Grant Opportunities Spark Innovation in Injury Reduction
The Research to Solutions (R2S) grant and MSD Solutions Pilot grant debuted in 2023. The MSD Solutions Lab brought back these pioneering grant programs in 2024, 2025 and 2026 to uncover promising new safety solutions to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs.
Research to Solutions Grant (R2S)
The goal of the R2S grant is to develop, evaluate and/or disseminate effective solutions for MSDs, focusing on occupational injury risk reduction. The R2S grant invites academic institutions, businesses and industries to innovate new solutions for MSDs that can be seamlessly integrated across a range of sectors and workplaces. Key research areas R2S grants have supported in the past include:
● Emerging technologies for risk assessment and mitigation
● Ergonomic interventions for legacy MSD high-risk jobs or tasks
● Advancing non-physical risk assessment and mitigation
● Total worker wellbeing
Active 2026-2027 R2S Grant Projects:
● Wichita State University is evaluating and refining a job rotation optimization tool to determine whether software‑generated rotation schemes can more effectively balance MSD risk across multiple body regions
● University of Wisconsin-Madison is assessing how accurately PPE embedded with IMU sensors can detect lifting and overhead pushing tasks and estimate key biomechanical thresholds
● Ergami Endoscopy, in collaboration with Stony Brook University, will advance a robotic colonoscope insertion device to help reduce injuries among endoscopists and nurses
● ViVa Health, in collaboration with Australian Catholic University and Queensland University of Technology, will develop an AI-enabled framework that integrates ergonomic, psychosocial, organizational and individual risk data to help prioritize MSD prevention strategies for healthcare workers
MSD Solutions Pilot Grant
The goal of the pilot grant program is to provide organizations the opportunity to pilot solutions for preventing MSDs by matching them with innovative technology providers to trial emerging technologies. Grant applicants are invited to partner with past Safety Innovation Challenge finalists and utilize their technology to prevent MSDs caused by forceful exertions, repetitive motions or awkward postures across any workplace. This grant is an exclusive opportunity for organizations who are MSD Pledge members.
Active 2026-2027 Pilot Grant Projects
● PIP Safety is partnering with CerebrumEdge to leverage its AI-powered platform to assess and mitigate MSD risks within repetitive manufacturing, packaging and warehousing operations
● Compass Group Canada is partnering with Amp Health to utilize computer vision technology to evaluate the effectiveness of individualized and group-based functional screening and movement programs
● Carolina Canners is partnering with SpatialCortex to pilot its wearable sensor technology to reduce MSD related workforce absences across warehouse and short-haul delivery operations
● Volvo Car Gent is partnering with MATE to leverage its digital twin technology to quantify ergonomic risk, validate safe return-to-work interventions and improve the speed and accuracy of ergonomic decision-making
● Radiometer is partnering with Precure to deploy its wearable sensors focused on measuring real-world worker movement to identify and quantify MSD risk factors
Learn From Past Projects
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