How to Apply
The application window for The Frontline Innovation Program is closed until late summer, 2025.
About
This program is dedicated to funding innovations and empowering ideas that directly impact and improve bedside care and clinical practice today. It supports projects emphasizing effective and efficient bedside practices to achieve the best possible outcomes for our patients, employees, and communities.
The individual grant cap increased! Grants will be funded up to $25,000.
What project submissions will be eligible?
Projects are encouraged to be larger in scope. The Beckwith Institute encourages applicants to apply only if their idea comfortably fits within one of this year’s areas of focus.
Submissions must focus on the following areas:
- Surgical Site Infection Reduction
- Improving Health Equity in Care and/or Outcomes for Underserved Communities
- Innovative Care Model
Applicants/Projects Should:
- Emphasize innovation that is focused on the present
- Improve patient care/patient experience
- Be scalable with plausible systemwide impact
- Be endorsed by senior leadership leader (e.g. hospital president, vice president, chair)
- Expect to submit a completed application form, itemized budget, and estimates (At least one per budgeted item over $500.
- Consider opportunities for matching dollars or in-kind support
- Be a UPMC employee or a University of Pittsburgh employee, partnering with a UPMC employee.
Projects that are Approved for Funding will be:
- Funded for 18 months. After 18 months, unexpended funds will be retained by The Beckwith Institute. Individual written requests will be considered to extend the budget period.
- Required to submit their project to UPMC’s Quality Improvement Project Submission Site.
- Required to provide The Beckwith Institute with a reprint of any publication resulting from the project. Publications, printing, or presentations must acknowledge approval from The Beckwith Institute (if applicable).
- Asked to discuss commercialization gains with The Beckwith Institute. Project owner’s will be required to share a percentage of the gains with the Institute. The actual percentage to be shared with The Beckwith Institute will be negotiated in advance and on a case-by-case basis. These funds will be used to fund future projects (if applicable).
Additional Resources
- Download the Frontline Innovation Grant 2024 Fact Sheet (PDF).
- Application Best Practices (PDF).
- View the full application form in PDF format.
COVID-19 Relief Grant
From April 27 to May 11, 2020, the Frontline Innovation Program — through the support and leadership of Nick and Dottie Beckwith — launched its COVID-19 Relief Grant campaign. All UPMC employees were invited to submit ideas to support the physical and emotional wellness of UPMC patients, staff members, and the communities UPMC serves.
Learn more about the COVID-19 Relief Grant (PDF).
Success Stories
Examples of recent funding granted on behalf of the Frontline Innovation Program include:
- Cardiothoracic Surgery Simulation Training Program
- Low-Level Light Therapy for Patients at Risk for Developing Mucositis
- Mosites Aspiration Prevention Community Initiative
- Nurse Education and Transition (NEAT) Project
The Frontline Innovation Program board is chaired by Beckwith Institute co-founder, Dotty Beckwith.
Her gratitude for the compassionate care she received at UPMC Shadyside Hospital in 1990 inspired the founding of this Institute.