Maternova
Location
My idea is that the process of innovation for maternal/neonatal health be streamlined and organized in a single site reflecting all stages of development, and all disciplines (engineering, biomed, public health, logistics, transport, water, energy).
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Meg
Last Name
Wirth
Website
Organization
Maternova
Country
Are you an individual between the ages of 18 and 35 who would like to apply for a nine month Young Champions Program mentored by an Ashoka Fellow?
No
Section 2: About Your Organization
Organization Name
Maternova
Organization Website
Organization Phone
Organization Address
Organization Country
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Your idea
Name Your Project
Maternova
Country your work focuses on
Describe Your Idea
My idea is that the process of innovation for maternal/neonatal health be streamlined and organized in a single site reflecting all stages of development, and all disciplines (engineering, biomed, public health, logistics, transport, water, energy).
Website URL
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
It is unique because it crosses boundaries--right now not many groups have the incentive to feature what others are doing. The Maternova concept makes the site a kind of media channel covering all groups whether on the market or in R&D. The single lens used is --how will this innovation help save the lives of mothers and infants?
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
We have had an impact thus far by putting all of the innovations for maternal health in a single, open source, searchable online index. To our knowledge, this is the first time this has been done, and the response has been very positive.
Problem
The problem is that the field of maternal health still feels fragmented. There are strong voices now for policy change, for advocacy and for funding. However, the connections between frontline providers and the latest innovations in thinking, policies and technologies needs to be enhanced and accelerated.
Actions
We took a very tiny grant from the S.E.VEN Fund and leveraged it to the hilt to build a state-of-the art site to host an Innovation index and Global Map of maternal health clinics.
We are partnering with non-profits.
We are working with multiple interns to help launch the site for low-cost.
We are tracking innovations.
We are building out mapping innovations.
Results
We have been able to launch a site and steadily increase traffic to the site in the last six months. Google Analytics shows us that now people from more than 85 countries have visited the Maternova site and our unique users are increasing every month-- we are already at 3000.
We have already added dozens of innovations to the Innovation Index- this represents months of research and interviews with entrepreneurs, scientists and users.
We have partnered with a large, credible non-profit, Association for Reproductive Health Professionals to pioneer online mapping of maternal health clinics.
We have been featured on Beyond Profit and other blogs including the 'Open Forum' blog on human rights at Harvard, as well as in the Providence Business Journal. We were also an early winner in this very contest which has helped our publicity tremendously!
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
Year 1
We need to hire additional people to execute our key milestones. We need to integrate a better organization/search mechanism in the site and add 100 additional technologies. In addition we'd like to explore adding TECHNIQUES in addition to TOOLS.
We need to implement a major campaign in print and social media to reach the core users of this site (policymakers and clinicians in low-resource settings.
Year 2
We need to continue to build out our site and start implementing key
revenue generators (including e-commerce)
Year 3
We anticipate that by year 3 we could be financially self-sustaining and reaching over 10,000 frontline providers.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Lack of enough initial funding would prevent the project from being successful. We believe the time is right now to rapidly build out this site. We have the will, energy, contacts and know-how to do it, but to do it efficiently and urgently we do need funding.
How many people will your project serve annually?
1001‐10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$50 - 100
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for less than a year
Is your organization a
For‐profit
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
No
If yes, provide organization name.
How long has this organization been operating?
Please select
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
No
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with government?
No
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
We work informally with a representative from an NGO (Midwives for Haiti) who is interested in our work and in brainstorming and testing ideas with us. In addition we have worked with the Brown University Social Entrepreneurship program closely through a course which linked Maternova with students for five months of intensive work. We also have a partnership with the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals and another group called Development Seed--together we are working on a mapping project in Mexico.
We have also solicited ideas, feedback and needs assessments from dozens of non-profits in the course of figuring out the Maternova concept.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
1. We feel we have a strong idea and initial concept--we need funding to hire additional people to execute our plan fully.
2. We need a strong social media campaign to continue to spread the word about the online community and involve more frontline providers
3. We need more backing and approval from core institutions who can give academic and clinical credibility
The Story
What was the defining moment that you led to this innovation?
2 defining moments.
One was working for so long at the policy level and rarely talking about the role of technology--I became very focused on the question of Magnesium Sulfate and why it was not more widely used in the field.
Two was a really surprising story in the paper about Shannen Rossmiller. This is from the LA Times: "Shannen Rossmiller, 39, is a cyber-spy and former judge who taught herself Arabic after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and began infiltrating websites and chat rooms to hunt for terrorists. As her children slept, she spent nights and mornings posing as more than two dozen Muslim militants from her home computer to gain information about planned attacks and terrorist cells across the world. Her investigations have led to two terrorism-related convictions in the U.S., and she has provided intelligence in dozens of other international cases."
I found her story really inspiring. At 39, I think I saw some parallels to needing a cybercorps for maternal health.
Now she is trying to expand her one-woman operation by creating a "cybercore" of experts in language, data-mining and technology, dedicated to helping the government track terrorists. Rossmiller unveiled the idea at the FBI-hosted gathering of 400 from 40 countries at Fordham University.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
The social innovators are the dozens of brilliant scientists, students, physicians and midwives who are inventing faster, cheaper ways to provide care in the field. Maternova aggregates these stories and allows them all to learn from one another.
We are basically aggregating these ideas and creating maximal efficieny to save lives.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Through another organization or company
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
do not recall... so long ago
 | maternova said: Hi Darlene Thanks. We have lots of ideas about dissemination & packaging but welcome more. 1) online forums of midwives & ... about this Competition Entry. - 689 days ago read more > |
| darlenedamm said: Hi, I liked your entry! I am really curious about how you will package and share your information? Thanks, Darlene about this Competition Entry. - 689 days ago read more > |
| maternova updated this Competition Entry. - 697 days ago |
| vanessamason said: I like the idea of consolidating all innovations in one place for greater accessibility. I just wanted to know more information about ... about this Competition Entry. - 700 days ago read more > |
| maternova said: Thanks for your comment. Maternova (http://maternova.net) is up and running. The content is edited and 'editorialized'-- so nothing ... about this Competition Entry. - 709 days ago read more > |
| storrsb2 said: This is a really great idea but how would you make sure that the ideas being posted were only for maternal health and not for other ... about this Competition Entry. - 711 days ago read more > |
| Naveen Shakir said: This is a really interesting entry! The idea of having an online platform that connects health care workers and facilities to each other ... about this Competition Entry. - 732 days ago read more > |
| maternova updated this Competition Entry. - 751 days ago |
| maternova submitted this idea. - 758 days ago |
| maternova submitted this idea. - 766 days ago |
