Digitalising CGM Education: SmartStart Health Grant Case Study
Grantify helped SmartStart Health secure £185,050 through Innovate UK’s Smart Grant. Discover how SmartStart transforms education on using CGM for people with diabetes.
Our client, SmartStart Health, won £185,050 in non-dilutive funding through Innovate UK’s Smart Grant, scoring in the top 3.4% of applicants.
This funding was key to developing its continuous glucose monitor (CGM) education platform, advancing its mission to support people living with diabetes, their healthcare providers, and health systems.
Company
SmartStart Health
Industry
Health Technology
Service
Innovate UK Smart Grant
Quick Summary
£185,050
Secured in non-dilutive funding
Scored in the Top 3.4%
Challenge
There is limited access to diabetes education, which leads to health complications and billions of pounds in healthcare costs every year.
- Only ≈10% of people with diabetes in the UK access structured diabetes education
- Lack of engagement during routine appointments leads to a diabetes education gap
- Largely preventable diabetes complications linked to high glucose levels cost the NHS over £6.2B/year
Solution
SmartStart is building an adaptive learning platform tailored to each user to make using a CGM easier and support them in keeping their glucose levels in the target range more of the time.
- Take its proof-of-concept to the next level
- Develop an AI-powered CGM education platform
- Transform diabetes self-management with adaptive learning pathways for global users
Impact
With SmartStart’s proof-of-concept version, knowledge scores doubled vs baseline and 2x as many patients reached key diabetes management goals.
- Scalable diabetes education and support, bridging gaps in healthcare system capacity
- Improve diabetes management and outcomes, potentially reducing complications and costs for healthcare systems
- Improve the quality of life for people with diabetes long term
SmartStart Health is dedicated to transforming diabetes self-management education into a more engaging, relatable, and enjoyable experience in the form of an adaptive learning mobile platform.
SmartStart’s story is born out of first-hand experience by founder Melissa Holloway, who has lived with type 1 diabetes for more than 30 years. Its mission is to support people like herself who are living with diabetes, their healthcare providers, and health systems through beautifully designed, personalised learning journeys.
While continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are powerful tools, many users struggle to reach diabetes management targets. People need care and actionable information that's credible and easy to access.
Through relatable, engaging, beautiful, and personalised learning journeys, SmartStart aims to take the ‘boring’ out of disease self-management education so people can have more fun and better health.
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Melissa recognised several key challenges in diabetes education that needed urgent improvement. Traditional CGM training is often delivered in 1:1 or small group sessions. With up to 159 million potential CGM users worldwide, scalability will become more important as CGM becomes available to more people. The lack of standardised training means that some people eligible for CGM on the NHS may face delays before they can start using it, while others receive little to no structured education on using the technology.
Melissa saw an opportunity to create a digital, scalable solution that could bridge these gaps and ensure equitable access to high-quality CGM user education.
Having completed a non-adaptive proof-of-concept version, by mid-2024, SmartStart required funding to develop its AI-powered platform; however, the innovation funding landscape was fiercely competitive. The Innovate UK Smart Grant, one of the most sought-after funding opportunities for cutting-edge projects, had an approval rate of less than 5%, which led Melissa to seek professional funding support.
Grantify: Simplifying the Grant Application Process
Tailored Application Strategy
Identified the best grant opportunities for the project
Developed a structured technical innovation story
Built a compelling business case
Expert support
Provided a dedicated grant specialist
Offered technical writing assistance
Guided detailed budget preparation
Tailored Application Strategy
Established a clear application timeline
Conducted regular progress reviews
Performed quality assurance checks
“Gaps in communication between doctors and patients lead to gaps in understanding and self-care. During doctor’s appointments, people will often nod and smile as a form of active listening; however, in reality, they may not actually understand what is being explained.
“They’ll then leave the appointment having missed out on key information or with misunderstandings, which can really undermine their chances of reaching treatment goals.
“SmartStart’s mobile-first education platform is a way to bridge this gap through interactive learning. Providing personalised learning paths, relatable real-life stories and knowledge assessment, we support people to understand how to get more time in the target glucose range, supporting their everyday wellbeing and long-term health.”
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The Innovate UK Smart Grant has been instrumental in accelerating SmartStart’s development, facilitating the transition from a proof-of-concept to a fully functional adaptive learning platform.
Before applying for the Smart Grant, SmartStart completed the non-adaptive proof-of-concept version with grant funding from Diabetes Centre Berne (Switzerland) and a grant from Dexcom (USA).
The Smart Grant is now covering essential development and staffing costs, allowing the team to focus on building a high-quality, scalable solution.
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"After polling people I know who have worked on different types of grant-funded projects, I explored various consultancies and found Grantify offered the best value.
“Grantify’s fee structure and commitment — retrying if unsuccessful and even supporting a different grant application if needed — gave me multiple chances to succeed. The balance between cost and support made Grantify the clear choice for me. That said, winning the grant on my first attempt was the best possible outcome."
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