Healthcare of the future - European Partnership THCS call for proposals

FCT is a member of the new co-funded European Partnership THCS - Transforming Health and Care Systems. This partnership aims to coordinate and optimize research and innovation efforts in Europe and its partner countries supporting health and care systems transformation.

The partnership currently brings together 64 partners from 26 countries to ensure the transition towards more sustainable, resilient, innovative and high-quality people-centered health and care systems.

In Portugal, FCT, the Agency for Clinical Research and Biomedical Innovation (AICIB) and Regional Coordination and Development Commission of Centro (CCDRC) are the organizations that participate in THCS.

The call “Healthcare of the future“ aims to:

• provide the necessary knowledge to build the health and care of the future. This includes addressing several dimensions of health and care systems such as quality, safety, efficiency, effectiveness, accessibility, sustainability, economy, ethics and resilience in reorganised health and care settings. By providing this knowledge, the call aims to support the development of new and innovative solutions that can address the current and future challenges facing health and care systems.

• support the implementation of innovative solutions on a larger scale. This includes identifying and promoting the adoption and transferability of evidence-based practices that have already been proven to be effective in some contexts in addressing the challenges facing health and care systems. With research and innovation supporting the implementation of these existing solutions, the call aims to accelerate the pace of change and make a positive impact on health and care systems in a more efficient way.

The following are individual or co-promotion beneficiaries:

a) Non-entrepreneurial entities of the R&I system, namely:

1. Higher education institutions, their institutes and R&D units;
2. State or international laboratories with head office in Portugal;
3. Non-profit private institutions whose main object is R&D activity;
4. Other non-profit public and private institutions developing or participating in scientific research activities.

b) Companies of any type and under any legal form.

The information contained in this section does not exempt you from consulting Article 3 of the "Regulation of projects financed exclusively by national funds"

This call funds only transnational projects. Please see the call text to find the rules applicable to the size and composition of the consortium.

The funding agencies participating in this call are: Austria (FFG), Belgium (VLAIO, MFWB, FRS – FNRS), Denmark (IFD), Estonia (ETAg), Finland (AKA), France (ANR, Fr MoH), Iceland (RANNÍS), Ireland (HRB), Israel (CSO-MOH), Italy (IT MOH, MUR, RT, AReSS), Latvia (LZP), Lithuania (LMT), Malta (MCST), Netherlands (NOW, ZonMw), Norway (RCN), Poland (NCBR), Portugal (FCT, CCDRC), Romania (UEFISCDI), Scotland/UK (SG), Slovenia (ODT), Spain (IDIVAL, CSCJA, ISCIII, DPTO SALUD), Sweden (Forte, Vinnova), Switzerland (SNF, Innosuisse).

Submission deadline for obligatory "Intent to apply": 23 May 2023, 14:00 CET

Submission deadline for proposals: 13 June 2023, 14:00 CET

Only proposals with a preceding Intent to apply (ItA) submitted in the online portal will be able to submit full proposals. Please find the ItA template in the “Guide for Applicants”.

When applying to this call please take into consideration the following:

• Read carefully call text available in the “Call Documents” box;
• In the call text, consult the national and/or regional rules of the countries participating in your consortium (including the Portuguese). The existence of non-eligible partners may result in the rejection of the entire consortium;
• The consortium coordinator must submit an Intent to apply (ItA) document by 23 May 2023, 14:00 CET;
• One proposal form must be filled in by the consortium coordinator and submitted by 13 June 2023, 14:00 CET in the online submission system (see "Useful links” below);
• Within 10 working days after the deadline for submitting the proposals, the Portuguese teams (Partners and/or Coordinators) must send to the call National Contact Point (thcs@fct.pt) a Statement of Commitment (see “Call Documents ") duly signed by the Responsible Investigator and by the Head of the Portuguese applicant’s organization and stamped. FCT may later require the original of the Statement of Commitment. Electronic signatures are accepted, and, in this case, the institutional stamps are not required. The Statement of Commitment refers to the PT teams only and to the work performed by the PT teams.

The evaluation methodology is thoroughly described in the Call text.

In this call there will be a 1 stage evaluation procedure with the possibility of rebuttal by 29 August – 6 September, 2023. In the rebuttal, applicants will have the opportunity to answer to the reviewers concerns and comments.

FCT financial commitment for the “Healthcare of the future” call: 500.000 €

Maximum requested funding for a consortium with Portuguese participation:

• 250.000,00 €, for a consortium with PT coordination
• 150.000,00 €, for a consortium with PT participation

In addition, please note:

• If more than one Portuguese institution participates in each consortium, the budget must be shared, even if funded by different funding agencies.
• Portuguese institutions must follow the Regulation on projects funded solely by national funds (see “Regulation” in this page).
• The dedication (FTE) in transnational projects is not considered for the 100% (FTE) dedication to national projects.

Attention - Only for candidates from NUTSII Centre region or the ones that can assure that the investment will be made in Centro Region:

In this call, CCDRC - Regional Coordination and Development Commission of Centro – also participates with a financial commitment of 300.000€. Also in this case, in each consortia, the maximum funding is:

• 250.000,00 €, for a consortium with PT coordination
• 150.000,00 €, for a consortium with PT participation

Applicants from NUTSII Centre region or the ones that can assure that the investment will be made in Centro Region, may request funding from FCT or CCDR Centre and should consult FCT and CCDR Centre regulations and eligibility conditions. Please also consult the national contact person for this call in advance of the call deadline (thcs@fct.pt).

FCT and CCDRC reserve the right to evaluate the possibility of transferring application(s) to the other national funding agency, for example, in the following conditions:

1. if an application is considered non-eligible by the funding agency selected by the candidate institution, but is eligible by the other Portuguese funding agency;
2. if it is necessary to maximize the number of funded national projects.

THCS Website

Pre-announcement Webpage

Information webinar for the call "Healthcare of the future"

Call “Healthcare of the future” Webpage

Partner search tool

CCDR Centro Webpage

Online submission system

Andréia Feijão

thcs@fct.pt

Tel. (+351) 213 924 356

This partnership is funded by the Horizon Europe Framework Program under grant contract n° 101095654