Health innovations
The European Innovation Scoreboard 2016 emphasized a well-known fact in Europe: that although the EU is closing the gap with US and Japan, Europe continues to be less innovative than South Korea, the United States and Japan. Too often, new technologies that have been developed in the EU are commercialised elsewhere. Now the economic future of the EU depends on becoming a place where innovation flourishes and where new products and services are being developed.
This initial knowledge theme for HCN explored how health sector investment, policy and practice in R&D can be aligned with regional policies on technology development/application and entrepreneurship. This involved relevant stakeholders, making best use of structural funds, mobilising wide range of local resources and encouraging health sector investment in R&D within the health sector supply chain and university sector in ways that create social added value from innovation and technology transfer.
Among the issues to be addressed are how to:
- promote integration of technology and infrastructure (housing, transport, health care delivery) in order to promote social value e.g. online elderly communities,
- foster the development and competitiveness of local SMEs (go see www.innolabs.io, www.cross4health.eu),
- improve entrepreneurial skills and support the development of new environmentally friendly technologies,
- promote women’s participation in technology development,
- develop efficient business consultancy and innovation (establishing regional business centres, organising fairs).
The initial learning from this theme is summarised in the following:
- A HCN Report that presents knowledge and experiences shared by partners that explored how the health sector can contribute to regional development through regional health innovation landscapes.
- The Liverpool Agenda with Policy recommendations on how regional health systems and health innovation markets can work together for regional development.
