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 is bringing back these pioneering grant programs for another year to help uncover promising new safety solutions to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders, or MSDs. For the 2024-2025 cycle, these grants will award up to $260,000 across a range of sectors and industries to foster innovative, transferable methods to mitigate MSDs, the most common workplace injury.
Research to Solutions Grant (R2S)
The Research to Solutions grant will award up to $50,000 per approved research project for a total of $200,000 in grants. It invites academic institutions, businesses and industries to innovate new solutions for MSDs, focusing on occupational injury risk reduction that can be seamlessly integrated across a range of sectors and workplaces. R2S proposals should support one or more key research areas, including emerging technologies, solutions to jobs or tasks known to have high MSD risk, MSD management systems and total worker wellbeing.
MSD Solutions Pilot Grant
MSDs Pilot Grant will award up to $20,000 per approved project for a total of $60,000 in grants. It aims to reduce MSDs caused by upper-extremity work by matching organizations with innovative technology providers to trial emerging technologies in real-life applications. This grant is available to members of the MSD Pledge community who are willing to partner with the six leading technology providers featured at the second-annual Safety Innovation Challenge:
● 3MotionAI: Motion-sensing software to help chart worker movements and develop customized recommendations and exercises to mitigate MSD risk.
● Bioservo: Exoskeleton glove specifically designed to reduce MSD hand injuries by enabling workers to use less grip force when performing repetitive tasks.
● Feraru Dynamics: Technology that mitigates Hand-Arm-Vibration Syndrome, or HAVS, using a pre-assembled sensing and control unit to provide real-time haptics to wearers.
● Hilti: Exosuit with passive, motor-free design providing employees with dynamic support to alleviate shoulder and arm strain during overhead work.
● LifeBooster: Internet-of-Things technology that aggregates data on worker posture, muscle strain, upper-body movements, and environmental factors affecting MSD risk.
● Reactec: R-Link smart watch that protects workers from HAV exposure by alerting the wearer when their personalized thresholds have been exceeded.
2023 Grant Recipients
To learn more about these programs, meet last year's R2S and MSD Solutions Pilot winners. These inaugural grant recipients will also share their key learnings and research at this year’s NSC Safety Congress & Expo, to be held in Orlando, Florida, Sept. 16-18.
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