Commission invites ideas for healthy ageing project

European research ministers have welcomed the idea of European Innovation Partnerships (EIPs), and in particular the pilot project on healthy and active ageing, as a way to drive innovation and get products and services that address major problems to market more quickly.

Meeting this week, the ministers also underlined the need to ensure EIPs add value, calling on the European Commission to do more work on practical aspects of the partnerships such as governance, funding and how the various instruments will be coordinated.

For now, the European Commission is looking for ideas for the pilot EIP on healthy and active ageing, in a public consultation that is open until 28 January 2011. The partnership idea was announced by Maire Geoghegan Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, and Antonio Tajani, Vice-President for Industry and Entrepreneurship, in October.

The EIP, to be launched next year, will aim to improve the health and quality of life of older people, contribute to the sustainability and efficiency of health and social care systems and foster the development of associated products, services and markets.

John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy said innovation was one of the tools for confronting the problem of Europe’s ageing population, and will require “close cooperation across different policies covering public health, research, digital and industrial policy”.

Neelie Kroes, Commission Vice-President for the Digital Agenda, said people are living for longer. “[They] should be able to do so as actively and independently as possible, with the help of [products] such as fall-detection and prevention devices, easy to use social interaction services to overcome loneliness, and smart use of ICT in the home.”

The aim of the EIP is to increase the average healthy lifespan in the EU by two years by 2020, improving quality of life and to lead to better care. EIPs are part of the EU's Innovation Union strategy, one of the Europe 2020 flagship initiatives to promote economic growth.

Speaking at a meeting on e-health in Brussels this week, Maria Iglesia-Gomez, Head of Unit Strategy and Analysis in the European Commission’s directorate-general for health and consumers, said the idea of the EIP is to map out what exists at present, identify the bottlenecks and the key areas where the framework is not working, and then take action. “Collaboration is an imperative,” she said, underlining how all public or private, national and regional interests, need to work together.

Last Friday (November 26) a Stakeholders Consultation Conference was held on the pilot EIP. Director of the European Patients’ Forum, Nicola Bedlington, who attended the meeting, said that the overall impression at the meeting was very positive and that the partnership idea was “on the right track”.

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