**5.1 Piloting the program: COVID-19 open bridge experience and results**

When the Covid-19 pandemic began in Chile and Latin America, initiatives focused on validating technologies that would help to fight against coronavirus have arisen. At Latin America level, the "Covid-19 Challenge" (TransferenciAP) [22], and Chilean level "SiEmpre initiative" carried out by SOFOFA hub [23] and the "Innovation Challenges for diagnostic kits and personal protection elements", promoted by the Chilean Economic Development Agency (Corfo) and the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation (MinCTCi) [24, 25].

In parallel, Know Hub contacted to the National Institute of Geriatrics (Instituto Nacional de Geriatría, INGER) and the Padre Hurtado Hospital. Both health institutions requested to support the generation of spaces for innovators to propose solutions for problems triggered by the pandemic. Know Hub Chile took up this request, allocating resources from the Know Hub Bridge Program to generate a pilot experience to seek innovative solutions related to the health emergency.

In this sense, KH collected, organized and prioritized the requirements of the health centers in three thematic axes: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); Cleaning, Asepsis and Disinfection Technologies, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Due to the urgency of the pandemic, the developed technologies must be transferred within three to four months. Know Hub Bridge would finance the feasibility tests in clinical fields.

In order to accomplish the tight deadlines, collaboration was essential. Thus, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center of the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences of the Universidad de Chile, OpenBeauchef joined to the initiative, contributing with its experience in evaluation and incubation, contacts, and links with the Universidad de Chile Clinical Hospital (HCUCH). Thus, the name of the call was OpenBridge Covid-19 and its objective public were groups of researchers, entrepreneurs or graduate students linked to KH's partner institutions.

The international entrepreneurship project Santander X, from the bank of the same name, also joined to the initiative proving resources for another award. The Santander X Award acknowledged ideas from undergraduate and graduate students from KH institutions that were also linked to the three strategic axes of the call.

The Open Bridge COVID-19 call is characterized by the rapid implementation of technologies and/or research results to solve the particular needs of institutions such as INGER, HCUCH and other health institutions, in order to mitigate the effects generated by the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 in these institutions and in the Chilean health system.

To achieve its objective, OpenBridge Covid-19 worked in two parallel fronts.

Firstly, supporting the maturation of technologies that have a level of development equivalent to a TRL 4 status, through the implementation and development of a work plan to be developed in 3–4 months that allows a validation process together with the INGER, HCUCH and/or other health institutions;

Secondly, working with the developers of the technologies in all the elements related to protection strategy, business model and legal aspects related to the creation of companies that are able to perform adequately as potential suppliers of the mentioned health institutions and/or prepared to raise investment.

OpenBridge Covid-19 opened its call for applications on May 6, 2020. After an intense communication and scouting campaign with KH partners, on May 29, 2020 the process close successfully with 43 applications.

After a selection process, where 13 teams passed to the pitch stage, three initiatives were selected to be financed:


These three solutions were piloted for 4 months in public hospitals with a budget of USD 20 K each.

After slightly over more 4 months of design and implementation of pilot experiences with the selected teams, the results obtained within the framework of OpenBridge Covid-19 are the following:
