with Karolinska University Hospital, DigitalWell Arena has also developed an innovative format for innovation sprints, specifically adapted to the needs of the healthcare sector. The format is based on the principles of Demand Acceleration. First in line to test the new format is SABH, Hospital-based Advanced Paediatric Care at Home.
Several initiatives to spread knowledge about the methodology
A targeted project has also been carried out in which around ten new actors have been trained in managing procurement processes, which reduces the risk of bottlenecks. The innovation environments that participated include Peak Innovation, Leap for Life, Linköping Science Park, Norrköping Science Park, Sahlgrenska Science Park and Borås Science Park.
As part of the dissemination of the Demand Acceleration methodology, the first versions of a handbook have been created and published within DigitalWell Arena. The material is subject to a creative commons licence, which means that it is available to use and build on.
International attention
Interest in using public procurement to drive demand for innovative solutions that help solve societal challenges has not stopped within Sweden’s borders. On a number of occasions, DigitalWell Arena has been given the opportunity to explain the potential of the methodology in various international contexts, including by UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe). During the year, the EU has also highlighted Demand Acceleration as an example of “Best Practice” on its Knowledge Valorisation Platform.
Incubation for start-ups
Innovative companies are a catalyst for developing new digital health innovations that can solve societal challenges. A key issue for the DigitalWell Arena is to help facilitate and expand collaboration between startups and the public sector.
Over the year, DigitalWell Arena has supported more than 40 companies in various ways to develop their ideas and scale up their operations. In recent years, a large part of this work has been channelled into DigitalWell Ventures’ accelerator programme, which has emerged within DigitalWell Arena. The accelerator programme focuses on companies that are ready to scale up their services and products.
Initially, DigitalWell Ventures simultaneously covered the needs of companies in earlier phases, and in 2022 this activity was lifted out into a separate incubator programme, DigitalWell Incubator. The business has been designated by Vinnova as one of Sweden’s excellent incubators, with support from the National Incubator Programme. A stated objective has been to increase the companies’ knowledge of doing business with the public sector – which is a prerequisite for digital health applications to reach a larger market and contribute to better health.
Inova takes over ownership of the incubator
In 2023, the incubation programme has been reunited with the acceleration programme run by DigitalWell Ventures. Both programmes are now owned by Inova, a foundation run by Region Värmland, Karlstad University and Karlstad Municipality. Inova’s mission is to support development projects, research-related activities and projects that promote the county’s development. Inova also manages Sting Bioeconomy, which means that the foundation now has two top accelerators in two of Region Värmland’s priority areas for smart specialisation: digital health innovation and bioeconomy.
Cohesive chain provides broad support to companies
From DigitalWell Arena’s perspective, the merger brings together the chain of needs for start-ups in digital health innovation. From early innovation support to innovators and early-stage companies (pre-incubation), to market validation towards the public sector (incubation) and efforts to scale the services to the market and raise capital (acceleration).
– “We are proud of the start-up environment we have helped to build, while our independence from companies is important for an innovation platform like DigitalWell Arena. Therefore, it fits well with Inova as a long-term owner of these businesses, says Jonas Matthing, Operations Manager for DigitalWell Arena.
The new services being developed are contributing to greater opportunities for the public sector to find new solutions for important needs. One example is the Värmland-based company Habbie, whose digital services for rehab and habilitation are already being used by a handful of municipalities – from Eda in western Värmland to Reykjavik in Iceland. In total, companies from eight different countries have participated in DigitalWell Venture’s accelerator programme, which also highlights the cross-border challenges that exist in health.
Has attracted over 40 million to the companies
DigitalWell Arena’s collective ecosystem also generates better conditions for innovative companies to realise their potential, but also to understand the needs of the public sector. In 2023, the 30 or so companies that have so far completed DigitalWell Ventures’ accelerator programme have attracted capital worth SEK 41 million. In addition, eight completely new services have been created during the year, as well as a number of prototypes used by test users.
A key issue, as already mentioned, is the companies’ ability to understand the conditions for doing business with the public sector. DigitalWell Arena, in collaboration with DigitalWell Incubator, has therefore carried out a feasibility study in 2023 to examine in more detail what support the Swedish incubation system currently offers startups from this perspective. The short answer is that many incubators and accelerators lack this expertise – which can ultimately lead to companies being discouraged from niching themselves towards public customers. Long and unclear decision-making paths, cultural differences and difficulties with funding are some of the reasons cited by the incubation system as the basis for the problem.
Arenas for enhanced co-operation
At the same time, DigitalWell Arena is already contributing in a number of ways to closing the gap between innovative companies and the public sector. For example, through regular digital meeting forums, such as the Public Sector Innovation Watch, the Innovation Forum and HealthTech 101, to create contact points between the parties.
Further measures include the Demand Acceleration initiative (see above), which enables the public sector to procure innovation and create entirely new services in collaboration with several companies. The move towards a common quality assurance process also benefits both companies and the public sector – where a clear framework can create a larger market, rather than each individual customer setting its own requirements.
Needs-driven research
Needs-driven research is one of four prioritised areas of activity within DigitalWell Arena. The base for this research is at Karlstad University – where six research groups collaborate on digital health innovation.
The initiative at Karlstad University is known as the “Arena Project”, the aim of which is to open up both interdisciplinary collaboration between research groups and with external stakeholders. The working method of the “Arena Project” is now being discussed as a model for how Värmland can organise research in the region’s other six priority areas for smart specialisation.
During the year, the work at Karlstad University has resulted in some 20 scientific publications and studies. One example is a study conducted by researchers in the Department of Nursing on how a health application can support women in the final stages of pregnancy. Another, conducted at the Department of Computer Science, is investigating how 6G technology can help improve communication in emergency care.
National initiative brings research and practice together
A major national endeavour, outside the direct vicinity of DigitalWell Arena, also involves researchers at Fou Välfärd Värmland. The pilot project has created a great deal of interest among municipalities in reporting data that can increase both reliability and equality in child and youth social care. The data will be analysed by researchers, with the results then fed back to the social services to provide direct benefit in the business, which is a partly new way for academia and practice to collaborate in social services.
The research groups involved in the “Arena Project” are
- Centre for Gender Research
- Centre for Services Research (CTF)
- Centre for Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Development (CBU)
- Computer science
- R&D Welfare Värmland
- Nursing care
National initiative on the future of dementia care
In addition to Karlstad University, there are several other important anchor points for research. For example, DigitalWell Arena is one of the partners in PREDEM, a national collaboration for the early detection and prevention of dementia led by Karolinska Institutet. As part of this initiative, a clinical research study has been launched at six care centres in Region Värmland. The aim is to investigate whether a digital tool for dementia assessment can work as well as, or better than, the cognitive tests performed with paper and pencil.
Innovation hub with a focus on health data
Another important research environment is found in connection with Health Data Sweden (HDS) – one of the EU’s digital innovation hubs. HDS is coordinated by KTH and aims to increase both the use and availability of health data. In 2023, Karlstad University has also joined as one of the innovation hub’s partners.