9.Y.1. Breaking down silos: Maximizing the impact of different EU funding schemes in health

Abstract The European Commission (EC) has established various funding schemes to support large health initiatives, such as EU4Health, Horizon Europe, and Digital Europe. These initiatives aim to support research and innovation in order to tackle different health challenges faced by EU member states, improve the health and well-being in European citizens and invest in resilient health systems Funding can come in different forms such as grants, subsidies, loans, prizes, and procurements and is managed by different Directorates General of the European Commission. The EC offers a wealth of financial resources, enabling health scientists to conduct cutting-edge research. However, to make the full potential of the EC funding programmes it is essential to achieve interactions and synergies. Thematic interactions consider the underlying policies of specific actions, striving to connect projects focused on related topics rather than letting them work in isolation, and transferring results from one to another. Implementation interactions involve the sequential or cumulative funding of one or multiple projects. Moreover, the abundance of financial sources poses the possibility for duplication of efforts and redundancy among the various programmes. In addition, complexities in rules and guidelines pose challenges for researchers to fund their long term research projects through cumulative funding. To avoid redundancy and tackle health issues efficiently, it is essential to ensure collaboration and coordination across funding schemes to effectively address both overarching and specific health topics. The aim of this roundtable is to share with the audience the different funding mechanisms provided by the European Commission, explore barriers and challenges to fostering collaborative innovation through the funding programs, and demonstrate best practices for optimizing synergies across different programs. This round table gathers panelists from a variety of backgrounds covering the European Commission, national health institutes, NGOs and SMEs. Key messages • The European Commission provides diverse and rich funding schemes supporting health research and innovation to tackle European health challenges. • Complexities in rules and guidelines pose challenges and combined efforts of both the European Commission and research communities can foster collaborative innovation across the funding schemes. Speakers/Panelists Jinane Ghattas Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium Agnès Mathieu-Mendes HaDEA, EC, Brussels, Belgium Anabela Isidro Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica, Lisbon, Portugal