Always have a plan
“A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there.”
– H. Stanley Judd
I like this quote because I believe there’s a lot of value in planning (and using maps) to work through challenges to get where you want to go.
The accessibility of convenient, affordable medical transportation is a strong predictor of health care outcomes. If there are people in your community missing appointments because of poor or inconvenient transportation options, you need a good plan to address the issue.
But developing a good plan takes time, effort, and money.
Want help developing an effective plan to improve access to health care; Looking for a way to fund planning expenses?
I have some good news! The National Center for Mobility Management (NCMM), with funding from the Federal Transit Administration, is offering a new grant opportunity – the Health Care Access Design Challenge 2017 – to eligible public agencies and private community and medical transportation organizations. For this opportunity, applicants must develop a proposal to address a specific health care access challenge.
Winners of the NCMM’s Health Care Access Design Challenge 2017 will receive up to $30,000 to cover eligible costs associated with developing the plan they proposed.
Thinking of applying? The deadline for submissions is October 5, 2017 at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time, so don’t delay the process, start preparing your proposal today!
Developing a Plan Using Design Thinking
Successful applicants will be expected to adhere all to the steps of the design thinking method as they develop their plan to address their challenge.
Design thinking is a planning method promoted by the NCMM as an effective way for public agencies and private operators to identify challenges and develop solutions. It is a human-centered, team-based approach to addressing challenges that encourages exploring the problem from multiple stakeholder’s perspectives. The NCMM offers a free online course on Creating Innovative Transportation Solutions using the design method.
Can the Grant be Used Toward Technology Spending?
The Design Challenge grant cannot be used toward implementing a solution. But, part of the planning process can include consulting with vendors to assess if their offering can help you address your health care access challenge. For example, if you are a non-profit provider that relies on volunteer drivers, and you are struggling to keep up with demand for rides, an automated scheduling solution could increase capacity, reducing or eliminating the challenge. What’s your biggest challenge, and could technology help you address it? Dig into design thinking, and find out.
To learn more about the NCMM Health Care Design Challenge and eligibility requirements, visit the Design Challenge website. Here, you can find the full information package, a recorded webinar, the NCMM design thinking course, past projects, and more.
