Building a Grant Application Platform for USZ's Health Innovation Hub

The need to digitize grant application management

Twice a year, startups looking to develop innovative products and services in cooperation with the USZ, submit their proposals for projects in the medical field. All these initiatives must be committed to enhancing patients' chances of recovery and improving their quality of life, with a readiness for market access within the next 5 years.

After a pre-selection, the USZ’s committee consisting of medical and subject matter experts votes for projects worth funding. Once the voting process is done, the committee makes the final decision, and the most promising projects get funded and become part of USZ's innovation program.

While this application process looks straightforward, it suffered from inefficiencies.

From filling out the application form to pre-selecting applications to sending approved projects to decision-makers for voting to keeping a record of the process – USZ's Health Innovation Hub relied on disparate Excel files and paper documentation. This cumbersome process had to be digitized.

Recognizing the problem, the Health Innovation Hub decided to build a solution that would solve the problem of disjointed spreadsheets and manual application management. They joined forces with Modeso to build a digital platform that automated application submission, review, and voting, facilitating better project coordination, as well as decision-making and transparency in funding management.

Read on to discover how we tackled every challenge along the way.

Solution overview

To help USZ streamline the grant application and review process, we had to build a centralized digital platform that automated the entire process from submitting applications to making the final funding decisions.

Simplified application process

Users no longer need to send Word documents or PDFs. Instead, they can access an intuitive online form to submit their proposals. Integrated with the platform, the online form simplifies the process for applicants and the Innovation Hub team, helping them review project proposals faster.

Improved control over submission management

Within the platform, the Health Innovation Hub team can easily control the application process, ensuring that proposals are sent within the deadline and contain all essential information. By being able to configure call rounds within the system, administrators can set clear deadlines and mitigate concerns about late or early submissions.

Streamlined decision-making

The platform simplifies the voting process, allowing seamless coordination among Innovation managers and subject matter experts. Each expert has access to the platform to review applications and vote on them.

After the subject matter experts vote on the pre-selected projects, the committee gathers to define the optimal funds for each project. To facilitate this process, the platform provides a budget calculator that displays available funds and helps allocate the budget more accurately. Using this tool helps the committee make smart choices about how to distribute resources, ensuring the selected projects have the needed support within the budget limits.

The platform fully transformed the application process and eliminated all communication-related bottlenecks. The stakeholders benefit from real-time updates and a cohesive overview of project statuses, resulting in a streamlined and transparent decision-making process.

A single application submission form ensures that all essential information is provided by each participant.

The MVP scope

Here’s what the entire process from submitting a project proposal to funding allocation looks like:

Proposal submission

Innovators submit project proposals via an online form, outlining the project's medical significance and estimated budget.

Pre-selection

Innovation managers review submitted proposals and pre-select viable projects based on the predetermined criteria.

Expert evaluation

Subject matter experts evaluate proposals, assigning a vote ranging from -5 to +5 based on viability and relevance.

Budget allocation

At the committee meeting, fundings are assigned to the most voted projects while a funding calculator displays the remaining funds.

Midterm reviews

Managers can request midterm reviews to track the progress of the funded projects and allocate additional funding if needed.

Technology stack

We used Strapi for headless CMS, allowing full flexibility in the front-end. Perfect for quick MVP development, Strapi allowed us to speed up our process and efficiently manage the platform's data without building a custom admin backend from scratch.
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With Strapi, tasks such as data management, user authentication, and configuration of call rounds were seamlessly handled through its intuitive interface. This allowed us to focus on building the front-end user experience, saving budget and time.
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The platform was hosted on Google Cloud in Zurich, ensuring reliable performance and data security.

Lesson learned: switching from a dedicated team to full-cycle development

This project taught us a vital lesson about the importance of owning a product.
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Initially, the client required us to play the role of a dedicated team. In this engagement model, Modeso supplied developers while the client handled technical project ownership. However, as the project progressed, there were frequent changes in project stakeholders, resulting in a lack of clear ownership.
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Recognizing this downside, we changed the engagement model. We took full ownership of the project, guiding its development and ensuring alignment with the client's objectives. This change led to smoother development cycles and, ultimately, a successful release.
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With ownership firmly established, the development process accelerated, and the entire project was completed over several months.

Result: 900+ applications reviewed and 60+ projects funded

The grant application platform we built successfully solved the problem of manual application management and a cumbersome voting process. The new centralized platform allows stakeholders to easily review applications, share them with subject matter experts, and vote on them, ensuring visibility throughout the process from project pre-selection to funding.
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The platform handles around 150 applications per call round, with 10 to 15 projects accepted each round. Over three years, it has helped around 300 innovators get the required funding, helping USZ establish a status as a center of innovation in medical research.

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Developing a Centralized Grant Application Platform to Streamline Funding for Healthcare Projects

The need to digitize grant application management

Solution overview

Simplified application process

Improved control over submission management

Streamlined decision-making

The MVP scope

Technology stack

Lesson learned: switching from a dedicated team to full-cycle development

Result: 900+ applications reviewed and 60+ projects funded

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