European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA)
EIP on AHA is an initiative by the European Commission aimed at mobilizing resources, expertise, and experiences to create innovative solutions in active and healthy aging. One of the ways this is achieved is through the designation of reference regions.
Since 2013, the network has allowed European regions to benchmark themselves against each other through an accreditation system based on stars. Regions are awarded one to four stars based on the maturity of their ecosystem for active and healthy aging. Agder initially became a three-star reference region in 2016, and the same status was retained in 2019. In the fourth and final call for submissions in 2022, Agder finally achieved full recognition with four stars.
This network presents a unique opportunity to collaborate with other regions in Europe.
Read more about RSCN - Reference site collaborative network and EIP on AHA (external websites)
Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI)
DHI is located in Scotland and is part of the innovation program of the Scottish Funding Council, designed to support transformative collaborations between universities and businesses. The centre collaborates with DHI through various projects and networks like EIP on AHA. Both DHI and the centre emphasize the user experience of healthcare services.
The collaboration focuses on technological innovation and co-creation between the public, private, academia, and the population. It is noteworthy that DHI has a mandate from the Scottish government to develop e-health solutions, making it the gateway to e-health in Scotland.
Read more about Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (external website).
Nordic Research Network: Health and Welfare Technology (HWT)
This network group was established in 2019, in collaboration with the Nordic Welfare Centre (external link). The administration of the network follows the presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers. In 2022, Norway held the presidency, with the Norwegian Centre for E-health Research and the University of Agder managing the Research Network. The network includes members from research institutions in the Nordic countries, and each country representative in the core group serves as the contact person in their country.
The network aims to increase knowledge about research, higher education, and practical experience in the field of health and welfare technology.
Globally, the healthcare sector is undergoing significant changes. Digitalization and technology play an increasingly important role in various types of welfare services. It is essential to develop patient- and user-focused processes that enable people to live independently for longer in this area.
Health and welfare technology with a focus on the user perspective is a relatively new research field in the Nordic countries. The network's role is to coordinate this type of research and contribute to strengthening and expanding knowledge beyond the research field.
Shared experiences will benefit the Nordic countries at the citizen, personnel, and supplier levels, as well as at the organizational and political levels in the expected future work on increased implementation of health and welfare technology.
Norwegian Centre for E-health Research (NSE)
The centre collaborates with the Norwegian Centre for E-health Research through various projects. A pronounced vision from the Ministry of Health and Care Services is that the Norwegian Centre for E-health Research should acquire and manage a comprehensive overview of experience and knowledge that can be used to strengthen the implementation of national measures in the e-health field.
NSE will produce research in collaboration with other professional communities, disseminate relevant e-health research, and provide current research-based knowledge to national authorities. The research centre will be beneficial to the entire health and care sector.