Sandra Bateman and Liliane Roux, participating in Smart D8 wellbeing initiatives. Image: Shane O'Neill/Coalesce.
The Dublin 8 initiative is seeking applications for its third round of pilot projects, focused on population health, positive ageing and connected patients.
The Smart D8 initiative is once again looking for new ways to tackle unmet health and wellness needs in the Dublin 8 area.
This initiative launched in 2021 to investigate how new and innovative approaches can be used to improve citizens’ health and wellbeing in Dublin 8.
Smart D8 has brought together local authorities, academia, healthcare, local community and industry in a partnership model to address real-world issues. It is led by The Digital Hub, St James’s Hospital, Dublin City Council and Smart Dublin.
After researching Dublin 8 and receiving community feedback, a number of pilot projects were chosen to boost the health and wellbeing of more than 5,000 citizens in the area, before scaling nationwide.
These initiatives include Heart of Our City, which aimed at improving awareness around and management of cardiovascular disease, and Civic Dollars, which let people earn digital currency through spending time in local parks.
Smart D8 is now seeking applications for its third round of pilot projects, focused on population health, positive ageing and connected patients.
Stephen Brennan, the Smart D8 chair and head of strategy and partnerships at The Digital Hub, said the initiative is “responding to real health and wellbeing needs of citizens in Dublin 8 and beyond”.
“We are especially interested in working with those who want to demonstrate their products, services and research in real-world conditions,” Brennan said.
The Smart D8 ecosystem manager, Jack Lehane, said community outreach has been “at the heart” of this initiative since its inception.
“This new call provides a great opportunity to expand this forward-looking approach to healthcare innovation,” Lehane said.
“By providing access to communities and local infrastructures, we will provide a platform for innovation to thrive and taking a health and wellness approach will help reduce the number of people who get sick in the first place.”
The Smart D8 consortium also features support from the Guinness Enterprise Centre, HSE Digital Transformation, Tyndall National Institute, St Patrick’s Mental Health Services, Trinity College Dublin, the National College of Art and Design and Health Innovation Hub Ireland.
Those wishing to apply for the third round of pilot projects can do so at the Smart D8 website.
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