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Second wave of EU4Health calls 2022

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The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) published three calls for proposals under the EU4Health 2022 Annual Work Programme on:

  • diabetes and cardiovascular diseases
  • cancer and non-communicable diseases
  • cancer training programmes

The actions will support Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the EU Cancer Mission

The deadline of these calls is 21 February 2023

More information is available on the call webpage

Background

The European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) implements European programmes and initiatives for health, food safety, digital, industry and space.

It works closely together with five Directorates-General (DG CNECT, DEFIS, GROW, RTD and SANTE which is the lead DG for the HaDEA) and with the Commission’s European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), which are focused on legislative and strategic tasks in policy making.

Infographic: https://hadea.ec.europa.eu/about/programmes-funding_en

EU4Health

EU4Health, with a budget of €5.3 billion, is the fourth and largest of the EU health programmes. The EU4Health programme goes beyond an ambitious response to the COVID-19 crisis to address the resilience of European healthcare systems. The programme provides funding to national authorities, health organisations and other bodies through grants and public procurement, contributing to a healthier Europe.

Prepare your application

An online information session will be organised by HaDEA on 19 October 2022, registrations for the info session are open here.

The information session is organised by HaDEA with the participation of DG Santé to present the policy context, objectives and expected impact as well as the procedure for this second wave of calls.

How can the AER help?

The AER has been involved in several health projects, in particular on digital health and integrated care systems. If you are looking for partners in other regions, contact the AER Project Unit, we can connect you.

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AER working groups: it’s simple

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The long-awaited guide for members willing to set up a new working group is finally there!

Working groups are for all AER members

All AER members can participate in working groups. Any AER member can submit a proposal for setting up a working group on a new topic.

It is possible to contribute to the work by:

  1. Sharing needs and topics your region would be interested to work on
  2. Offering expertise, flagging good practices you would like to share with AER members, proposing speakers
  3. Participating in events organised by the Chairs of the Working Groups
  4. Representing AER at thematic events: all AER members can be AER ambassadors!

To do this, contact AER Coordinator for Policy & Knowledge Transfer Johanna Pacevicius with ideas, proposals, requests.

How to propose a new Working Group

1. Identifying partner regions

Any AER member can submit a proposal for setting up a Working Group. A region, which would like to set up a working group should test the idea with other members and find supporting regions, in order to ensure there is a core group of regions that will be interested in dedicating time to exchange on the topic, and to be able to define activities that will be relevant to more than one region

Any AER member wishing to set up a Working Group should therefore find at least three supporting regions, which will contribute to shaping the activities, participate and contribute to the work. Either the AER member is already in contact with regions that could join the new Working Group, or they request the help of the AER Secretariat to contact regions that may be interested.

2. Submitting a proposal to the Executive Board

The region, which would like to set up a working group should develop a draft proposal for the focus of the Working Group and list a few potential activities to be presented to the EB together with supporting regions. The Draft Proposal for setting up the new Working Group, should:

  • mention the topic of the Working Group
  • clarify the focus of the exchange and dissemination of best practices
  • indicate the lead region and the supporting regions
  • propose a few activities which they would like to implement within the first two-years mandate
  • define an objective for the work of the Working Group (what will the activities help to achieve?)

3. The EB establishes the creation of the new Working Group

Once the proposal for setting up a new Working Group has been approved by the EB, an article is published about the new Working Group including information on:

  • the proposed focus
  • objective
  • lead region and supporting regions
  • envisioned activities

Regions interested to join the new Working Group and shape activities are invited to provide inputs by email.

4. Appointing a Chair

A first meeting of the working group will be organised in person or online, to appoint a Chair and agree on joint activities. The meeting will be announced beforehand on the AER website. The meeting will be open to all AER members. During this first meeting, Working Group members will agree on implementation details and responsibilities. Each Working Group decides on its own working structure

Role of the Chair of a Working Group

The Chair is responsible for the leadership of the Working Group and liaising with the Vice-President in charge of the Working Group policy area.

Each Working Group Chair’s region is charged to appoint a seconded officer to act as working group secretariat in liaison with the AER secretariat. The seconded officer is responsible for:

  • Co-organising events and projects in collaboration with the secretariat;
  • Managing the content of the meetings;
  • Drafting speeches and policy contributions;
  • The Chair will take the responsibility for the planning of the Working Group’s activities;

The Chair of the Working Group will inform the Vice-President in charge of the related policy area about the activities organised by the Working Group.
The Vice-President in charge of the related policy area will inform the Chair of the Working Group about upcoming events or EU policy developments, which may be of interest to the Chair and where the findings of the Working Group could be shared
When the Vice-President in charge of the related policy area is invited to external events, they will mention the activities of the working group

Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash

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The Knowledge Transfer Toolkit is out!

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Are you aware of an innovative practice and would like to test in your region or would you like to strengthen cooperation with other peers across Europe and beyond to foster innovation within your regional ecosystem? The AER developed a Knowledge Transfer Toolkit gathering its long-lasting expertise in the field and its recent application in the context of the SCIROCCO Exchange project as to support regional and local authorities and other organisation in the design and implementation of effective knowledge transfer programmes and activities.

A tailor-made knowledge transfer programme

In the context of the SCIROCCO Exchange project on health systems innovation, the AER developed a knowledge transfer programme, which was personalised for nine health and social care authorities with the aim of preparing the local environment for the adoption or scale-up of integrated care.

The toolkit builds on the expertise of the AER and its application in the SCIROCCO Exchange project to offer transferable expertise and tools for the effective design and implementation of knowledge transfer programmes. It is aimed to support regional and local authorities, as well as any organisation wishing to use knowledge transfer for policy innovation, in developing and implementing activities that are tailored to their specific needs and objectives.

Download the Knowledge Transfer Toolkit!

Why knowledge transfer?

Knowledge transfer is a key approach to support policy innovation and capacity-building within different regional systems and sectors. By building on mutually beneficial collaborations among stakeholders it provides a framework for the exchange of know-how, capitalisation of learnings and tools, and the development of sustained collaborations. However, to ensure its effective implementation it is important to build on the specific regional context, needs, and objectives as to develop tailored knowledge transfer activities.

A toolkit for any collaboration or project

The toolkit offers:

  •  A process for the co-development of personalised programmes, accompanying the user through each step in the process.
  • A menu of activities, describing for each activity what it can be used for, what needs and intention that specific activity can address, and offering practical information for their organisation.
  • First-hand insights and learnings for the effective organisation of online and hybrid activities.
  • A list of key elements to ensure resilience and success in a knowledge transfer process.

By providing hands-on information and tools, the toolkit ensures a wide relevance and applicability policy areas, maturity levels and cultural contexts.

The AER as a knowledge transfer lab

Since its inception, the Assembly of European Regions (AER) has built an expertise in policy learning providing opportunities and space for policy-makers and regional stakeholders to engage in cooperation, facilitating mutual learning and knowledge transfer activities. Throughout the years, created different methodologies for knowledge transfer – such as the peer review methodology -, as well as original formats of events – such as the AER mutual learning event on topics such as artificial intelligence or the smart food systems -. It developed programmes such as the AER Summer Academy as a format for structured exchanges between civil servants, young people and politicians; Centurio, the former civil servants exchange programme; or Eurodissey a youth mobility programme.

Moreover, thanks to its large and diverse membership, and the widespread organisation of knowledge transfer activities, the AER has developed a broad understanding of the type of knowledge transfer activities which create the most impact according to the regions’ specific objectives and the cultural contexts.

If you want to learn more about how the AER can support knowledge transfer among its members and broader international network, contact our Policy&Knowledge Coordinator, Johanna Pacevicius, and European Projects Manager, Birgit Sandu.

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Capacity-building for Integrated Care: From the Maturity Assessment to Improvement Planning

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Interested in knowing more about how your region can strengthen its health and social care system and improve the design and delivery of healthcare services? Join online the Scottish Government and all the partners of the SCIROCCO Exchange project at its closing event ‘Capacity-building for Integrated Care: From the Maturity Assessment to Improvement Planning‘! The conference will be held on Thursday 5 May 2022 from 9 am to 4:30 pm CET online. 

Throughout the past years, SCIROCCO Exchange has contributed to foster capacity-building among regional healthcare authorities through tailored evidence-based support for the adoption and scale-up of integrated care. As a result of this process, the project has developed an effective tool that ensures and offers to regions, countries, and organisation effective knowledge management and improvement planning starting from a comprehensive understanding of the local context and maturity of the specific healthcare system – the Knowledge Management Hub. Specifically, the Hub is a community-driven platform supporting public authorities and organisation to:

  • Better understand the local readiness, needs and priorities for the adoption of integrated care informed by multi-stakeholders’ dialogues and consensus-building;
  • Access readily available evidence, knowledge and expertise on integrated care maximising their transferability and adaptation to the local context;
  • Co-design personalised knowledge transfer support for those willing to adopt or improve their existing system design for integrated care;
  • Co-design improvement planning that is tailored to the local context, maturity and aspirations of European countries, regions and organisations.

The Hub is currently available in 11 languages and has been used in nearly 100 organisations, regions, and countries in Europe and beyond. By joining the conference, you will learn about the practical experience of European countries, regions and organisations in applying and using SCIROCCO Exchange Knowledge Management Hub to assess the state of art in integrated care, co-design capacity-building and improvement planning activities.

 

EVENT AGENDA: https://scirocco.promotime.media/programme/

 
REGISTER HERE!

Capacity-building for Integrated Care: Join the SCIROCCO EXCHANGE Partners at its Final Conference!

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Interested in knowing more about how your region can strengthen its health and social care system and improve the design and delivery of healthcare services? Join the Scottish Government and all the partners of the SCIROCCO Exchange project at its closing event ‘Capacity-building for Integrated Care: From the Maturity Assessment to Improvement Planning‘! The conference will be held on Thursday 5 May 2022 from 9 am to 4:30 pm CET and will be open online to all AER members and healthcare professionals in their region.

REGISTER HERE!

Throughout the past years, SCIROCCO Exchange has contributed to foster capacity-building among regional healthcare authorities through tailored evidence-based support for the adoption and scale-up of integrated care. As a result of this process, the project has developed an effective tool that ensures and offers to regions, countries, and organisation effective knowledge management and improvement planning starting from a comprehensive understanding of the local context and maturity of the specific healthcare system – the Knowledge Management Hub. Specifically, the Hub is a community-driven platform supporting public authorities and organisation to:

  • Better understand the local readiness, needs and priorities for the adoption of integrated care informed by multi-stakeholders’ dialogues and consensus-building;
  • Access readily available evidence, knowledge and expertise on integrated care maximising their transferability and adaptation to the local context;
  • Co-design personalised knowledge transfer support for those willing to adopt or improve their existing system design for integrated care;
  • Co-design improvement planning that is tailored to the local context, maturity and aspirations of European countries, regions and organisations.

The Hub is currently available in 11 languages and has been used in nearly 100 organisations, regions, and countries in Europe and beyond.

By joining the conference, you will learn about the practical experience of European countries, regions and organisations in applying and using SCIROCCO Exchange Knowledge Management Hub to assess the state of art in integrated care, co-design capacity-building and improvement planning activities.

Conference Agenda (5 May 2022, 9-16:30 CET)

  • 9.00 – 9.05 Introduction and welcome (Donna Henderson, Digital Health and Care Directorate, Scottish Government)
  • 9.05 – 9.30 Integrated care – Keynote presentation
  • 9.30 – 9.40 SCIROCCO Exchange: Capacity-building support for integrated care (Andrea Pavlickova, Digital Health and Care Directorate, Scottish Government)
  • 9.40 – 10.40 Knowledge Managment Hub: Maturity assessment support and lessons learned (session facilitated by Serena Mingolla, AReSS Puglia)
  • 10.40 – 11.00 Break
  • 11.00 – 11.45 From maturity assessment to capacity-building support: Assets on Integrated care (session facilitated by Donna Henderson, Digital Health and Care Directorate, Scottish Government)
  • 11.45-12.00 Break
  • 12.00 – 12.45 Capacity-building support for integrated care: Knowledge Transfer (session facilitated by Johanna Pacevicius, Assembly of European Regions)
  • 12.45 – 13.30 Lunch
  • 13.30 – 14.15 Capacity building support for integrated care: Improvement planning (session facilitated by Sophie Wang, Optimedis)
  • 14.15 – 14.30 Break
  • 14.30 – 15.15 Expansion adaption of SCIROCCO Exchange Tool for Integrated Care (session facilitated by Tino Marti, EHTEL)
  • 15.15 – 16.00 SCIROCCO Exchange Knowledge Management Hub: Beyond the Project (session facilitated by Marc Lange, European Health Telematics Association)
  • 16.00 – 16.30 Highlights from the conference

For more information, contact Johanna Pacevicius, AER Policy and Knowledge Transfer Coordinator and Birgit Sandu, AER European Projects Manager.

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Knowledge Transfer for Integrated Care – Sharing the Results with the International Healthcare Community

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After almost a year of knowledge exchange and capacity-building support to healthcare authorities willing to adopt or scale-up integrated care, the AER and the project partners were eager to share the experience and the results of the SCIROCCO Exchange Knowledge Transfer Programme with a great variety of international healthcare professionals and practitioners.

The SCIROCCO Exchange is a project co-founded by the third Health Programme of the European Union and lead by the Scottish Government. It provides evidence-based capacity-building support to health and social care authorities across Europe for the adoption or scaling-up of integrated care within their local healthcare systems. In this context, the AER in cooperation with the Scottish Government have worked with nine healthcare authorities for the co-development and implementation of nine personalised knowledge transfer programmes aimed at preparing the ground for the transition towards integrated care and to improve existing system design.

Despite the constraints posed by the pandemic to in-person-activities and to the resources of the healthcare sector, the needs and objectives of the healthcare authorities were still confirmed and the knowledge transfer continued. While knowledge transfer activities were mostly re-shaped in an online setting, this did not limit their impact and rather offered new opportunities for learning, involving a larger number of experts, fostering long-term professional connections in the sector, as well as for relying on an active network of partners also for the exchange of knowledge and practices regarding new needs brought about by the pandemic (as with the organisation of the workshop COVID-19 – Mental Health & Well-being of Healthcare Professionals with Scotland and South Denmark Regions).

Hence, we have been eager to share our experience and results with the broader healthcare community in the context of two major international conferences – the 2021 European Health Management Association (EHMA) Annual Conference, and the 2021 North America Conference on Integrated Care (NACIC).

SCIROCCO Exchange Knowledge Transfer Programme at EHMA 2021 – Health Management: Managing the Present and Shaping the Future

From the 15th to the 17th of September, the AER took part in the EHMA 2021 annual conference organised online but through the lenses of Lisbon. The event gathered more than 400 representatives of the healthcare system to exchange about key challenges in leading and managing the current and future health services.

Through a poster presentation, the AER shared with the healthcare experts the process for the co-definition and the implementation of knowledge transfer in SCIROCCO Exchange, and how this was re-adapted to the circumstances of the pandemic in order to make it both resilient and equally effective in its capacity-building objectives.

Lastly, the paper for the poster was included in the EHMA 2021 Abstract Book published after the Conference.

SCIROCCO Exchange Knowledge Transfer Programme NACIC 2021 – Innovation. Inspiration. Integration: Co-designing for health and wellbeing with individuals and communities.

From the 4th to the 7th of October, the AER together with the Scottish Government, Kronikgune institute in the Basque Country, and the National Health Fund in Poland took part in the first NACIC 2021 Annual conference organised online in  partnership with the University of Toronto, KPMG Canada, HSPN and iCOACH. The event was a great opportunity to debate with over 300 healthcare professionals and patients about the importance of co-designing healthcare services with individuals in order to improve the effectiveness of health and social care system design and achieve more person-centred care.

In this context, the AER organised a workshop presenting how the SCIROCCO Exchange knowledge transfer programme was developed and implemented to provide local-based support for the adoption of integrated care, and especially to support citizens’ empowerment in the design and management of healthcare services. To this aim, the workshop shared first information concerning the overall process developed by the project, the tools employed and available for replication, and the knowledge transfer programme. Additionally, the experiences of the Basque Country and Poland were presented to provide concrete good practices on how knowledge transfer supported the healthcare authorities in preparing the ground for citizens’ empowerment within their systems.

Presentations from the workshop can be accessed here!

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Not Just Another Workshop: Looking Back at the Includ-EU First Regional Peer-2-Peer Learning

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The project in a nutshell: The Includ-EU Project is funded by the European Union’s AMIF– Asylum Migration and Integration Fund Programme and aims at enhancing regional and local expertise with engagement of social cohesion in Europe. In this workshop, we brought together representatives from all the different countries involved in the project: Italy, Greece, Spain, Romania, Slovenia and the Netherlands.

Setting the Scene.

We live in an increasingly complex society. There are no easy solutions or easy answers to the many challenges we are facing today, and the ones presented by migration, integration and inclusion are no exception. Policies and service designers must make sure these mirror the complexity of realities around us.

That is why our first Includ-EU Regional Workshop focused not on discussing solutions, but analysing and sharing problems and challenges in our ever-changing Europe, in a collaborative way, and with peer-to-peer dialogue.

The past few months have been challenging for all of us. The restrictions affected our work and social cohesion, especially for migrants but there are a few lessons learned that we can bring with us and that can help improve the near-future situation, and in light of new  unpredictable crises.

In her opening speech Geertrui Lanneau, Senior Regional Labour Mobility and Human Development Specialist, at International Organization for Migration (IOM), reminded us how migration is still very high on the European Agenda  with the EU pact on migration and asylum passed last year and followed by the EU action plan on integration.

At the same time, she stressed how it is not the EU that finally implements the integration action, but the Member States, and  in particular, the local and regional levels are the centre stage. 

Geertrui Lanneau, Day 1

It is with this mind that we feel that with our project we can make a difference through the exchange of practices, region-by-region tailored SWOT analyses and especially with the pilot projects to be tested and implemented in the different member states.

Alas, also this time the consortium and associated partners didn’t have the chance to meet in person, but even virtually, we had an extraordinary time and opportunities to exchange our experiences. In particular, we collectively brainstormed around new challenges raised by the pandemic as well as old challenges that the pandemic might have exacerbated, both in the way we work and provide services, and in the way migrants and vulnerable communities would interact with the community.

The fact that all participants had experienced similar challenges, had seen similar opportunities and learned similar lessons despite the different geographical contexts, was very surprising and helped create a warm atmosphere of collaboration that lasted throughout the workshop, which lasted 2 days, and it felt a very special and unique moment!

The visual result of our peer-learning exercise on Mural, Day 1

Let Your Imagination Soar!

Before getting into the second part of the first day of the workshop, we did a quick icebreaker activity, where we split in 3 teams of five, and each group took 5 minutes in separate breakout rooms to brainstorm together and draw 50 apples, with only one applicable condition: ALL THE APPLES MUST BE DIFFERENT.

It was hilarious and mind-opening at the same time to see how different groups came out with absolutely different ideas, stories, concepts, or how they decided to devote their time: some shared memories associated with apples while others exchanged about different way to say “apple mus” in different languages, but fun fact: none of the teams reached the 50 apples goal. 

In short, this exercise tells it all about the very purpose of the workshop itself, meaning it is not about the destination, and focusing on solutions, but about the journey and what you learn along the way.

Becoming familiar with design for change

In the second session of the day, we worked together with Abram El-Sabagh, a service designer and the founder of Design for Impact, who led us through some exercises and discussion on good service designing, while sharing his own personal journey.

“It was in mid-2019 when I realised I could spend less time working, and more time helping others create impact.

The truth is it was a difficult decision. My day job is about using Design to create impact. I’ve been able to travel around the world to places as far as Marshall Islands, Kenya, China, and Bhutan. All to help coach others and build their ability to create positive impact using Design. But something was missing.

I had experienced what it was like working alongside others who genuinely want to make our world a better place, and there is no feeling like it. It’s euphoric.”

“No passion to be found in playing small”

Innovation Systems are extremely complex, Abram goes on explaining, as there are many different components and they all interact together. Imagine for a moment the healthcare system for instance:  How many hospitals and doctors are there only in your area?

Another thing to keep in consideration is that experiences regarding the system depend on each one’s different pathway. In healthcare, the experience will change depending on which doctor I talked to, which disease or illness you have, to mention only a few variants.

Migration is of course, a very complex system affecting real people who are facing real challenges.

It is easy to read 10 books about system change and design, but it is harder to apply all the theories that you learn in real life. Abram explained how his path led him to go into the field, talk  and interact with different people from many professional and social backgrounds, rather than keep learning on his own. Eventually, he gathered more and more skills that are useful to design services and testing powerful ideas, until he was skilled enough to lead his own project.

KEY CONCEPTS OF DESIGNING SERVICES IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS

If a 1.5 hours session couldn’t of course cover and teach participants hard and soft skills harnessed through years of experience and exercise, Abram gave us the key concepts needed to start understanding how to create change thanks to design.

He touched upon many concepts, but few of them resonated particularly among the participants.

Emergence is one key concept in complex systems that is worth explaining, as  it means that because of the complexity and the many actors involved, one cannot predict behaviour, or be sure of what will happen before you test an idea and that’s why it is therefore important to test hypotheses.

As a consequence, running parallel fail-safe experiments and interacting with the system is the only way we can truly understand it.

When running an experiment, it is important to test behaviours and not intentions, as many times these intentions do not translate into behaviour (just think about your new year’s eve resolutions..).


A final concept to keep in mind in testing hypotheses  is that correlation does not equal causation -although these two often get mistaken- meaning that just because two things correlate does not necessarily mean that one causes the other.

Main takeaways from day 1

The big finale of day 1 came with an interactive exercise where participants were asked to design, in teams, a new policy or service to help people get vaccinated.

The special feature of the exercise was the identification of the team members with multi-level stakeholders, meaning that each team member represented a different perspective and therefore brought an additional value to the co-creation process.

Each team formed several hypotheses around why a specific cohort of people (migrants over 50 rather than young people living in the periphery) are not getting vaccinated enough and generated experiments to test each hypothesis.

What did participants learn?

Mainly 2 things came up from the different teams:

  1. You need to involve many people, not just the usual suspects. 
  1. It is important not just to co-design services in a participative way but we should also aim to co-create and co-decide on a political level. It is essential to cooperate at all stages of a project or process, “ If you want to go far, go together”.

All in all, we can safely and happily conclude that by reflecting on the challenges the pandemic created or worsened, speakers and participants shared their concerns around the needs of their regions, but also injected optimism in the future on integration and inclusion, while giving us reasons to believe that design and multi-stakeholders approaches can be powerful tools for creating sustainable and innovative services, solutions and policies.

Angelique Petrits with some of the participants, day 2

DAY 2 -Good Practices and Hard-won Wisdom through the Includ-EU Marketplace

After the insightful and comprehensive presentation by Ms Angelique Petrits  (DG Home, European Commission) on the new Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion (2021-27) and its 4 key areas -Education, Employment, Health, Housing-, the morning of Day 2 continued with a dynamic market-place exercise.

Here different regions and municipalities presented their own future strategy for integration, but showcased good practices and successful projects from the past programming period. We are happy to share here all presentations which are available below for you to browse.

Strategy on Migration, Valencia

Pilot experience of community sponsorship in the reception and integration of migrants, Valencia, Spain

Regional Plan for the socio-economic integration of TNCs, with focus on COMMIT Project, Tuscany, Italy

Project School for Adults, Jesenice, Slovenia

Integration Strategy, Cluj Napoca, Romania

Project Murcia Acoje (Welcoming Murcia), Spain

For more information, contact: [email protected]

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A New Horizon for Europe: Navigating into the European Horizon for Research and Innovation

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The launch of the new Horizon Europe funding programme worth 95.5 billion EUR and its first round of calls have being sparking enthusiasm and interest among the multiple actors that were long awaiting for initiating and testing their innovative actions for the green and digital transition, as well as an inclusive economy. Yet, while the scope of the funding programme meets widespread societal demands, it may not be that easy to navigate within one of the world’s largest research and innovation programmes. What do you need to know? The article provides an overview of the main opportunities under this programme as well as the links to the recordings from the informative sessions held by the European Commission.

The new HORIZON EUROPE: Priorities and structure

As part of the new Multiannual Financial Framework, the European Union has established the Horizon Europe programme as successor of the well-known Horizon 2020. As its predecessor, #HorizonEU deploys a large-envelop of financial incentives to support research and innovation that will contribute to achieving the EU priorities across and beyond Europe.  

As defined in the First Strategic Plan 2021-24, in the first four years, the programme will focus its investments towards actions aimed at:

  • Promoting an open strategic autonomy by leading the development of key digital, enabling and emerging technologies, sectors and value chains
  • Restoring Europe’s ecosystems and biodiversity, and managing sustainably natural resources
  • Making Europe the first digitally enabled circular, climate-neutral and sustainable economy
  • Creating a more resilient, inclusive and democratic European society  

PILLAR II: Clusters, ‘EU missions’, and calls

It is especially under the second pillar ‘Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness’ that the European Commission is providing the ground and support to different kind of stakeholders (universities, research institutions, public authorities, associations, NGOs, SMEs and large companies) for research addressing key societal, economic, and environmental challenges, and to reinforce and innovative the technological and industrial capacities in line with the EU policies and the Sustainable Development Goals.

A key novelty introduced with the Horizon Europe programme are the EU-Missions. Missions are commitments to address the most serious challenges that our world is facing and contribute to the goals of the European Green Deal, the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, and the Sustainable goals through a wide portfolio of actions – research projects, policy measures, or even legislative proposals.

Cluster 1 – Health

Actions supported under this cluster will be aimed at:

  • Improving and protecting the health and well-being of citizens through new knowledge, innovative solutions and the integration of a gender perspective to the preventions, monitoring, and curing of diseases
  • developing health technologies, mitigating health risks, protecting populations and promoting good health and well-being
  • making public health systems more cost-effective, equitable and sustainable

The Cluster is divided in 6 destinations under which the first calls are already open for submission:

The deadline for all the open calls under the Health Cluster is 21st September 2021. Forthcoming calls under the same destinations will open on 6th October and will close on 21st April 2022 (1st February for 2-stages submissions).

EU-Mission: Preparing UNCAN.eu, a European initiative to understand cancer (deadline 20th October 2021)

Detailed information concerning the Cluster and its calls can be found in the Cluster 1 Working Programme.

Cluster 2 – Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society

Actions within this cluster will contribute to strengthening the EU democratic values, safeguarding our cultural heritage, and foster inclusion and growth through socio-economic transformations.

The Cluster is divided in 3 destinations under which the first calls are already open for submission:

  • 5 Calls under Destination 01 – Innovative research on democracy and governance (link to the recording of the info session on Destination 01)
    • Activities launched within this destination will contribute to reinvigorating and modernising democratic governance through the development of evidence-based innovations, policies, policy recommendations, and institutional frameworks that expand political participation, social dialogue, civic engagement, gender equality and inclusiveness. Additionally, they will support enhancing transparency, effectiveness, accountability and legitimacy of public policy-making.
  • 6 Calls under Destination 02 – Innovative research on the European cultural heritage and the cultural and creative industries ((link to the recording of the info session on Destination 02)
    • Activities launched under this destination will aim at protecting and promoting historical sites and monuments, artefacts, heritage sites, landscapes, museums and other cultural institutions, languages, customs, traditions, and values through new or existing conservation and restoration technologies and methods employing green and digital paths. Innovative management actions and models for cultural institutions will seek to expend the industry triggering inclusive growth, jobs, social cohesion and diversity,
  • 7 Calls under Destination 03 – Innovative research on social and economic transformations ((link to the recording of the info session on Destination 03)
    • Actions launched under this destination will contribute to foster social and economic resilience and sustainability through an improved knowledge of the social, ethical, political and economic impacts of drivers of change – as digitalisation, demographic trends, globalisation, and migration. The implementation of research activities in the field will strengthen inclusive growth ensuring that no one is left behind especially in light of old and new societal and economic challenges.

The deadline for all the open calls under the Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society Cluster is 07th October 2021. Forthcoming calls under the same destinations will open on 20th January 2022 and will close on 20th April 2022.

Detailed information concerning the Cluster and its calls can be found in the Cluster 2 Working Programme.

Cluster 4 – Digital, Industry and Space

Activities under this cluster will support digital, space, and key enabling technologies that are strategically important for Europe’s industrial future and especially for achieving a global industrial leadership in clean and climate-neutral industries, as well as autonomy in digital technologies and a secure data-agile economy.

The Cluster is divided in 6 destinations under which the first calls are already open for submission:

The deadline for all the open calls under the Digital, Industry and Space Cluster is 21st October 2021. Forthcoming calls under the same destinations will open on 23rd November 2022 and will close on 05th April 2022.

EU-Mission: Better prepared regional and local authorities to adapt to climate change (deadline 14th September 2021)

Detailed information concerning the Cluster and its calls can be found in the Cluster 4 Working Programme.

Cluster 5 – Climate, Energy and Mobility

Actions under this cluster will contribute to the fight against climate change by increasing the understanding of its causes, evolution, risks, impacts and opportunities, as well as by facilitating the development and implementation of more climate and environment-friendly solutions to the transport and energy sectors.

The Cluster is divided in 6 destinations under which the first calls are already open for submission:

The deadline for all the open calls under the Climate, Energy and Mobility Cluster is 19th October 2021. Forthcoming calls under the same destinations will open on 14th October 2021 and will close on 12th January 2022.

EU-Missions (deadline 14th September 2021):

Detailed information concerning the Cluster and its calls can be found in the Cluster 5 Working Programme.

Cluster 6 – Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment

Actions financed through this cluster will support the reduction of environmental degradation, reversing the decline of biodiversity and better managing natural resources through transformative changes of the economy and society. They will contribute to the objectives of the EU Green Deal in relation to the Biodiversity Strategy to 2030, the Farm to Fork strategy, the European Climate Pact, initiatives under sustainable industry and eliminating pollution, the long-term vision for rural areas, and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Cluster is divided in 7 destinations under which the first calls are already open for submission:

The deadline for all the open calls under the Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Cluster is 6th October 2021. Forthcoming calls under the same destinations will open on 28th October 2021 and will close on 15th February 2022.

EU-Mission: Preparing the ground for healthy soils: building capacities for engagement outreach and knowledge(deadline 14th September 2021)

Detailed information concerning the Cluster and its calls can be found in the Cluster 6 Working Programme.

Are you seeking to develop or join a proposal under the calls above?

All the above topics are key priorities for the AER and its members, hence we are looking forward to support members and their stakeholders in the development of a proposal, as well as in the establishment or search of a consortium. To know more about how we can support you, have a look at this article on the services of the project unit and get in touch with our European Projects Manager! Additionally, the AER is glad to assess the possibility to join consortium working on the calls in light of the strong relevance of the topics for the AER.

SAVE THE DATE! the AER will offer the possibility to further explore the novelties and opportunities introduced by the Horizon Europe programme during the next MFF info session that will be held on September 24th! The session will look at several funding programmes: Horizon Europe, Erasmus+ and Creative Europe, Digital Europe, and Life.

Picture from Unsplash by Christian Lue

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Internship Opportunity: Events Assistant

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We are looking for a motivated student to join the AER Team at our Strasbourg or Brussels Offices or, if desired, predominantly remotely for four to 4,5 months from early August 2021 until the middle of December 2021.

Working closely with the AER Institutional Relations & Advocacy Officer and  Communications & Events Officer, your main tasks will be to:

  • Assist in the event and communication management of the AER General Assembly & Conference related to the Sustainable Development Goals, 28-29 October 2021;
  • Assist in the event and communication management of AER statutory and partner events in Q4 2021

About the Conference “Agenda 2030: Transforming Regions, Changing the World” 

“This conference, jointly organised by AER and the Grand Est region together with partners such as United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the Global Taskforce, Regions4, and Strasbourg Eurometropole will gather local and regional stakeholders from around the world. It will call upon national and global leaders to strengthen multilevel dialogue in order to facilitate local-global leadership on the 2030 Agenda. 

The goal of the conference is to show that regions, alongside cities, play a key role to facilitate the transformation needed to successfully implement and reach the goals of the 2030 agenda.”

You will assist in shaping the SDG Conference, inviting guests and speakers, organising logistics, creating content for the website, structuring communications and ensuring a successful event from A to Z. Following the conference, you will assist with the organisation of other AER statutory and partner events in a similar capacity.

This is the role for you if:

  • You want to grow your event and communication management experience in a hands-on way. 
  • You have knowledge and interest in the Sustainable Development Goals and their implementation at the local level.
  • You have strong communications skills, with a strong level of English and French. Other European languages are an asset. 
  • You are self-motivated, organised and well able to manage your time.
  • You are able to perform tasks autonomously and take on responsibilities while coordinating your work with the rest of the team.
  • You are a creative and problem-solving oriented person.
  • You are tech-savvy, with a knack for graphic design using tools like Canva, Photoshop and WordPress.

AER is happy to offer you the opportunity to:

  • Gain practical experience in event management from A to Z  in a European environment
  • Liaise with high-ranking politicians, project officers and partners across Europe and be inspired by them.
  • Learn about regions and gain a deeper insight into contemporary issues in European politics
  • Work in a dynamic, multinational and multicultural environment
  • Develop personal responsibility and initiative
  • Gain invaluable experience in an international professional environment
  • Learn the ins-and-outs of implementing a communications campaign for medium and large-scale international events 

The internship period will be for up to 4,5 months, preferably starting from 9 August 2021.

Before applying, please keep in mind…

An internship contract must be signed by AER, the intern and a sending University/School/Institute. This institution must be in an EU Member State.

The internship is intended for students who are enrolled in University, who have to complete a compulsory internship and are therefore able to receive a scholarship through Erasmus+ or other programmes. On top, you will receive a monthly financial contribution of EUR 525 from the AER during your internship period. Travel and living costs must be covered by the intern.

If you are a citizen of a non-EU country, you will have to make sure that you meet all the legal requirements (visa, residence permit, etc.) to stay in Strasbourg or Brussels as specified by the French/Belgian Law for foreigners. Health insurance must be ensured during your stay.

Please keep in mind that we are following all COVID-19 measures so you may not be working in the office full-time. 

How to apply?

If you are interested in joining us and making AER your next professional experience, please send your CV and one page cover letter to [email protected] by Wednesday, 14 July with the subject line “AER Events Assistant”.

Interviews will take place on a rolling basis until the vacancy has been filled.

***

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Partner Search: New Project on Health Promotion for non-sporting Citizens

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We are happy to share a partner search for a new project dealing with health promotion for non-sporting citizens in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Lunda sports arena in Östervåla, one hour north of Stockholm Arlanda airport, is a municipal sports centre for school sports, football, tennis, ice hockey & cross-country skiing. They also run health promotion initiatives for the general public.

If before the pandemic, motivating people to embrace healthier lifestyles was important, it has now become urgent. With that in mind, Lunda sports arena is looking to develop a project that will promote health and well-being for citizens, and are looking for other organisations who want to collaborate on this topic.

The profile of the partners sought are European organisations that, like them, are running sports arenas combined with wellness activities who wish to cooperate on ideas and methods to promote health, with a special focus on non-sporting citizens and vulnerable groups. Lunda sports arena is experienced in leading and participating in LEADER, Erasmus+, Europe for Citizens and European Social Fund projects and is looking for other partners interested in cooperating with them.

If this sounds interesting to you, Lunda are open to hosting a video conference to discuss this in more detail.

Please, send your expression of interest before 30 July to:

Agnese Pantaloni – AER European Projects Coordinator, [email protected]

Gunnar Ärnström – Senior EU-Adviser (mid-right in the picture), [email protected]

Madelen Hedbom – Graduated Health Coach (mid-left in the picture), [email protected]

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Rethinking Inclusive Societies in Light of Crises

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“Migrants are ‘us’, not ‘them’. Everyone has a role to play in making sure our societies are cohesive and prosperous.” 

Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson 

Within the Includ-EU Project, AER continues its long-standing commitment to making the voice of its member regions heard, in both matters of migration and asylum and otherwise. In this context, we are proud the share their success stories developments and practices, in the upcoming workshop, organised with the involvement of Intercultural Regions Network.  

Integration and inclusion of people with a migrant background is a process that involves a whole of society, that includes migrant and local communities, employers, civil society and all levels of government. 

Regions, above all, have always had a paramount role to play and extensive experience in implementing innovative ideas and projects. They have the contextual knowledge and resources can be activated quickly.  

In light of this, AER’s role in the project is to foster structured regional exchanges, and the dissemination of knowledge and good practices within its wider network. This objective translates in organising of 5 thematic webinars structured around the key priority areas and 5 thematic workshops, envisioned to bring together target beneficiaries, experts, partners, and respectively representatives of interested social communities to exchange and engage in peer-learning exercises. 

So far, AER, with the support of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), has organised 3 of the planned webinars and is now preparing the 1st regional workshop, taking place on 30 June and 1 July from 9:00 to 12:30 (CEST). 

The pandemic might have exacerbated some of the challenges already in play in regards to integration of migrants but on the other hand, as for many other sectors, it has provided an occasion for shifting paradigm and rethinking our whole society in order to be better prepared for future crises. It can empower us to demand a much-needed transformation of a system in crisis. 

As such, the focus of the first day will be on how to rethink services in light of crises and raising awareness on the role of design in shaping better and more sustainable services. Abram El-Sabagh, expert in designing strategic solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals, will facilitate the session, in which participants will immerse in a peer-learning exercise, which will help them to brainstorm collectively and identify challenges and opportunities to apply to the concrete specific needs of each regional/local reality. 

The second day keeps looking ahead with the presentation by DG Home of the Commission new Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion (2021-27), which structures among 4 key areas: Education, Employment, Health, Housing. 

This is followed by a dynamic market-place exercise, where few regions and municipalities will present their own future strategy for integration, but also good practices and successful projects from the past programming period.  

We will hear from Valencia municipality (Spain) to Cluj-Napoca and Timis (Romania), among others. 

Registrations for day 1 are open exclusively to Includ-EU consortium partners, while day 2 is open to all interested stakeholders working on migration and interculturality. 

This project receives funding from the European Union’s AMIF – Asylum Migration and Integration Fund programme. It aims at bringing together local and regional authorities from Greece, Italy, The Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and Spain for the purpose of enhancing transnational knowledge and experience sharing cooperation and partnerships. 

To read about the results of the 1st workshop, follow AER website. To register, click here.

Contact: Anna Comacchio, Project and Policy Officer 

E-mail: [email protected] 

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Skills for Effective Innovation Ecosystems

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Article by Sandra Evans, Project Coordinator at Universität Tübingen.

It is not a secret anymore that open innovation ecosystems provide optimal conditions for creating new value. But what makes innovation ecosystems effective, or how are effective innovation ecosystems created? This important question was the topic of a panel discussion organised by the Assembly of European Regions (AER) as part of a set of very topical webinars organised within the Erasmus+ Skillnet project on enabling multi-stakeholder approaches to help build more innovative societies.

As we all have witnessed in the past year, a crisis can be an incredible driver for innovation by honing in on the most pressing issues. With the COVID-19 pandemic the overall mission was to reduce the number of infected persons and reach herd immunity. Accordingly, a diversity of stakeholders were able to very quickly align under a clear common goal and effect respective contributions. What the Coronavirus crisis also revealed was that governments and private companies were able to effectively work together in order to produce and certify vaccines in record time. However, what are the conditions that facilitate and optimize innovation activities?

Arnault Morrison, thematic expert on research and innovation at the Policy Learning Platform (PLP) of Interreg Europe, presented five actionable policy recommendations from a diversity of policy briefs published by the PLP. All are indeed key prerequisites for regions to benefit from sustainable innovation and resulting economic development:

  1. understand regional institutional context (especially the strengths and weaknesses)
  2. promote the diffusion of technology (rather than the invention of new)
  3. promote interregional learning and collaboration (i.a. by sharing good practices)
  4. promote an entrepreneurial mindset and startups (and decrease risk averseness)
  5. form a regional task force for regional skills assessment.

In addition, two regions elucidated their approaches towards building efficacy in two topically different ecosystems. Agneta Kardos from the Timiș County Council in Romania focused on how interregional learning and collaboration was crucial in building the local (informal) health and social care ecosystem. The presentation very nicely demonstrates that the process takes time, requires perseverance as well as a framework for exchange and learning. This framework was provided by different European funding instruments (primarily Interreg programs), which since 2008 have not only evolved with respect to terminology and approaches (e.g., moving from triple towards quadruple helix approaches) on the topic of aging populations, but also have been able to help build trust and a multi-stakeholder dialogue in the Timiș region.

Christiane Egger, deputy manager at the Upper Austrian Regional Energy Agency, shared her experiences from the energy transition in her region. One of the key pillars in the transition was the formal network of energy and environmental businesses, namely the Cleantech Cluster Upper Austria, which engaged in dialogue with policy makers. The mission of the energy transition has a clear message: to reach climate neutrality by 2050. In order to reach this mission, the agency takes on the role as orchestrator of the formal/informal and narrow/broad innovation networks and uses the carrot (financial incentives) – stick (regulatory framework) policy approach, which they have amended to include tambourines (dissemination and awareness raising) and a skateboard (innovation to speed up the process).

Ultimately, all speakers in their presentations and the ensuing discussion highlighted communication and connectedness as central to the innovation process and creating effective open innovation ecosystems.

Identifying and understanding the strengths and weaknesses in the respective regions, as the first recommendation by Arnault Morrison puts forward, provides the necessary base for formulating clear common goals and missions to guide policy priorities. While this seems trivial, it is absolutely crucial and will help to guide innovation activities by better understanding the actual needs and demands and thus, better being able to match demand and supply.

It is not easy to bring different stakeholders to the proverbial table, yet this can be instructive to everyone involved. Within the framework of the Interreg Europe project ACSELL, the SCIROCCO Exchange Tool was identified as a good practice to assess the readiness for demand-driven innovation in regions or ecosystems (https://www.interregeurope.eu/policylearning/good-practices/item/5304/scirocco-exchange-tool-to-assess-readiness-for-demand-driven-innovation/). This tool facilitates and structures the multi-stakeholder dialogue around 12 dimensions and helps to identify strengths and weaknesses. An improved understanding of the local needs and context as well as structured dialogue with all stakeholders is an important first step to creating effective innovation ecosystems.

Available EU funding opportunities and initiatives:

Picture by Romain Tordo from Unslpash.

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Skillnet Training Session – Making the Most of Cohesion & Rural Development Funds

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MFF, ERDF, ESF, EFRD, EAGF…navigating the sea of acronyms in the EU funding lexicon can be a daunting task for would-be applicants. Yet, unlocking these funds will be crucial for regions if they are to bounce back from the pandemic. What can be done to help regions access the crucial funding they need to support their recovery?

The AER recognises these challenges members face when it comes to accessing EU funding. That’s why on 26 May, as part of our Skillnet Project on European funding opportunities, the AER held a training session for regions and their stakeholders looking to make the best of new EU funding opportunities.

Featuring presentations and an extended Q & A with experts from the European Commission, the first webinar in our “Unboxing the MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework)” series took attendees through Cohesion & Rural Development funds, and the EU’s Next Generation EU Recovery Package.

Cohesion Policy and Next Generation EU – What’s New?

Our first speaker, Ms Tereza Krausová from DG REGIO gave an overview of the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy and Next Generation EU packages, and provided insights on how regions can benefit under the new frameworks. She noted that while NextGenEU is “at its core” a crisis-repair instrument, the Commission wants it to compliment the EU’s climate goals and facilitate the digital transition – important aspect to bear in mind.

Also of note are the substantial sums allocated to bolster programmes of key interest to regions. There is EUR 47.5 billion allocated to Cohesion programmes 2014-2020, like the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund (ESF+), and cross-border programmes like the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) and Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD). (Note – AER members are invited to request more information on these and all instruments discussed from the AER Secretariat).

Ms Krausová also set out the features of these shared management funds, which have a strong territorial dimension. While the partnership agreements for programmes under these funds are set up nationally with the Commission, local and regional authorities are strongly encouraged to engage themselves fully in the process by meeting with and setting out their priorities to their national authorities. Most notably, Policy Objective 5: ‘Territorial Tools’, underlines that all investments have to be based on local strategies. These should empower cities and local communities “to identify their own priorities and projects in a participatory way.” Possible tools available include integrated territorial investments (ITIs), community-led local development (CLLD) and other territorial tools designed by member states.

In terms of priority themes, as mentioned, under the ERDF there is a “thematic concentration” on improvement of the economy and meeting the EU’s climate reduction targets. Of particular interest to regions will be the thematic concentration on sustainable urban development. 8% of the ERDF is allocated towards integrated urban development delivered through local development partnerships. There are also new funding streams available for interregional innovation, and Ms Krausová again emphasised that these local development strategies must have true “local ownership”. Within the INTERREG programme, there is a bigger emphasis on cross-border programmes – including a new European cross-border Mechanism, a specific component for outermost regions, and the incorporation of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) and the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI), which supports co-operation outside the EU.

Ms Krausová also touched on the EU’s Just Transition Fund (JTF), which provides over EUR 19 billion in tailored support to territories to help them achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This money aims to galvanize green investment in areas like waste reduction, resource efficiency, recycling, etc, as well as encourage SME growth in the green economy. Coal and peat intensive regions in transition will be key beneficiaries of this fund.

European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) – driving a Fair Recovery

Our second speaker, Ms Louise Reid from DG EMPL gave insights on the new European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). The ESF+ supports employment, education and social inclusion through EUR 99.3 billion of investments in different programmes.

As with other funds, there are specific “thematic concentrations requirements” for member states relating to tackling youth unemployment, eradicating child poverty, and capacity building of social partners and civil society. Of note is that there is EUR 531 million and EUR 197 million available to support Outermost Regions and Transnational cooperation respectively under shared management. With regard to REACT-EU funds distributed under ESF+, Ms Reid said these will be directed towards short-term work schemes and youth employment, as well as ensuring equal access to health services. Echoing Ms Krausová, she underlined that “regions should now take the opportunity to be involved” in the national planning processes, and contact their local management authority for more information on accessing REACT-EU funding.

The Common Agricultural Policy – the importance of Partnership

Our final speaker, Mr Stefan Jensen from DG AGRI updated attendees on the reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and how regions can make the most of the EU instruments available to support rural development. While still under negotiation, from 2023 the National CAP Strategic Plans will integrate “direct payments and market funds” – the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund (EAGF), with the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD). Between 2021-22 there will be a transition period where the current framework will be extended, and there is an additional EUR 8 billion earmarked from the Next Generation EU recovery programme to support rural development. As with the other funds under discussion, there is “a strong focus on Green Deal ambitions”, with 30% of the EAFRD concentrated on helping rural areas meet climate and environmental objectives.

Mr Jensen underlined the essential role that regional stakeholders will have in the administration of the new CAP. Members should note that regions are very much embedded in the design of these instruments, and are expected to be involved in the design and implementation of the National Strategic plans. More concretely, the Commission expects these plans to be able to identify regional specificities and needs, and it is therefore vital that all levels of government are involved in elaborating these strategies.

The Commission equally recognises the need for local approaches to fulfill broader Green ambitions. To this end, Mr Jensen encouraged local organisations to “take ownership” to ensure that “the green transition takes place on the ground.” He also advised regions “to look across different EU funds that will help you on the ground,” noting provisions in the Common Provisions Regulations (CPR) that can help regions identify funding opportunities.

There were several noteworthy takeaways for the 100+ participants who took part in this training session. Firstly, for regions to make sure they can access the funding they need, it is essential that they reach out to their member states and involve themselves in the process of designing the National Strategic Plans. Having an awareness of which streams in each instrument have a strong territorial focus (some noted above) can help regions guide such discussions, as will keeping in mind the wider political focus at EU level on delivering the Green and Digital Transitions.

Still not sure where to start? Want a more detailed briefing on this Training Session and other funding opportunities? The AER is on-hand to give one-to-one guidance on how to make the most of EU Funding opportunities. For more information, please contact our European Projects Coordinator, Ms Agnese Pantaloni via email at [email protected]

In the meantime, you can find our speakers’ slides at this link. Make sure to keep an eye on our website to find out when the next webinar in our “Unboxing the MFF” series is announced!

***

This training session was organised as part of the Skillnet Project, which is funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Commission. Skillnet aims to strengthen the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system’s role and capacity to design high-quality VET programmes tailored to current societal needs through enhanced transnational and cross-sectoral partnerships. To learn more about funding opportunities within the Skillnet Project, visit our dedicated Partnerships in Focus Hub.

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COVID-19 – Mental Health & Well-being of Healthcare Professionals

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The Chair of the AER Digital Health Network, Donna Hendersson, Scotland (UK) is pleased to invite AER members and partners on 16 June 2021 from 11:00-12:30 CET for a webinar on supporting the psychological wellbeing of healthcare professionals. The event will highlight the potential of digital solutions and the importance of digital (technological) literacy in providing mental health support.

Knowledge exchange to accelerate change

Capacity-building and knowledge exchange is both the foundation and aspiration of SCIROCCO Exchange EU Health Programme funded project (www.sciroccoexchange.com). The ultimate objective of this project is to support health and social care authorities in their transformation towards sustainable integrated and more efficient health and social care systems through better understanding of local needs, mutual learning, access to tailored evidence and improvement planning.

To achieve this objective, AER developed the SCIROCCO Exchange Knowledge Transfer Programme to facilitate the exchange of experience, good practices and lessons learned in order to speed up the adoption of integrated care in European regions and countries. This Knowledge Transfer Programme builds on the expertise of AER in peer learning for policy innovation.

Enormous psychological pressure for healthcare workers

The COVID-19 pandemics has proven to be a catalyst of change and of greater demand for coordinated and integrated health and social care services, with healthcare professionals and citizens at the centre of this change. As a result, healthcare professionals in particular are under enormous psychological pressure with stress, fatigues and anxiety being present in over 86% of health and social care workers worldwide (Vizeh, M.2020).

The webinar will feature examples of:

  • Assessing the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on nurses and midwives at Odense Universal Hospital (South Denmark) including personal and work concerns of nurses/midwives during the COVID-19 outbreak and level of emotional distress experienced by nurses/midwives during the COVID-19 outbreak.
  • PRoMis National Well-being Hub for those working in Health and Social Care in Scotland.

The outcomes of this webinar will also help to inform the knowledge of other regions and countries in providing mental health and wellbeing support for healthcare professionals.

Draft Agenda

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
Colorful Hands 2 of 3 / George Fox students Annabelle Wombacher, Jared Mar, Sierra Ratcliff and Benjamin Cahoon collaborated on the mural. / Article: https://www.orartswatch.org/painting-the-town-in-newberg/

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COVID-19: How to effectively communicate the need for change?

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The Chair of the AER Digital Health Network Donna Hendersson, Scotland (UK) is pleased to invite AER members and partners on 26 May 10:00 – 11:00 CET to participate in a webinar focused on communication and awareness raising strategies for the wider public in the time of COVID-19 as well as training of healthcare professionals remotely.

Change & greater demand for coordinated & integrated care

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a catalyst of change and of greater demand for coordinated and integrated health and social care services, with healthcare professionals and citizens at the centre of this change. This includes the need for effective communication strategies, including both top down and informal strategies via social media, in order to build the necessary knowledge and skills in managing this pandemic. Training and awareness-raising strategies and programmes on communication between professionals and wider public is an emerging trend across health and social care systems in Europe and worldwide. It is therefore vital to encourage countries and regions to share their knowledge and experience in implementing these strategies and programmes.

The webinar is organised jointly with the Scirocco Exchange project and ECHAlliance as part of Scotland’s Digital Health Housing and Care Learning network event which will take place on 26-28 May 2021.

ECHAlliance Integrated Care Thematic Innovation Ecosystem has been set up to facilitate the sharing of good practices, exchanging ideas and gaining new knowledge. In collaboration with the EU Health Programme co-funded project SCIROCCO Exchange and Scottish Digital Health and Care Learning Network, the Ecosystem offers the opportunity to share the experience of Scotland and Lithuania in managing the communication and training strategies in response to COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, this knowledge exchange webinar will feature examples of:

  • Effective communication strategies
  • Training of healthcare professionals on the forms of communication
  • Training of citizens on the forms of communication
  • Healthcare literacy initiatives.

The outcomes of this webinar will inform about the objectives and aspirations of newly established Integrated Care Thematic Innovation Ecosystem and opportunities for collaboration. It will also help to gain the knowledge of other regions and countries in communicating the need for change in response to COVID-19 and accelerate the learning and potential adoption of this knowledge at local and regional levels.

Download the agenda here

Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

Disclaimer “The content of this Webinar represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.”

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