More than 40 companies and entrepreneurs have now received support via DigitalWell Arena's investment in innovation support in the corona crisis. During the autumn, several of the new, digital health and welfare services being developed in the public sector will be tested.
The announcement with two million kroner to support innovation during the Corona crisis opened in March. The summer has not meant a drought for the great innovative power that companies and entrepreneurs have shown. Every week, DigitalWell Arena is contacted by people with new exciting ideas, which can contribute to developing digital well-being.
So far, just over 40 companies and entrepreneurs have been granted support on their journey, and over 20 different organizations have helped deliver it. The call is still open for new ideas.
Tested in the public sector
Among the services and products that have received support in recent months are, among others, digital stress management for healthcare workers, a digital board for eye examinations and an app that stimulates physical activity to treat mental illness.
- Several of the services that we supported through Innovation support will be tested in the form of pilot projects in the public sector during the autumn. It will be very exciting to follow, says Lina Svensberg, process manager for entrepreneurship and commercialization in DigitalWell Arena.
In addition to a great interest in developing new digital health and welfare services, a shift is also underway both among users and within the public sector. In July, SKR published the report " Collaboration and renewal - An exploration of the transition in health and medical care during five months with corona". It describes how the current situation has contributed to a major leap, where new ways of working and new digital solutions have been introduced across the entire healthcare system in a short time.
Support that is constantly evolving
With the influx of new companies and entrepreneurs, the range of support services in DigitalWell's Innovation Support is also refined, as new needs are made visible. A completely new service is a legal review of services and products before they are tested. In addition, a scheme is being pilot tested where an entrepreneur is offered a workplace in the Innovation Hub at Karlstad Innovation Park.
- We who work with the Innovation Support work right next to the Innovation Hub, and what we are testing is to see what value it means for the entrepreneur to be physically in this environment, and that we get a closer contact. Our hypothesis is that it will be rewarding both for the entrepreneur and for us, and in that case we will give more entrepreneurs the opportunity to apply for that position, says Lina Svensberg.
Parallel to the development of new services in Innovation support, the development of an accelerator is also underway, DigitalWell Ventures, connected to the DigitalWell Arena. The purpose of the accelerator is to help the companies and entrepreneurs with the greatest potential to get the very best conditions to reach the market and scale up.
