Paediatric hospitals play a key role in developing innovative solutions to address unmet clinical, organisational and patient‑centred needs in maternal and child health. Many of these innovations arise directly within hospitals, driven by healthcare professionals, researchers and multidisciplinary teams working at the frontline of care.
The Paediatric Hospital Innovation Call 2026 is jointly organised by i4KIDS, i4KIDS‑EUROPE and the European Children’s Hospitals Organisation (ECHO). Its objective is to identify, highlight and connect highly innovative projects developed within paediatric hospitals in Europe and the United Kingdom, with demonstrated impact and strong potential for scalability across health systems.
Selected projects will be invited to present at the Paediatric Innovation Day (PID), to be held on 18 September 2026 in Helsinki, gaining international visibility and access to the European paediatric innovation ecosystem.
- Identify innovative projects originating in paediatric hospitals that address relevant challenges in child health.
- Promote solutions with demonstrated or potential impact on clinical practice, patient outcomes, efficiency or experience.
- Highlight projects with strong scalability and transferability to other paediatric hospitals.
- Foster collaboration and knowledge exchange between paediatric hospitals and innovation ecosystems.
- Provide selected teams with international visibility at the Paediatric Innovation Day.
- The project must originate within a paediatric hospital or paediatric department.
- Participating hospitals must be based in Europe or the United Kingdom (membership of i4KIDS‑EUROPE or ECHO is not required).
- The applicant must be a healthcare professional, researcher, innovation unit or multidisciplinary hospital team.
- The project must be paediatric‑first, focused on patients under 18 years of age.
- The innovation must go beyond local implementation, with clear potential for replication or scaling in other hospitals.
- The project must comply with applicable EU/UK ethical standards and regulatory frameworks.
- Applicants must be available to attend and present their project at the Paediatric Innovation Day on 18 September 2026 in Helsinki.
Projects led primarily by external companies or startups without hospital ownership or origin are not eligible.
Projects may address a wide range of challenges in paediatric and maternal health, including but not limited to:
- Clinical innovation and new models of care
- Digital health and data‑driven solutions
- Organisational or process innovation with clinical impact
- Diagnostic, care delivery or monitoring approaches
- Patient‑ and family‑centred innovations
- Innovations improving equity, access or continuity of care
Projects may be at different stages of maturity but must demonstrate:
- A clearly defined value proposition
- Proven impact in at least one hospital setting
- A realistic pathway for adoption beyond the originating hospital
- Applications must be submitted via the official application form.
- All applications must be completed in English.
- Each application must clearly describe:
- The problem addressed
- The innovative solution
- The role of the hospital
- Impact achieved or expected
- Scalability and transfer potential
Key dates
- Applications open: 11 May 2026
- Application deadline: 14 June 2026 (23.59h CEST)
- Announcement of finalist projects: 26 June 2026
Innovation – 30%
- Novelty and originality of the solution
- Relevance to paediatric healthcare needs
Impact – 25%
- Demonstrated or expected impact on patients, families, professionals or healthcare systems
- Alignment with patient‑ and family‑centred care
Scalability & Transferability – 30%
- Feasibility of adoption in other paediatric hospitals
- Consideration of organisational, regulatory or contextual barriers
Team & Hospital Involvement – 15%
- Multidisciplinary team involvement
- Level of institutional support and commitment
All applications will undergo a two‑step evaluation process:
- Eligibility screening to ensure compliance with the call criteria.
- Expert evaluation by a committee appointed by the organisers, based on predefined evaluation criteria.
A maximum of five projects will be selected to participate in the Paediatric Innovation Day 2026 in Helsinki.
- Attend the Paediatric Innovation Day (PID) on 18 September 2026 in Helsinki.
- Present their project to an international audience of paediatric hospitals, innovators and key stakeholders.
- Participate in networking and knowledge‑exchange sessions.
- Take part in the Pitch Competition, with the opportunity to compete for an economic prize (subject to specific terms communicated by the organisers).
- Connect with hospitals, investors and ecosystem actors from across Europe.
Participation in the Paediatric Innovation Day is free of charge.
However, selected projects are responsible for covering their own travel, accommodation and related expenses.
If you have any question, please feel free to write us at contact@innovation4kids.org