Springboards – an internationally successful concept

What is a springboard, who attends one and why has the concept become so successful within CareWare Nordic? A company seeking help from healthcare professionals and users to help develop a product or service is a win-win concept, and made possible through close collaboration between Denmark and Sweden.

The springboard concept has been used in the CareWare Nordic project since 2018. A springboard consists of a meeting where a company presents their product or service, and get feedback from potential end users and experts in the area. The unique factor within CareWare Nordic is that it is focused on healthcare professionals. The company gets help to develop their product and the users get to voice their needs and wishes, in an open environment meant for healthcare development. The concept has been around for a long time and the unique factor of inviting healthcare professionals started in Denmark and spread to Sweden through close collaborations. Now, it is a successful concept in both countries.

“The springboard concept is easy to grasp, and easy to adjust. Whatever the product, service or topic, a springboard can be customised to fit the occasion. The companies are very grateful, and they get a lot of attention from us and a lot of feedback”, says Anna-Karin Holst Johannsen, Project Leader for CareWare Nordic, Denmark.

The concept has been featured in several different contexts, for example when the Danish company DigiRehab was offered a springboard with actors from both the Danish and the Swedish healthcare market. The concept has also been a part of an educational setting for assistant nurses. It was also explained during the conference Health Innovation Day 2020 at Halmstad University, by Peter Uppman, Innovation Strategist, Region Halland, and Peter Astrup, Centre Manager Test- and Development for Welfare Tech (TUCV) in Viborg, Denmark. They talked about how springboards help assess impact and develop new solutions. Most recently, Peter Uppman and Peter Astrup shared their thoughts on springboards during the Rehabilitation World Congress 2021 in September.

Close collaboration across the border

Both companies and users benefit from the springboards, and the concept has been made possible through the close collaborations within CareWare Nordic. Even though Denmark and Sweden have many differences, such as laws and regulations, the two countries have been able to find common ground in developing welfare technology.

”We have been in sync since the beginning. We do things differently in Sweden and Denmark, but we have had a close working relationship since the project started and we are very thankful and applicative of that”, Anna-Karin Holst Johannsen says.

The collaboration between countries has not only led to the success of the springboard concept, but also, for example, presentation days where companies present their finished solutions to healthcare professionals, and exchange of experiences. The partners in CareWare Nordic use each other’s competences and knowledge to better develop their organisations and their countries’ welfare technology.

Text: Linnéa Andersson
Photo: Virginia Wiman and Peter Uppman