This module focuses on two foundational steps in the process of need identification for healthcare innovation—defining problems effectively and analyzing stakeholder dynamics. You will gain skills to break down complex challenges into clearly articulated problems to identify unmet needs that, in turn, lay the foundation for impactful and sustainable innovation. In addition, we will explore methods for identifying, analyzing, and engaging key stakeholders, including internal actors, such as patients and providers, and external groups, like payers, regulators, and technology partners. Using structured frameworks and practical tools, you will develop the competencies needed to ensure that innovation efforts are aligned with real-world challenges and shaped by the perspectives of the individuals most affected.

This module aims to equip you with a comprehensive tool kit for systematically identifying unmet needs in healthcare, a critical step in driving innovation. By integrating macro-level analyses, organizational assessments, process evaluations, user-centered techniques, and rigorous research methodologies, this module provides you with a versatile and practical approach to need identification. Through real-world examples and applications, you will gain the ability to systematically analyze complex healthcare environments and uncover high-impact opportunities for innovation. Whether working in a hospital, startup, or academic setting, these tools will help you to identify meaningful needs and drive evidence-based, transformative change.

This module builds a critical bridge between identifying problems in healthcare and transforming them into real-world innovation opportunities. We will focus on ensuring that the identified needs are worth solving; in other words, they are significant, relevant, and feasible within real-world systems. We will then examine structured methods for assessing and prioritizing needs, including the Severity-Prevalence-Feasibility (SPF) analysis, Impact-Effort Matrix, return on investment (ROI) analysis, Health Technology Assessment (HTA), and stakeholder-centered tools, like the MoSCoW Method and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Finally, we will explore how strategic alignment, resource availability, risk, and timing influence final need selection.