All too often, navigating company growth through grant funding seems like a complex maze, with no clear path forward and little guidance to follow.
Kompass (formerly Goal Manager) has successfully secured grant funding in the rehabilitation industry and believes that this process should be more accessible to others.
After all, if more companies that enhance the rehabilitation process are able to grow, it will drive continuous improvement in the field.
Introduction to the process
Below is a diagram displaying the process by which grant funding should develop.
This includes key grant providers, the UK Research and Innovation department (UKRI)- a government department dedicated to promoting economic growth and improving public services, and the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR)- a subsection of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) dedicated to the improvement of clinical, public health and social care.
These large government agencies are a brilliant place to start with grant funding.
Not only are their applications straightforward, with understandable questions with specific word counts, once awarded the grant, they provide a myriad of different innovation tools, advice and workshops, to aid your innovation journey.
Kompass’ journey of grant funding
Health Innovation Manchester
Funding from Health Innovation Manchester supported the deployment of the software in Northern Care Alliance stroke service.
This allowed for a study analysing staff satisfaction with the software, leading to co-design driven improvements to the system, suggested by clinicians.
This prepared the system for future grants, improving it before future deployments.
The opportunity for deployment in an NHS system was crucial for Kompass’ understanding of NHS health systems, helping acquire knowledge useful for future procurement discussions.
Women in Innovation
Funding from Innovate’s Women in Innovation fund was awarded through Kompass’ founder winning the 2022/23 ‘Women in Innovation Award’.
This supported the build of the ‘Analytics Wizard’, a dashboard presenting data on a service-level, created to complement the Kompass platform for auditing needs.
Eight focus group discussions were held with 13 pre-existing and prospective Goal Manager users, to establish their current data practices and idiosyncratic data needs.
Analysis of these focus groups allowed for the development of the Analytics Wizard to align with the principles of co-design, using suggestions from end-users to amend the product.
UKRI Biomedical Catalyst
The UKRI Biomedical Catalyst Grant was applied for and successfully granted to Kompass to develop a paediatric patient portal interface to the system- Kompass Kids.
The aims of this were to empower young people to engage and become active participants in their own care, providing necessary rehabilitative information to inform and equip patients.
Through this grant, a series of wireframes were developed which will inform the future build of the application.
This grant has been instrumental for adding value to the company by funding the development of this extra element.
NIHR i4i FAST grant
This grant was a collaboration, working with a company- FLX Health, to deliver customised biomechanical exercise interventions to a brain injury population to demonstrate the positive effect of movement. NIHR application guidance outlines the importance of completing collaborative grant projects.
This project funded the development of the ‘Outcome Measures Wizard’, an accompanying element to the Kompass platform that tracks a range of different outcome measures, such as those used with co-morbid musculoskeletal and brain injury conditions.
This demonstrates the added value that this grant offered, both in the use case of Kompass for musculoskeletal rehabilitation and in the additional element to the platform.
Looking forward
Through the work on these grants, Kompass has developed a wide range of use cases and expanded the platform with numerous additional features.
This places Kompass at the implementation phase, moving into adoption discussions within NHS Trusts.
The grant options displayed in the image above after the NIHR i4i and BMC creative catalyst are the next steps that Kompass will consider for development.
Practical tips
- Grant writing takes time- allow for ample time to write answers to questions and upload them to the relevant portal
- PPIE efforts should be built into grant funding, it makes applications look more considered, and provides an additional aspect to dissemination approaches
- Grant portals can sometimes be difficult to navigate, so having sufficient time to complete all fields is essential for a stress-free experience
- Understanding the funder’s/grant agencies’ goals and objectives for funding is key for writing a compelling answer. Funders generally hold briefing events or have ample information on their requirements to help fulfil this
- Emphasising the problem and the solution is key for underscoring the need for the grant
Article Credit:
Sarah Lake, Research Assistant, Kompass.
