Published on 26.02.2021 26.02.2021

Call closed: Open call for stakeholders to participate in TEHDAS Joint Action

Joint Action Towards the European Health Data Space (TEHDAS) is a project co-funded by the EU’s third health programme and 25 participating European countries.

The stakeholder open call has closed on 21 March 2021. Thank you for your interest towards the use of health data! Selected stakeholders will be notified in mid-April.

What is it all about?

TEHDAS invites all interested stakeholders in Europe to take part in the open call for stakeholders. TEHDAS helps the EU member states and the European Commission to develop concepts for sharing health data across countries, sectors and industries with the goal of enhancing citizen and public health, health research and innovations. It will work on governance models, data quality and technical and semantic challenges as well as propose services and architectural and infrastructural elements required by the European Health Data Space.

The aim of the call is to engage relevant stakeholders and experts in the project and to give them an opportunity to follow and contribute to the joint action work – to provide valuable input on the development of the European Health Data Space (EHDS).

Why apply?

As a participating stakeholder in TEHDAS, you will be able to:

• contribute to a hugely important and effective EU project;
• take part in the development and strengthening of the European Health Data Space;
• promote the digital transformation of the European health systems;
• contribute valuable insights and input to the joint action and other EU proposals.

Who can apply?

The call is targeted at a wide spectrum of organisations and experts who generate health data, use it in various secondary-use cases, decide on or promote access, protection and use of health data, or have another interest in health data.

If your professional interests are related to the above and you believe you can contribute, you could be a great candidate.

More information about the open call

Forums and groups to apply for

There are three forums and three work package permanent advisory groups (WPAGs) you can apply for. Each forum and WPAG vary in their expected level of participation, time and engagement.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all forums and groups will be organised either online or in a hybrid format (both online and in person).

Stakeholder forum – registration ongoing

The stakeholder forum is an event where external stakeholders can follow and contribute to the joint action progress and discuss with joint action partners the topics linked to it. The stakeholder forum is open to all stakeholders but requires registration and numbers may be limited. The forum will take place once a year (Q2/2021-2023) following the annual TEHDAS General Assembly. In 2021, it is scheduled to be held on 8 and 9 June in Helsinki, but this is subject to the COVID-19 situation. All stakeholders, including public, private and NGOs, are invited to join the forum.

Joining the forum is not limited to the stakeholder open call only and stakeholders can express an interest in joining the forum throughout the TEHDAS project. All stakeholders interested in the forum will be put on the TEHDAS mailing list and will receive the TEHDAS newsletter and be kept up to date on the developments of the project.

Work package permanent advisory groups (WPAGs)

The WPAGs in work packages (WP) 5, 7 and 8 are specific entities that provide external insight for the work. They consist of stakeholders such as patient organisations or other non-profit NGOs, industry associations, technical experts, healthcare organisations, university hospitals, health programme project representatives or other stakeholder experts.

The WPAGs are permanent for the whole duration of the TEHDAS project and will start at the suitable time of the work of the WPs. They are expected to provide knowledge and support for the WP in the substance work. WPAGs meet at the invitation of the WP lead together with other WP members. A dedicated WPAG working space where WP members and WPAG members can exchange knowledge and draft deliverables will be provided.

WP4 project forum

The aim of the project forum is to identify the relevant initiatives and projects across the EU that TEHDAS needs to build on. European initiatives and projects are invited to join the project forum to share relevant outputs and discuss potential synergies to avoid duplication within the TEHDAS joint action. Through this forum, the different projects and initiatives will also connect to other relevant WPs within TEHDAS where collaboration and synergies are possible. The connection with the different projects will also help TEHDAS achieve interoperable outcomes.

WP4 policy forum

The aim of the policy forum is to reach out and engage national and international policy and decision-makers, to reflect on their needs and expectations and to explore views on the economic sustainability of the European Health Data Space. Member states / associated countries national authorities and international organisations are invited to take part in the policy forum. The progress of the different WPs will be presented and potential routes for sustainable interaction will be sought. The forum will provide a platform for sharing the views and experience of MS/AC national authorities with regard to the value of sharing secondary data across Europe through the creation of the EHDS. The policy forum will discuss relevant topics on the political agenda.

Please find more detailed and specific descriptions of each forum and WPAG in the three different WPs that include benefits for the stakeholders, specific selection criteria, expected commitments and comprehensive descriptions in the forums and groups attachment (PDF file).

What does participation require?

All stakeholders who take part in different forums and groups are expected to be active and engaging, keen to work with others with a positive attitude and commit to the work.

Joining each forum and group is subject to the general selection criteria and criteria specific to the forum or group. These are described below.

General selection criteria

Representation: The breadth of interests and groups represented by the applicant and the degree to which involvement of the applicant guarantees representation and equitable participation. TEHDAS will seek to achieve a balanced group and a wide variety of participating stakeholders.

Impact of the EHDS: The degree to which the stakeholder group is directly involved or affected by the TEHDAS project outcomes.

Experience and knowledge: Experience and knowledge can refer to the health sector and data economy, but also to valuable local knowledge or experience from other sectors.

Contribution to the TEHDAS work: The degree to which the involvement of the applicant facilitates achieving the strategic objectives of the TEHDAS project. This includes the applicant contributing to the best possible project outcomes with their unique professional knowledge, skills and networks.

Specific selection criteria

Specific selection criteria of each forum and WPAG can be found in the forums and groups attachment (PDF file).

Please note that no financial compensation will be provided to the stakeholders.

How will stakeholder data be handled?

Your rights are always respected, and you are in control of your own personal data. Read more about how we protect your personal data and why we process it in the Privacy policy for the TEHDAS stakeholder open call (PDF file).

The names of selected stakeholders (organisations) in WPAGs, the WP4 project forum and the WP4 policy forum will be published on the TEHDAS website staging-tehdas.kinsta.cloud.

How to apply?

The application period for the stakeholder open call ran from 1 March until 21 March 2021. Within the deadline we received 189 applications covering academia, businesses, public sector and NGOs from 27 countries.

Schedule

1─21 March ─ Application period
5─9 April ─ Selected stakeholders will be notified.
12 April ─ The work of selected stakeholders begins gradually.
30 June 2023 – Work completed

Contact us

If you have any further questions about the TEHDAS Joint Action or this stakeholder open call, please contact:
Saara Malkamäki, saara.malkamaki@sitra.fi or
Markus Kalliola, markus.kalliola@sitra.fi

The article has been updated on 29 June 2021. Stakeholder forum is postponed to 27 October 2021 due to COVID-19 situation.