The Digital Health & Care Institute is participating in TITTAN, a European project to foster innovation in the Health Sector

Active and Healthy Aging are a common challenge through Europe, and within TITTAN, 7 European regions have come together to improve the quality and performance of their Regional Health Care Systems through knowledge exchange and innovation.

The project has an overall budget of nearly 1.7 million Euros of European funding for 4 years to design and implement an action plan to enable the regions to address the challenges creating a European population that are active and healthy as we age.

The Digital Health & Care Institute (DHI), a Scottish Innovation Centre, funded by the Scottish Funding Council, is participating in the TITTAN project (Translation, Innovation & Technology Transfer in Ageing Network), which aims to establish a network of knowledge exchange with 7 European regions with the aim of fostering innovation and technology transfer in the field of health. The project is funded by the Europe Territorial Cooperation Program, and it was selected in a very competitive call, in which 2,158 European organizations participated through the proposal of 261 projects.

The project will share good practices between the partners to promote three different action lines:  Innovation from the companies to the health services (outside-in), with practices such as Public Procurement of Innovation; Transfer of technology from the health services to the patients and involving citizens in the management of ageing and health by promoting healthy lifestyles, processes and innovative technologies.

The project is divided in two phases. The first 30-month phase focuses on the exchange of good practices between the members of the partnership, and the design of an action plan per partner. The second 24-month phase will focus on the implementation of these action plans designed by the partners.

The project’s kick-off meeting took place on the 30^th of May in the City Council of Amsterdam with the objective to launch, coordinate and plan the project activities.  In September the group will meet again in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, for the first of five workshops.  This workshop will look at the examples of good practices which are currently being implemented within each region around the first thematic area: adoption and development of innovative practices from outside to inside of the health systems.

Each region is currently working on the development of a Regional Assessment Plan which will be the base for exchange of best practices between the areas.   This work will inform the series of workshops and also the development of each regions Action Plans.

Partners

Under the coordination of ACIS (Health Knowledge Agency from Galicia in Spain), six organisations are involved:

• Basque Biomedical Research Foundation (BIOEF from Basque Country in Spain)
• Biomedical Research Regional Foundation (FRRB from Lombardy in Italy)
• Healthy Saxony, (HS from Saxony in Germany)
• Digital Health & Care Institute (DHI from Scotland in United Kingdom)
• Lower Silesian Voivodeship Marshal Office (LSVMO from Lower Silesia in Poland)
• The Technology Office of the city of Amsterdam (CAM from Amsterdam in the Netherlands)

As part of the collaboration with the Digital Health & Care Institute (DHI) the following organisations are involved in the project at a regional level:

• Scottish Government – Health Innovation Partnership – The team focuses on finding innovative solutions to the challenges faced within health, care and support, and will set out the expanding agenda for health and innovation in Scotland and will use what we learn from TITTAN to support this.   The Scottish Government is the managing authority for the policy instrument which is addressed by this Project.
• NHS24/Scottish Centre for Telehealth and Telecare – The Centre looks at funding and leading the development of new sectors, evaluating the impact of telehealth and telecare on service re-design and support knowledge transfer and learning.
• The ALLIANCE – The Health and Social Alliance of Scotland – brings together voluntary and 3^rd sector organisations for the improvement of care, treatment and management.
• NHS National Services Scotland – The centre for procurement expertise for health which aims to increase savings and maximize health impact whilst improving supply chain effectiveness and procurement capacity through the development of integrated systems linking healthboards and patient activity.
• Scottish Enterprise – Aims to inspire companies to innovation by encouraging an innovative approach to products and services and boost economic development

Brendan Faulds, COO The Digital Health & Care Institute

“The Digital Health & Care Institute is proud to be taking the lead role for Scotland in the TITTAN project. Scotland has a wealth of talent, experience and knowledge to bring to this partnership and we look forward to sharing and learning with our other international partners in the project and then delivering meaningful quality outputs against our agreed action plan.”

Irene Oldfather, Alliance Director,

“The Alliance is delighted to be a stakeholder with our DHI Partner in the TITTAN project.  Our participation in the project signals that the TITTAN project is intent on putting people at the heart of all future activity, and ensuring a strong voice for those with lived experience in improving health and well-being as well as sharing knowledge and best practice across our partner regions.”

–ENDS–

Published on 10/06/2016 – by The Digital Health & Care Institute

NOTE TO EDITORS

• Issued by the Digital Health & Care Institute.
• Contacts
  • PROJECT TITTAN Kara Mackenzie (project Co-ordinator) – 01698 535 318 /mackenzie@dhi-scotland.com  (@tittanproject)
  • DHI Grace Arnell – (Communications Manager) 01698 535 311 / comms@dhi-scotland.com
  • Scottish Funding Council (Communications Director) – scrowe@sfc.ac.uk
• The Digital Health & Care Institute (DHI) was established October 2013 as part of Scotland’s network of Innovation Centres (innovationcentres.scot ). DHI brings together people and organisations in the health and social care, charity, technology, design and academic sectors to develop new ideas for digital health technology and information services that will improve the delivery of health and care services for Scotland’s communities.  Ideas must lead to viable and affordable products and services that can be brought to market in Scotland and beyond, establishing Scotland as an exporter of digital health technologies.  DHI is funded by the Scottish Funding Council.
• For further information please visit dhi-scotland.com