CTIA Wireless Foundation Accelerates Wireless Innovation for Health and Wellness with New Competitive Grants Program

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CTIA Wireless Foundation today announced the launch of Catalyst, a new competitive grants program that will support social entrepreneurs accelerating the development of wireless innovations that address America's most pressing health and wellness issues. The Foundation also announced that leading experts from the Tecovas Foundation, Case Foundation, Brookings Institution, Crisis Text Line and Kaiser Permanente Ventures will help evaluate and select grant recipients.

Improving American Health and Wellness Through Wireless Innovation
From heart monitors to fitness trackers, wireless technologies improve access to care, enhance health, and save lives. According to Deloitte, 84% of healthcare professionals say wireless technologies are critical to generating better patient outcomes and $305 billion in savings is expected for the health system from future wireless innovation.

Catalyst will identify and fund solutions that leverage wireless technology in one or more of the following ways:

• Emerging mHealth, telemedicine and health data analytics services
• Applications that remove barriers and improve access to care
• Technologies that improve the diet, fitness and psychological well-being of Americans

#BeACatalyst
"Social entrepreneurship is critical to addressing some of our toughest societal challenges and we want to harness that energy to accelerate the development and adoption of wireless innovations that will improve health and wellness for all Americans," said Dori Kreiger, CTIA Wireless Foundation Executive Director. "Together with some of the leading minds in social entrepreneurship, technology, philanthropy and health, we're looking for ambitious and innovative early-stage organizations actively developing wireless solutions that will improve people's lives."

Starting today through December 9, 2019, social entrepreneurs are encouraged to submit applications by visiting www.wirelessfoundation.org/catalyst. Ten semi-finalists will be selected in January 2020 to participate in an invitation-only second round. Three finalists will be selected in late spring 2020, where the first, second and third place grants will be announced and honored with $100,000, $50,000, and $25,0000, respectively.

Expert Advisors
Experts in the field of wireless technology, social entrepreneurship, philanthropy and health will help evaluate submissions and select awardees. Advisors include:

• Mary Galeti, Tecovas Foundation
• Galeti was previously a board member of the World Economic Forum's Global Shapers Foundation and was named a Senior Fellow in Social Innovation at the Lewis Institute at Babson College.
• Sarah Koch, Case Foundation
• Koch currently leads the Social Innovation team at the Case Foundation. Previously, Sarah worked in Nonprofit Services at Causes.com and in health education at La Clinica del Pueblo in Washington DC.
• Nicol Turner-Lee, Brookings Institution
• Turner-Lee focuses on regulation and legislation for the equitable access and distribution of digital resources, authoring the forthcoming book on the U.S. digital divide titled Digitally Invisible: How the internet is creating the new underclass.
• Nancy Lublin, Crisis Text Line
• Lublin founded Crisis Text Line, one of the first "big data for good" organizations. Previously she was CEO of DoSomething.org and founder of Dress for Success. Lublin currently serves as the board chair for Change.org and is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum.
• Brian Sivak, Kaiser Permanente Ventures
• Sivak leads the Medicaid Transformation and Venture team at Kaiser Permanente, focusing on driving better health outcomes. Previously, he was the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Chief Technology Officer and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

25 Years of Wireless Social Innovation
For more than 25 years, CTIA Wireless Foundation has been at the forefront of wireless-driven social innovation, leading initiatives to address societal challenges such as public safety, domestic violence, children's health, mental health and distracted driving. Our mission is to fuel positive social impact by using innovative wireless technology in American communities.

About CTIA Wireless Foundation
CTIA Wireless Foundation (www.wirelessfoundation.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advancing positive social impact fueled by innovative wireless technology in American communities. CTIA Wireless Foundation was formed by CTIA® member companies in 1991. Follow CITA Wireless Foundation on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE CTIA Wireless Foundation

Related Links

http://www.wirelessfoundation.org