The Breakthrough Accelerator is an 11-month program that helps teams test, refine, and grow innovations that support adolescents’ health and well-being, including their sexual and reproductive health. The program provides coaching, peer learning, in-person workshops, and funding to amplify the impact of these innovations.

Breakthrough is led by Child Trends in collaboration with experts in adolescent health, human-centered design, and innovation.

Breakthrough Accelerator is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Population Affairs (OPA) through its Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program. Funding for new cohorts is dependent on the continuation of OPA funding.

We welcome applications from teams of three people (must be ages 18 or older) based in the United States that have an innovation for adolescent health and well-being. Team members can come from different organizations, but the team must have a fiscal sponsor that can manage funding and reporting.

Yes. Your team must have a fiscal sponsor that is a legally recognized organization (for example, a nonprofit, school, university, hospital, or government agency) that can 1) receive and manage funds and 2) be responsible for financial reporting and accountability.

We welcome a wide variety of innovations—including programs, apps, services, curricula, websites, and products—designed to support adolescent health and well-being, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health. An innovation must be beyond the idea stage (in other words, it should already involve something you can demonstrate) and designed with input from young people or your intended audience (end users). You should also have some evidence—either through informal or formal feedback—that your end users are interested in your innovation.

Innovation doesn’t always mean creating something completely new. Your innovation can be an existing solution that you’re adapting, improving, or using in a new way. For example, you might be adapting a curriculum that works well for high school students to be developmentally appropriate for middle school students; or perhaps you’re aiming to shift a successful in-person parent/caregiver program to an online, self-paced format based on family feedback about accessibility and scheduling.

At the same time, your innovation can also be something entirely new that you designed and tested with users. What matters most is that the innovation addresses a real gap or need for adolescents and reflects input from the people it’s designed to serve. Take a look at our current and past innovator to see the kinds of work we support.

A prototype is a working example of your innovation that shows how it functions. This could be a small-scale version, demo, app, video, curriculum sample, or any material that lets others see how your innovation works in practice.

Applications generally open each spring. We announce the exact timing on our website and across all platforms. Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on social media (links for each are at the top of our website) to be notified when applications open.

Even if young people are not the direct users of your innovation, your work is intended to improve adolescents’ health and well-being. Teams must actively engage young people throughout the program to make sure innovations are relevant and effective. Your budget should include honoraria or stipends for youth to fairly compensate them for their time and expertise.

Attendance at all in-person workshops is required for all three team members. These workshops are designed to help your team advance your innovation through hands-on and practice-based activities.

Teams should only apply if all three members can attend and fully participate in each workshop. If you anticipate challenges with attendance, this may not be the right fit at this time.

No. You don’t need to work full-time on your innovation, but each team member should plan to spend at least 8–10 hours per month on Breakthrough activities—half in scheduled sessions and half working independently with your team.

It’s important that your team members are committed to the work and have the capacity to actively participate and work on your innovation outside of required Breakthrough events. Having the right people on board who are dedicated to the success of the innovation will make it easier to stay on track and get the most out of the experience!

The Breakthrough Accelerator program should be thought of as technical assistance that comes with funding. We provide $125,000 that can be used toward personnel, travel, incentives, and other costs associated with developing, testing, and scaling your innovation. Teams will be paid in installments and upon completion of key training activities and deliverables.

No. The $125,000 award your team receives should cover travel, lodging, and other costs for attending all in-person events.

If selected, Breakthrough Accelerator will provide funding as a subcontract to your organization or fiscal sponsor. Your fiscal sponsor will be asked to complete certain contractual documents or provide the following documents during the application process:

• Subaward agreement
• Memorandum of agreement
• Media release form
• W-9 and ACH form
• Federal indirect cost rate agreement

Breakthrough staff will guide you through the process.

Submitting a budget helps us plan funding and contracting if your team is selected. Follow the instructions and template provided with the application instructions to develop your budget and reach out to BreakthroughAccelerator@childtrends.org if you have questions.

Teams cannot apply to the immediate next cohort, but they may be eligible for future cohorts as long as they continue meeting the eligibility criteria. Teams can also explore other programs in the OPA Innovation Hub network (In/Tend, youthink, Launch, TISH, and RYSE).

You can support Breakthrough by donating, partnering, or sharing your expertise. You can also fund specific innovations or support the program as a whole. Visit our Meet our Innovators page to learn about current teams. To learn more about funding opportunities or to be invited to future Demo Day events, email us at BreakthroughAccelerator@childtrends.org.

Email us at BreakthroughAccelerator@childtrends.org. We aim to respond within 3–5 business days. For application-specific questions, please include “BAH App Question” in your email subject line.