SHIFT-HUB was conceived to establish a pan-European Smart Health Innovation Hub that convenes a multidisciplinary quadruple-helix community (innovators/SMEs, healthcare providers and organisations, patients/citizens, public authorities/policy makers, investors and innovation intermediaries) to accelerate the development, adoption and uptake of Smart Health solutions in Europe. Following JRC guidance for Digital Innovation Hubs, the project co-designed, developed and tested with its community a comprehensive service offer combining networking and matchmaking, collaboration and development support, guidance on access to funding, and connections to research infrastructures and scientific expertise.
To address stakeholder needs in a structured manner, the project delivered a comprehensive service offer organised around three pillars—Build & Boost innovation, Connect & Thrive collaboration, and Learn & Grow knowledge.
Key results include the SHIFT-HUB Community as a dedicated online hub and central access point for events, stakeholder engagement and ecosystem collaboration; the SHIFT-HUB Marketplace enabling collaboration, knowledge exchange and secure data sharing; policy recommendations to strengthen regional Smart Health innovation ecosystems in Europe based on comparative ecosystem analysis; a Gamified User Journey as a co-creation-oriented, gamified e-learning tool to enhance health awareness and promote healthy lifestyles among patients and citizens; and a Smart Health Educational Repository for Patients and Practitioners providing a curated collection of learning resources. Together, these outcomes are expected to contribute to a more proactive, data-enabled and user-centred healthcare ecosystem, aligned with European priorities such as the European Health Data Space.
