Presidency event - Belgium. R&I policies for Better Health, Wellbeing and Prosperity

This action will cover the organisation of two conferences by the Belgian Presidency: “Europe united against old and new pandemics” and “The convergence of technologies driving R&I towards the development of healthcare of the future”.

The conference “Europe united against old and new pandemics” will be informed by the CSAs preparing the EU R&I partnerships on pandemic preparedness and response and on One Health AMR. The conference should provide a platform to discuss and agree on the next steps for the EU-partnership on pandemic preparedness and response and its role in supporting HERA. Taking stock of the lessons learned from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and embracing a “One Health - Planetary Health” approach, the conference should help prepare for any pandemic threat - whether from emerging infectious diseases or antimicrobial resistance.

The conference should reach out to policymakers and stakeholders in science, innovation and public health as well as the European Commission.

The conference “The convergence of technologies enabling R&I for the healthcare of the future” should focus on the convergence of technologies such as bio-, nano-, digital technologies and engineering, which, in combination with omics data supplemented by health and real-world data have the potential to push the boundaries of R&I in the field health. However without proper integration of genomic and health data, R&I is hampered. Integrating the Genome Data Infrastructure (GDI) into the European Health Data Space would enable breakthroughs.

The conference should address the challenges linked to integrating genomics, and health and real-world data, as well as the role and potential of converging technologies to accelerate the development of personalised and preventive health management. Technologies such as single cell technologies, innovative medical technologies and -omics analyses including human microbiomics and lab- or cell-on-chip developments can accelerate the insights into what determines health and disease and allow for true personalisation of health management and preventive approaches.

The conference should draw on advances in the fields of cancer and rare diseases and may also focus on the needs for skills of the future related to genomic medicine and data governance.

The conference should involve the member state ministries of R&I and public health as well as the European Commission.

Award criteria:

The criteria are described in General Annex D. The following exceptions apply: The thresholds for each criterion will be 4 (Excellence), 4 (Impact) and 3 (Implementation). The cumulative threshold will be 12.

Procedure:

The evaluation committee will be composed fully by representatives of EU institutions.

Legal and financial set-up of the Grant Agreements:

The funding rate will be 100%.