The GSMA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Manchester to establish an m-Health Innovation Centre in Manchester, which will act as a UK focus for m-Health activity. The goal of the Association’s m-Health initiative is to foster innovative mobile applications and services in healthcare that will focus on promoting healthier lifestyles and early intervention.

The Manchester m-Health Innovation Centre will encourage innovation by providing a forum for collaboration and sharing ideas; providing in-depth analysis of the market for m-Health; signposting key opportunities; conducting pilot trials; organizing community-building events; providing m-Health education and training; and offering online resources and one-to-one services to support the emerging m-Health community.

Multidisciplinarity will be a critical part of the ethos of the centre, with successful innovation drawing on a combination of insights into health needs, novel technology, an understanding of issues of trust, privacy and individual motivation, and new business models and approaches to technology adoption. The centre will conduct multidisciplinary research, bringing together researchers, healthcare organizations and industrial partners to conceive, develop and evaluate mobile health innovations.

A major focus will be on citizen-led health and wellbeing, using mobile technology to enable people to play a more active role in determining their own health, providing a more personalized and responsive interface to public services.