The Genesis of Something Different

Six years ago, a bold idea took shape in Aotearoa New Zealand: what if how we responded to mental health looked different? What if our response to and care for tāngata whaiora was genuinely effective? What if it could centre lived experience, honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and spark genuinely transformative change rather than simply improving existing services? This audacious vision came to life in the form of Ember Innovations, an organisation that has consistently chosen the harder path of co-design, relationship-first funding, and investing in the not-yet-proven.

From the outset, Ember Innovations hasn’t been interested in building “just another innovation hub.” The team has deliberately staked out new ground—somewhere between system and street corner, research and lived experience, innovator and ecosystem. The intent has always been bold: to spark the creation of a new mental health system where people with lived experience could not only be heard but be central to the design and delivery of solutions.

At the heart of this endeavour lies a distinctive value that shapes everything Ember Innovations does: pōtikitanga – the spirit of the youngest sibling. This carries connotations of kinship and belonging, and also of playfulness, mischief, and the audacity to question how things have always been done. Pōtikitanga reminds us to bring lightness and hope into serious spaces, to imagine boldly, and to take risks that others might not. It is this youthful energy – cheeky, courageous, and full of possibility – that propels Ember Innovations’ work and keeps us anchored in the belief that better futures are not only necessary, but entirely within reach.

A Vision Realised: The Ember Ecosystem

Today, Ember Innovations sits at the heart of the Ember Korowai Takitini group’s aspirations, acting as both catalyst and connector for new thinking, new partnerships, and new solutions. While every entity within the Ember Group contributes to their bold vision of an Aotearoa where all people are supported to be who and what they want to be, Ember Innovations has a unique mandate: to drive progress in three critical areas – sector innovation, investment, and systemic change.

As Darryl Bishop, Group CEO of Ember Korowai Takitini, explains: “Innovation requires investment—of time, resources, and trust. Ember Innovations has played a key role in attracting investment to support innovation in our sector and we hope this acts as a catalyst for even more investment in coming years.”

Building Community Through Connection

The power of community became tangible at Ignition25, held in February 2025 at One New Zealand headquarters in Auckland. This participatory, energising (and chaotic) event brought together over a hundred participants from across the Aotearoa mental health innovation ecosystem. Research grant alumni, mental health innovators, funders, and sector colleagues engaged in 16 unconference sessions covering everything from commercialisation strategies to neurodivergence and mental health intersections.

The response was overwhelming: 100% of respondents said they would attend another similar event, 100% felt a sense of community and connection, and 94% felt they had meaningfully contributed to discussions. This wasn’t just networking – it was the manifestation of a movement.

Building on this momentum, Ember Innovations launched Wellsphere Te Manahau, a digital platform that has evolved from initial concept sketches to become a thriving hub connecting every corner of Aotearoa’s mental health innovation ecosystem. At Wellsphere Te Manahau is fast becoming an active hub for collaboration and capability-building where rangatahi-led social enterprises, kaupapa Māori providers, academic researchers, clinicians, lived experience leaders, and policy innovators share tools, insights, and emerging approaches.

Challenge-Led Innovation: Where Real Change Happens

At the core of Ember Innovations’ approach lies Challenge-Led Innovation – a methodology for identifying and addressing real-world needs through innovation and collaboration. This approach is guided by four fundamental principles: partnering and collective action, lived experience-led innovation, potential and readiness to address unmet need, and Te Tiriti-led practice.

Ember Innovations’ inaugural Innovation Challenge, Youth Flourishing in North Auckland, demonstrated the power of this approach. Co-designed and driven by young and older people from across the region, and delivered in partnership with Te Ako Manaaki and Paihere Charitable Trust, the program supported nine teams to develop innovative solutions to meet community needs. Eight teams successfully secured innovation grants totaling $100,000, alongside continuing coaching and support.

The impact was tangible. As Jemarl Paerata from Te Kaiarahi shared: “The innovation grant has been transformative for our mahi. Financially, it enabled us to implement our full vision without compromise… This success has reinforced our commitment to innovation in delivering culturally grounded, transformative experiences, and has positioned our model for potential nationwide adoption.”

Addressing Complex Challenges: The FASD Innovation Challenge

Building on this success, Ember Innovations embarked on their second Challenge, focusing on one of the most complex intersections in health and disability: supporting whānau affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and substance-exposed pregnancy in Te Tai Tokerau. Working in partnership with NorthAble Matapuna Hauora and Te Hau Ora o Ngāpuhi, the team engaged deeply with communities to understand the real needs and barriers.

As TeRau Allen, Kaiārahi Kaupapa Māori at Northable Matapuna Hauora, powerfully articulates: “FASD is not a modern story. It is a wound within our whakapapa, born not of weakness, but of colonisation, trauma, and disconnection… But these tamariki me nga rangatahi me nga tangata, are not broken. They are the seeds of Rangiatea—deserving tautoko (support), not punishment, aroha, not judgement.”

Through extensive community consultation, four key themes emerged:

• Raising FASD awareness and supporting FASD-informed practice
• Education that works for young people living with FASD
• Living with FASD—supporting whānau to thrive
• Wraparound support and multi-agency collaboration

Investing in New Thinking: Research That Matters

Ember Innovations’ commitment to transformative change extends to their distinctive research grant program, which has surpassed NZD 1 million invested since its inception in 2019. These grants reflect a deep understanding that innovation in mental health requires both paradigm-shifting research and the authentic voices of those with lived experience.

Two Grant Types:

Wellbeing Innovation Research Grant – Supports visionary research in mental health, substance harm, and wellbeing with focus areas including Digital/e-mental health innovations; Mātauranga Māori approaches; Disability-mental health intersections (including FASD); Early intervention and prevention; Suicide prevention; workplace wellbeing & Community-led co-design research.

Lived Experience Research Grant – Unique program supporting researchers who openly share their personal mental health/substance harm recovery journeys, open to any research discipline, with Ember providing guidance on safe experience-sharing. This grant aims to amplify diverse voices and honour personal experiences whilst destigmatising mental distress lived experience in Academia.

The grants explicitly exclude strictly medical approaches, instead welcoming diverse perspectives that encompass the full spectrum of human experience and healing.

In the words of Dr Jinsong Chen, one of Ember Innovations Research Grants Alumni “The grant provided not only financial support but also legitimacy and visibility for a project addressing a highly specific but deeply underserved intersection: smoking cessation for people with mental health conditions. Traditional funding sources often hesitate to invest in early-phase or cross-disciplinary digital mental health interventions. Ember’s support enabled us to conduct a rigorous systematic review, develop a co-designed app prototype, and prepare for a pilot trial—essential building blocks for long-term impact.”

Looking Forward: A Future Full of Possibility

As Ember Innovations publishes their first impact report, it marks both reflection and invitation. As Anya states in her opening message: “This is Ember Innovations’ very first impact report – a milestone that marks how far we’ve come and the promise of what lies ahead.”

The report documents not just achievements but the spirit that drives them – the conviction that innovation can be anchored in equity and care, that better futures are not only necessary but entirely within reach. Anya emphasizes this vision: “At our heart, Ember Innovations exists to spark new solutions to some of Aotearoa’s toughest challenges in mental health and wellbeing.”

The value of pōtikitanga continues to define their approach. As Anya beautifully articulates: “Pōtikitanga reminds us to bring lightness and hope into serious spaces, to imagine boldly, and to take risks that others might not. It is this youthful energy – cheeky, courageous, and full of possibility – that propels our work forward.”

Inaugural Chair Jamie Newth captured this spirit perfectly: “What I’m most proud of is that Ember Innovations hasn’t just survived, but has continued to provoke, to partner, and to push. The team has consistently chosen the harder path of co-design, of relationship-first funding, of investing in the not-yet-proven.”

Six years in, Ember Innovations has proven that a different approach to mental health innovation is not only possible but essential. They’ve shown that when you center lived experience, honor indigenous models of innovation, and create genuine community, transformative change becomes not just a dream but a reality taking shape, one relationship, one breakthrough, one bold idea at a time.

As Anya concludes with characteristic optimism and invitation: “We invite you not only to engage with these stories, but also to imagine yourself in the next one. The future we are building together is exciting, and it’s only just beginning.”