WP5 D5.2 Final evaluation report | UNITED4Surveillance

Project overview: UNITED4Surveillance is a three-year Joint Action (JA) funded under EU4Health, running from January 2023 to June 2026 (following a six-month extension). Coordinated by RIVM (Netherlands), the JA brought together over 40 partners from 24 European countries to strengthen integrated infectious disease surveillance across four thematic areas: laboratory-based reporting (WP2/T1), outbreak and signal detection (WP2/T2), hospital surveillance (WP3), and One Health surveillance (WP4). Evaluation scope: Work Package 5 (WP5, lead: CIPH, Croatia) applied a mixed-methods approach throughout the project, including six post-meeting surveys, two annual evaluation surveys, a focus group with Work Package Leaders (WPLs), structured WPL input at project end, and review of documents. Process evaluation: Satisfaction across all evaluated meetings and workshops was consistently high, with average scores ranging from 3.8 to 5.0 on a 1-5 scale. A positive trend was observed over time, with General Assembly scores increasing from 4.27 (Zandvoort, 2024) to 4.55 (Closing Meeting, 2026). Annual surveys confirmed positive experiences overall; Year 1 produced slightly higher average scores than Year 2, reflecting mid-project communication challenges. Output evaluation: Most planned deliverables and milestones were completed. WP1, WP2, WP6, and WP7 completed all deliverables as planned. WP3 and WP4 achieved most deliverables, with some pilots remaining at preparatory rather than fully operational stages due to legal, technical, and resource constraints. Approximately 75% of annual survey respondents expressed satisfaction with milestone achievement. Outcome evaluation: The Closing Meeting survey (n=31, 17 countries) provided strong evidence of impact: 96.7% confirmed that UNITED4Surveillance had strengthened collaboration and exchange; 93.5% rated outputs as useful or very useful; and 90.3% indicated their institution was likely or very likely to continue using project results. Key outputs include the open-source Signal Detection Tool, Gen-EpiX platform, updated national data standards, hospital surveillance protocols, One Health legal framework, and the UNITED4Surveillance Roadmap. Conclusions: UNITED4Surveillance successfully achieved its general and specific objectives. The JA delivered practical, open-source outputs, generated high participant satisfaction, built a strong European expert network, and created favourable conditions for sustainability. Legal uncertainty around GDPR, IT interoperability challenges, and fragmented funding remain persistent structural challenges requiring continued attention at EU and national level.