Child and Adolescent Health Service – WA Gov

Scaling innovation in child health

Two male children playing outdoors with joyous expressions.

At the Child and Adolescent Health Services (CAHS), the frontline experiences of nurses, doctors, and clinicians generate a wealth of innovative ideas aimed at improving public health outcomes. However, despite their potential, many of these ideas remain untapped due to a lack of resource, funding or capability to bring ideas to market.

Recognising this challenge, the CAHS Innovation Team partnered with Anthologie to develop an innovation pipeline. This initiative was designed to identify, test, and scale clinical innovations that hold high potential and demonstrable value for the health system, clinicians, and the broader community.

To facilitate this process, we created an online tool tailored for CAHS nurses and clinicians. This platform guides users through problem definition, idea development, and the development of value propositions and narratives suitable for funding. Ideas can then be assessed and measured against set criteria through the platform. The tool empowers staff by providing structured support to transform their insights into actionable innovations.

MOck up of CAHS innovation portal homepage with large call to action button: 'Submit an idea'

Mock up of the form submission of the new idea over the top of a photo of the Children's Hospital.

Mock up of the form submission of the new idea with the question: 'Describe how you would address the problem in as few words as possible'

built for impact

Key to our approach was the collaborative refinement of CAHS’s venture criteria, resulting in a user-centric, streamlined tool. This tool is complemented by learning resources aimed at building internal capacity and fostering a culture of continuous innovation.

We piloted and tested the platform with five interdisciplinary teams, guiding them through the process of developing funding-ready ideas and submissions. This pilot phase demonstrated the tool’s effectiveness in translating clinical insights into viable projects poised for impact.

Through this initiative, CAHS is now better equipped to harness the innovative potential of its people, ensuring that valuable ideas receive the attention and resources they deserve, ultimately enhancing public health outcomes for children and teens.