SPARK
SPARK Projects are targeted, 6-to-9-month innovation sprints designed to advance health equity. Each SPARK is grounded in five pillars:
Strategy.
Partnership.
Acceleration.
Results.
Knowledge.
These projects bring together cross-sector teams to rapidly design, test, and scale solutions addressing systemic challenges in healthcare. Each one tackles a distinct barrier to equitable care—with clear KPIs, funding models, and deployment pathways.
The Pilot Ecosystem
Challenge: Digital health innovation often fails to reflect the lived experiences of underserved communities.
Solution: This SPARK establishes a collaborative testing environment where healthcare providers and systems, startups, and community voices co-create scalable digital health solutions.
Outcome: A functional marketplace for equity-centered innovation—rapidly prototyped, continuously refined, and ready to scale.
The Accessibility Lab
Challenge: Most digital tools are not designed with accessibility or equity in mind.
Solution: Through user-centered design and feedback loops, this SPARK trains entrepreneurs and developers to co-create tools for individuals with disabilities and culturally marginalized groups.
Outcome: A growing library of open-source, inclusive health tech solutions that meet real-world needs and improve system-wide accessibility.
Aging in Place Platform
Challenge: Older adults face preventable hospitalizations due to lack of personalized care support at home and cost of elder care increasing rapidly causes a perfect storm of poor health outcomes for the aging population.Â
Solution: This SPARK’s objective is to develop a platform to deliver real-time risk assessments, care plans, and caregiver resources tailored to aging adults.
Outcome: Improved health outcomes, reduced institutionalization, and a scalable model for aging-in-place services supported by smart tech and community infrastructure.
Birth Equity
Challenge: Women of color disproportionately experience poor maternal and infant health outcomes.
Solution: This SPARK integrates doula services, culturally responsive care, and early intervention tools into a digital-first support model.
Outcome: A replicable program that improves maternal health outcomes through trust-building, wraparound support, and policy-aligned care pathways.
