2024 Accelerating Innovation in Aging

How can we leverage technology-enabled innovations to navigate caregiving or improve caregiver well-being?

In May 2022, the AARP Bulletin released an insightful report highlighting the challenges faced by family caregivers and identifying key areas for improvement to ease the burden on those caring for older adults.¹ The study projected that by 2030, 20 percent of the U.S. population will be 65 or older, leading to an increased demand for daily support.¹ Currently, many caregivers feel overwhelmed and burdened by the diverse and complex responsibilities of caregiving, while also striving to maintain their own self-care and manage personal obligations.

Caregivers often take on multiple roles, serving not only as medical coordinators, guardians and personal assistants but also as support systems and family members.² In states like Colorado, there is now a mandate for medical personnel to equip caregivers with detailed instructions on how to tend to their care recipient’s medical needs following hospital discharge.³ In New York, approximately 4.1 million caregivers dedicate 2.68 billion hours to unpaid care.⁴ According to a 2021 AARP study, 600,000 family caregivers in Colorado contribute 560 million hours of unpaid care annually, with an estimated value of $11.2 billion.³

In addition to their numerous responsibilities, caregivers must prioritize their own health to continue providing the best support for their care recipients. Although many caregivers (51 percent) report that their role gives them a sense of purpose or meaning, these positive feelings often coexist with physical, emotional and financial stress.2 The current lack of systemic support for caregivers presents a prime opportunity for innovative solutions that offer intervention and assistance at various touchpoints.

With over one in five adults in the U.S. serving as unpaid family caregivers, it’s likely that most of us will become caregivers at some point in our lives.² Increasing support for innovation in the caregiving space will enhance the potential for better caregiving experiences for everyone.

MATTER, with support from RRF Foundation for Aging, Next50 and The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation (The Samuels Foundation), has opened applications for the 2024 Accelerating Innovation in Aging program and invites innovators with technology-enabled solutions that improve navigating caregiving or improve caregiver well-being.

Focus areas include but are not limited to:

• Platforms or solutions that connect caregivers to professionals to communicate; potential addition for solutions that also connect in the patient
• Information tracking and sharing
• Caregiver support and training resources
• Assistive devices
• Remote patient monitoring
• Natural language processing and machine learning
• Mental, emotional and holistic health

Learn more about common experiences of caregivers in the U.S. from our caregiver profiles.

This four-week, cohort-based innovation sprint will provide participants with access to exclusive resources and interactive curriculum from subject matter experts to build their solutions and refine their value propositions. One winning solution will receive a $10,000 cash award.

Accelerator participants should expect to:

• Engage with other cutting-edge startups
• Network with peers and leading influencers
• Gain exposure to the RRF Foundation for Aging, Next50, Samuels Foundation and MATTER communities
• Pitch to potential investors, partners and clients at a private Demo Day and a public Demo Day
• Receive a free, six-month MATTER membership

August 12: Applications open
September 27: Applications close
October 10–October 18: Meetings with top candidates
October 23: Cohort announced
October 28–November 22: Innovation Sprint
December 2: Private Demo Day
December 5: Public Demo Day

We’re seeking entrepreneurs who are developing innovations to navigate caregiving or improve caregiver well-being. This global call for solutions is open to individuals and teams from across the innovation ecosystem—university researchers, students, entrepreneurs and existing startups of all stages. Solutions can range from early-stage concepts to marketed solutions, and preference will be given to solutions that are culturally inclusive. Entrepreneurs based in New York and Colorado are especially encouraged to apply.

See the Accelerating Innovation in Aging FAQs for more information.

Submissions will be evaluated with the following criteria in mind:

• Ability to clearly articulate the challenge statement addressed in the challenge description
• Quality, feasibility and scale of proposed solution or technology
• Differentiation of solution within the competitive landscape
• Capability of participant/team to develop and execute solution
• Ability of the solution to help navigate caregiving or improve family caregiver well-being

Applications open on August 12, 2024, and close at 11:59 pm CT on September 27, 2024. MATTER will select up to 10 applicants to determine their fit for participation in the program. MATTER will select 6-8 teams to move on to the innovation sprint which begins October 28, 2024.

The Accelerating Innovation in Aging program will run from October 28–November 22, 2024. Participants will give presentations at a private Demo Day on December 2, and a public Demo Day on December 5.

See the full Terms & Conditions.

If you are interested in learning more about any of the above opportunities to support the Accelerating Innovation in Aging program, please contact aging@matter.health.

Sources:

1. “Real Problems, Real Solutions to the Long-Term Care Crisis,” American Association of Retired Persons, 2022.
2. “Caregiving in the United States 2020,” AARP and The National Alliance for Caregiving, 2020.
3. “AARP Colorado Boosts Support for Family Caregivers,” American Association of Retired Persons, 2023.
4. “The New York State Office for the Aging, the New York State Department of Labor, and the New York State Department of Health Join with Businesses to Better Understand and Support Working Caregivers,” New York State Department of Health, 2021.

At MATTER, we believe collaboration is the best way to improve healthcare. The MATTER collaborative includes more than 1,000 current and alumni startups from around the world, working together with dozens of hospitals and health systems, universities and industry-leading companies to build the future of healthcare. Together we are accelerating innovation, advancing care and improving lives. For more information, visit matter.health and follow @MATTERhealth.

For more than 45 years, RRF Foundation for Aging, formerly The Retirement Research Foundation, has been funding programs that support older adults. The Foundation has awarded more than 5,000 grants worth more than $250 million — all dedicated to improving the quality of life for all of us as we age. RRF’s grantmaking focuses on four priority areas — caregiving, economic security in later life, housing, and social and intergenerational connectedness. These issues are fundamental to allowing all of us to age where we want to and how we want to. RRF was one of the first private foundations to focus exclusively on aging issues, and continues to support a range of advocacy, direct service, research, training, and organizational capacity-building efforts, both in Illinois and nationally. Learn more at www.rrf.org.

Next50 is a Colorado-based national foundation that works toward a society that values aging and makes growing older an empowering, fulfilling experience. Today, our systems in the U.S. don’t prioritize our economic well-being as we age, which causes widespread economic hardship for older adults and their families. That’s why we focus on funding innovative and equitable programs that create economic opportunity for older adults, especially in low-income communities and communities of color. We fund programming in three key areas: ending age-related bias and discrimination; advancing digital equity so technology is available to all; and making it possible for people to age where they want to live.

The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation’s (the Samuels Foundation) Healthy Aging Program supports patient-based and social service activities that directly improve the quality of life of the elderly of New York City. Its aim is to improve the way health and social services are delivered by providing support for innovative, effective, efficient and caring organizations. For more information, visit www.samuels.org.