Maximising the potential of National Cancer Mission Hub-like structures: A SWOT analysis approach

Abstract Cancer is a significant and urgent concern in public health, particularly in the context of an aging population like in Europe. It is estimated that new cancer cases will increase by 21% by 2040 in Europe. With the ambition of improving the lives of 3 million people by 2030, the European Commission launched 2 major initiatives: Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP) and the Mission on Cancer (MoC). The EBCP is a policy-driven initiative aimed at supporting Member States in addressing the whole cancer continuum. It is supported by the MoC, a research driven initiative. Member States are implementing the EBCP and MoC in a way that fits their national contexts. This can take different forms, such as ‘cancer hub,’ ‘mirror group,’ or other similar structures. The role of these entities can vary, ranging from purely coordinating activities to involving more technical work. We performed a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis with different national mission-hub-like (NCMH-like) structures to explore their strategic positioning. We collected results from 6 countries (Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, and Sweden) as part of the EU project ECHoS on setting NCMHs. Participants perceived that formal government endorsement, existing stakeholder mapping, and good stakeholder engagement as strengths for the structure. Whilst, they identified overlap with other ongoing initiatives and low stakeholder engagement as weaknesses that need to be addressed, the future of existing structures could be threatened by financial and human resources as well changing political landscape. National, regional alignment and the leverage of EU funding were recurrent opportunities to build on. Ultimately, NCMH-like structures can be leveraged to achieve national and European alignment on cancer initiatives, if they succeed in building a sustainable financial and governance structure. Key messages • National Cancer Mission Hub-like structures can build on existing initiatives to support the implementation of EU cancer initiatives if they achieve sustainable financial and governance structures. • SWOT framework is a good tool for a comprehensive overview of the strategic positioning of National Cancer Mission Hub-like structures in different European countries.