Investment in innovation projects to improve mental health in children and young people

Nearly $5,000,000 has been awarded to innovation projects across Australia through Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the Innovation Challenge: Child and Youth Mental Health program.

The aim of the Challenge is to stimulate the development of an innovative solution to a significant unmet need in the area of child and youth mental health in WA.

The Challenge was based on an openly competitive application process, and had two selection stages:

• Stage 1 – Innovation Feasibility: In this first stage 11 applicants were selected by an expert review panel to receive up to $50,000 each to undertake feasibility studies and/or build prototypes around the problem that they had identified, within a 6-month period [ Future Health Research and Innovation Fund - Investment in innovation projects to improve mental health in children and young people ].

• Stage 2 – Innovation Development and Implementation: Stage 1 grant recipients then had the opportunity to apply for Stage 2, building on the outcomes of Stage 1.

The program originally aimed to award a single “winner” of the Challenge up to $1.5 million to fully develop their solution and implement this in WA, within a 24-month period.

However, the expert review panel recommended that three high-quality Stage 2 applications each be awarded up to $1.5 million.

The program is funded by the Future Health Research and Innovation Fund which provides a secure source of funding to drive health and medical research, innovation, and commercialisation.

Stage 2 funding of up to $1.5 million has been awarded to each recipient as outlined in the table below.