MassChallenge, MITRE, and Knowality Announce the Maternal-Child Health Equity Challenge

Identifying Innovative Market Solutions to Enhancing Equity in Maternal and Child Health for Underserved Populations

BOSTON, MA – June 1, 2022 – MassChallenge, a global network for innovators, MITRE, an operator of federally funded R&D centers, and Knowality, a venture services support for healthcare startups, are announcing the Maternal-Child Health Equity Challenge with the goal of enhancing equity in maternal and infant care for underserved populations across federal health and healthcare programs.

In coordination with their supporting partners at Ad Hoc and CNSI, two start-ups will be selected to participate in the Challenge through an application and rigorous selection process. Applicants must demonstrate engagement in high-impact, innovative work to improve maternal and infant health, with a specific emphasis on solutions focused on:

Reducing late or absent prenatal care or its impact to improve health outcomes and equity
Improving pregnancy outcomes and equity for individuals with co-occurring health conditions, and
Improving pregnancy outcomes and equity for individuals in rural areas
Each selected startup will work with a dedicated team of venture capital firm executives, health plan executives, national advocates, state health leaders, and federal policy experts over a two-month period. Activities include an orientation boot camp, regular meetings with expert teams, workshops, and tailored technical assistance, and access to MassChallenge’s proven acceleration resources and network. The Challenge will culminate in a final showcase with private and public sector stakeholder attendees.

The collaborative nature of this integrated public-private team approach will yield a collective understanding of policy barriers and market solutions that must be addressed to achieve better maternal and infant health outcomes. Specifically, this challenge focusses on the alignment of private and public market incentives to accelerate innovation, the individualized needs of the person and the services required to meet them, integration of solutions that meet needs, and the identification of better services with viable public healthcare program funding streams.

The application and additional information are available on the Challenge website at: masschallenge.org/maternalhealth. We will also host an information session on June 14 at 12pm ET for interested founders to learn more. Register here. Please submit applications through the website by no later than June 24 at 12pm ET. The two selected start-ups will be notified by July 18.

About Ad Hoc

Founded in 2014 by core members of the HealthCare.gov rescue team, Ad Hoc is a digital services company that helps the federal government better serve people. We collaborate closely with our government partners to solve the right problems and deliver software solutions that work. In doing so, we give agencies confidence that their tools will effectively meet the demands of their mission and the needs of their users. For more information about our work, visit https://adhoc.team, LinkedIn, or Twitter.

About CNSI

CNSI delivers a broad range of health information technology enterprise solutions and customizable products to a diverse base of state and federal agencies in the United States. CNSI aligns, builds, and manages innovative, high-quality, cost-effective solutions that help clients achieve their mission, enhance business performance, reduce costs, and improve the health of individuals and communities. Headquartered in the United States with a major technology center in Chennai, India, CNSI employs a world-class team of technologists, program managers, and subject matter experts with large-scale, mission-critical information technology implementation experience. Learn more at www.cns-inc.com.

About Knowality

Knowality LLC, a venture services firm dedicated to accelerating market adoption of innovative healthcare services and products that improve population health. By increasing the speed of market adoption for proven health care services, Knowality is increasing the likelihood of Americans living a healthier life.

About MassChallenge

MassChallenge is the global network for innovators. Headquartered in the United States with eight locations worldwide, MassChallenge equips bold entrepreneurs to disrupt the status quo and to create meaningful change. Since launching in 2009, more than 3,000 startups have participated in a MassChallenge program and non-profit has awarded over $17M in equity-free cash and prizes. Learn more about MassChallenge at masschallenge.org.

About MITRE

MITRE’s mission-driven teams are dedicated to solving problems for a safer world. Through our public-private partnerships and as an operator of federally funded R&D centers, we work across government and in partnership with industry to tackle challenges to the safety, stability, and well-being of our nation.