Rising to the regional health challenge: Bootstrapping solutions for regional healthcare
It’s undisputed that regional Australia needs better healthcare. But how to bring that about?
RISE 2022, UNE SMART Region Incubator’s latest “sprint and pitch” event, will on November 10–11 throw down that question to self-selected teams of people who want to address one of the biggest challenges confronting the regions. The event will be primarily be held at Dungowan Station, near Tamworth.
Through a day-and-a-bit process guided by “design thinking”, RISE 2022 will ask participants to come up with innovative but (importantly) potentially viable ideas to address key healthcare pain points.
The best five or six concepts to emerge from RISE – whether physical products, services or programs – will be selected for deeper exploration in a fully-funded five-week intensive program with the SRI. If at the end of the intensive, the team has identified a path for ongoing development, the team will then be introduced to the opportunities for further building out the idea.
In 2022, SRI was supporting 60 startups who collectively raised more than $4 million to bootstrap their ideas into reality, and created 225 regional jobs in the process.
“SRI hopes to see solutions that focus on healthier more connected communities,” said the Incubator’s Regional Connector Emma Grant.
“Simply creating new solutions is not enough. We need to be able to offer new ways of bringing new and old solutions into collaboration, so that the sum is greater than the parts.”
“There will never be enough resources to build the perfect regional healthcare system, but if we can build systems that leverage the strengths of every aspect of our systems, it might be possible to create something uniquely regional that serves our healthcare needs more effectively than our current system.”
RISE participants will be asked to address three specific problem statements:
Health Education
Many health challenges are a result of poor health habits and choices that are embedded from an early age.
How can we improve the long-term health outcomes of our community by focusing on better education for children, today?
Aged Care
Maintaining independence and social connection is key to enabling the elderly to live at home longer therefore alleviating pressure on the residential aged care system (which is predicted to have a staffing shortfall of 110,000 by 2025).
How can we enable the elderly to remain independent at home with an enhanced quality of life – covering nutrition, physical independence (mobility) social connection and mental wellbeing?
Mental Health
Mental health has a huge impact on every aspect of people’s lives. It affects behaviour, physical health, work and relationships, as well as the people around them.
How can we improve mental health outcomes in our community?
Those who have an idea that might address one of these problem statements (or an interest in enhancing community health and wellbeing) can email their expression of interest in being part of RISE to smartri@une.edu.au
RISE participants will be fully supported with team facilitators, materials, templates brainstorming and pitching, and mini workshops to guide them through the “sprint and pitch” process intended to draw out their ideas.
RISE 2022 is proudly supported by the NSW Government through the Women NSW Program, and Tamworth Regional Council.
RISE 2022 schedule
Thursday 10th November 2022 (5.30–7.30pm) - Event launch and problem statement panel discussion with key industry representatives from the region. A fully catered event hosted at the UNE Centre, Tamworth.
Friday 11th November 2022 (7.30am-5pm) - Fully catered event hosted at Dungowan Station.
Text courtesy of UNE Media Team
Special thanks to artist and UNE SRI founder Colleen Tighe-Johnson for the beautiful artwork that has become our RISE image.