There are a number of funds that support various fields related to health:
– research,
– sharing knowledge,
– employment and training for healthcare professionals,
– policy and strategy making, including for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
There are two streams of funding: via each Member State that manages and distributes to beneficiaries the funds and directly from the European Commission and its agencies.
The EU co-finances projects, networks, events (conferences) and joint actions (see below).
The main criteria the EU will consider to allocate funds are:
– adequacy to EU work programme, strategies and plans;
– pluralism of participants: there should be more than one partner in the project/event, coming from several Member States, with leading and associate partners. Exceptionally a project may have only one beneficiary as long as it offers a European dimension by itself (e.g. a pan-European association);
– the guarantees the applicant offers to secure co-funding. He should bring a certain proportion of the funds, via private or public support or/and co-financing by allocating personnel time.
Funds provided by the European Commission Directorate General Health and Consumers (DG SANCO) and its Executive Agency for Health and Consumers
There are various funding possibilities under the EU Health Programme 2008-13; these include:
– grants for action (projects),
– operating grants for organisations or specialised networks,
– co-financing of conferences,
– joint actions by the Community and Member States as well as other (third) countries participating in the Programme,
– tendering of actions to achieve a Programme objective.
To receive a European grant, projects have to contribute to at least one of the 3 main objectives of the Health Programme (2008-2013) [[http://ec.europa.eu/eahc/health/index.html]] :
– to improve citizens’ health security,
– to promote health, including the reduction of health inequalities,
– to generate and disseminate health information and knowledge.
The applicant must have to be legally established in one of the 27 EU Member States, an EFTA country party to European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway), or Croatia. Organisations from other countries may participate as subcontractors or collaborating partners.
Financial support is provided only to legally established organisations – such as non-governmental organisations, public sector bodies, public administrations, universities, higher education establishments etc.
More information: http://ec.europa.eu/eahc/health/index.html
Funds provided by European Commission Directorate General Research and Innovation
The programmes/projects are funded through the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) which bundles all research-related EU initiatives together. It would not specifically fund an event or a publication for instance, unless they were the results of a research work.
To qualify for funding from FP7, applicants must abide to the same principles as that of DG SANCO (rule of co-funding, pan-European activity/project, several participants to the project) and participation is open to international organisations and legal entities established in third countries if the other conditions laid down in the ‘Rules for participation’ have been met, as well as any conditions specified in the specific programmes or relevant work programmes.
The broad objectives of FP7 have been grouped into four categories: Cooperation, Ideas, People and Capacities. For each type of objective, there is a specific programme corresponding to the main areas of EU research policy. All specific programmes work together to promote and encourage the creation of European poles of (scientific) excellence.
The most common funding scheme for NGOs working in the field of health policy under FP7 is “Coordination and support actions”: these are actions that cover not research itself, but the coordination and networking of projects, programmes and policies.
This includes, for example:
• coordination and networking activities, dissemination and use of knowledge,
• studies or expert groups assisting the implementation of the project,
• support for cooperation with other European research schemes.
The maximum reimbursement rates to the costs of a project depend on the funding scheme, the legal status of the participants and the type of activity. The standard reimbursement rate for research and technological development activities is 50%. Certain legal entities can receive up to 75% (non-profit public bodies, Small and Medium Enterprises, research organizations and higher education establishments). For demonstration activities, the reimbursement rate may reach 50%. For other activities (consortium management, networking, training, coordination, dissemination etc.), the reimbursement can be up to 100% of the eligible costs.
More information: http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/understand_en.html
Funds provided via the Member States
The EU supports European social policies through its structural funds, which include the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). They both contribute at national level to the enhancement of health systems and care via supporting employment, security at work and social development. The ESF is a source of finances that EPHA members should consider for their projects. Health is not among the core priorities of the ESF but the Fund supports interventions regarding health and safety in the workplace, long-term health-care or campaigns on public health issues. The objective is to raise the number of healthy years at work, maintain an active participation in society for as many workers as possible and increase the quality of life in less developed regions.
The ESF co-finances interventions supported by public and private funds at national and regional levels.
Each Member State, together with the European Commission, agrees on one or more Operational Programme(s) for ESF funding for a period of five years. Operational Programmes set the priorities for ESF intervention and their objectives. The measures part of the Programmes cover a variety of health related topics, for instance: gender aspects of health, health promotion campaigns, training or re-training of healthcare professionals, development of the long-term care sector, courses to increase physical well-being and first aid services for safety in case of accident.
More information: http://ec.europa.eu/esf
Other funds support public health either directly or indirectly – for instances:
• in the field on information & communication tools (ICT): the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) [[http://ec.europa.eu/cip/]] that aims to encourage greater use of ICT, assist the development of the ‘information society’ and promote the increased use of renewable energies and energy efficiency; or the Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme to enhance the quality of life of older people through the use of ICT;
• in the field of employment and training: Progress [[
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?langId=en&catId=327]] to support employment, social inclusion and positive working conditions; or Youth in Action to support youth development and inclusion; or Leonardo da Vinci for vocational training.