Center for Discovery, Innovation and Development Overview

The mission of the Center for Discovery, Innovation and Development (CDID) is to develop, innovate and discover solutions for the advancement of the lives of children with special health care needs and their families.

The CDID focuses on improving the lives of children, adolescents and young adults with special health care needs, and their families, by transforming health care and creating disruptive positive change through the discovery, development, growth, and commercialization of innovative care, products, services, collaborations, and ideas.

The CDID pursues projects aimed at social determinants and correlates of health to improve overall well-being and quality of life for these children and families, such as solutions for education, housing, food sourcing and nutrition, employment, transportation, communication, and mutual support. Core opportunities are identified and prioritized through exploration of models, concepts and relationships connected to population health, social elements and ecological study and change, training and education, business development translations from findings and inventions, partnerships with other organizations and influencers (corporate, industry, technology, clinical, academic, other), sponsorships, research, and solution-focused networks.

The CDID examines health challenges and research questions that have clear policy relevance and implications, with essential partnerships with stakeholders and end-users to ensure there is a meaningful plan for translation of findings into policy change. Basic, translational, clinical and community-based pediatric research, focused on origins and/or progression of acute and chronic illness, interventions to improve health, function, and quality of life, and promotion of wellness, with the potential to deliver benefits throughout the cycle of their lives, are CDID initiatives that add significant value to the global health community.

The CDID is an incubator of ideas and solutions to improve overall health, evolve care delivery, eliminate waste, and help all children with special health care needs reach their full potential – locally, nationally and globally. The Center supports development of concepts and evaluation of prospective ventures, engaging medical technology and pharmaceutical companies, venture capitalists, institutional and social impact investors, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists as partners in the development and commercialization of new therapies, medical devices, and other health related solutions to support its mission.

Shifting the paradigm for transformation, the CDID incorporates revolutionary approaches to discovery, innovation and development, embracing accelerated innovation strategies and principles that focus on the human experience to identify needs, and design services, products and solutions to meet them.