Investing in Locally Generated Maternal Health Knowledge, Leadership, and Solutions
Hawai‘i Maternal and Infant Health Collaborative (HMIHC)
The Community Innovation Program supports community-led maternal health improvements by investing in locally generated knowledge, leadership, and solutions.
2025 was a year that supporting and scaling innovative practices received a huge win for Hawai’i’s communities. The Hawai‘i Maternal and Infant Health Collaborative (HMIHC), in collaboration with State Maternal Health Innovation Program partners, organized and facilitated a funding opportunity that resulted in awards totaling $750K to seed community-centered innovations focused on improving maternal health outcomes, over the next 2-3 years.
The Community Innovation Program supports community-led maternal health improvements by investing in locally generated knowledge, leadership, and solutions. Through a solicitation process that aims to be community-oriented and equitable, the program identifies and resources community knowledge-holders, grassroots organizations, and individuals with lived experience, shifting maternal health efforts toward locally informed strategies. Review committees intentionally include both subject matter experts and community members to balance technical expertise with lived experience. Awardees receive funding, technical assistance in evaluation, and ongoing support through integration into HMIHC, providing an infrastructure poised to yield lasting impact.
The program’s innovation extends beyond funding new projects to transforming how maternal health improvement occurs: by centering community voices, rebalancing decision-making power, strengthening underutilized community capacity, and building a sustainable system shaped by those most affected.
What is special about each community project is that they are unique to their own areas, grounded within the communities they are meant to serve. The hope is to support and scale ideas, solutions, and innovations deemed most relevant by and for the community.
A survey was shared with those who applied or considered applying for the solicitation process. 83% responded that the application process was “very accessible”, as well as that the process was “strongly aligned” with community values on relationship-building, collaboration, and respect for local culture. Respondents appreciated the opportunity to provide feedback on the solicitation process experience, liked the concept of collaboration rather than competing, and working with the technical assistance providers and project team.
By taking this community-first approach to supporting grantees in bettering communities in Hawai’i, HMIHC has exemplified what it means to enable systems change. This work lays the foundation for community-led solutions, sustained through partnership, for a lasting impact on the health and wellbeing of mothers, birthing people, babies and families across Hawai‘i.
The Hawai‘i Maternal and Infant Health Collaborative (HMIHC) fulfills the work of Early Childhood Action Strategy Team 1. HMIHC is working to improve maternal and infant health outcomes, while advancing health equity and reproductive justice, by enhancing systems and support for Hawaiʻi’s families and communities.
Hawaii Health and Education Research Foundation (HHERF) administers the Hawaiʻi State Maternal Health Innovation Program. The Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services provided financial support for this program. The award provided 100% of total costs and totaled $750,000. The contents are those of the authors. They may not reflect the policies of the Department of Health and Human Services or the U.S. government.