Innovations in healthcare, elderly care and independent living Experiences of the FinnWell technology programme Pekka Kahri Senior Technology Adviser Services and Well-being industries Service Innovation Tekes, Finland
Contents Tekes briefly FinnWell healthcare technology programme FinnWell programme midterm evaluation Ambient Assisted Living – European initiative for independent living Contributions Prof. Niilo Saranummi, VTT / Tekes Ms. Anne Turula, FinnWell programme manager, Tekes Mr. Kalevi Virta, FinnWell programme coordinator, Navicre Ltd.
Tekes’ mission statement Tekes boosts the development of Finnish industry and the service sector by technological means and through innovation. This will renew the economy and increase added-value, productivity and exports, thereby creating employment and enhancing well- being. Tekes – Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation
) ) Tekes technology programmes – forums for networking in sectors of the future DM Copyright © Tekes
Tekes technology programmes are complete packages of financing and expert services Aimed at the most important targets in terms of the future of Finnish business and society Project financing Programme services that support a programme’s objectives About half of the total financing granted by Tekes is channelled through technology programmes 22 programmes currently in progress Companies participate in about 2,500 projects every year and research units in about 1,500 The combined investment by Tekes, companies and research units in the programmes amounted to 380 million euros in 2006 DM Copyright © Tekes
FinnWell - Healthcare Technology Programme Programme duration: Programme volume: ~150 million euros, of which Tekes provides 50 percent Programme homepage: Objectives: To improve the quality and productivity of healthcare To promote the business activities of the Finnish companies operating in the field To stimulate cooperation between the public and the private sector To promote exports and international cooperation
FinnWell focus areas Well-being Clinical medicine Public health Experiences Care / diagnosis Maintaining health Preventing illness Technologies for diagnostics and careHealthcare IT related products and servicesProcesses of healthcare Viewpoint of organisations and business Citizens’- / patients- viewpoint
FinnWell project types Company R&D projects (50%) Single company or several companies together Tekes funding 25-50% of project costs Research projects (38%) Universities, research institutes, polytechnics Co-funded by the industry (5-25% per project) Joint pilot projects of public healthcare providers and technology companies (12%) Health districts, cities, municipalities Collaborative development of technology and operational processes Co-funded by the public organizations 50%
FinnWell programme midterm evaluation Extensive evaluation conducted during fall 2006 – spring 2007 Questionnaire to all FinnWell project managers and Tekes advisers involved with the programme In-depth analysis of the project clusters where public health delivery systems are involved Policy evaluation Conclusion have been drawn and were published last week
Pilot project cluster evaluation Five project clusters Self-care of chronic diseases, eHealth, Decision support systems, Healthcare processes Independent living/home care Conclusions of the evaluation Small and fragmented projects with local / regional objectives The projects are not linked to the development strategy of the (public) organizations Focus is on development, more emphasis is needed on deployment and diffusion Innovation environment has obstacles and lacks incentives
Level of influenceHealth policyInnovation policyIndustry policy The national health care system Health districts and municipalities Project clusters Recommendations to the national funding bodies Needs of the customer CUSTOMER = CITIZEN COMMITMENT Policy level evaluation – conclusions in a nutshell Significant results are generated at this level > there is a clear need for shared national strategy “Innovations in healthcare” Networks Seamless service chains Development strategy, leadership, decision making Implementation Real collaboration Dissemination Business models Different phases of the innovation process Critical factors: FOCUS, NETWORKING, OBJECTIVES Focus on strategically important areas with highest effectiveness
Conclusions of the FinnWell evaluation FinnWell programme will be redirected Focus on preventing illnesses and maintaining health Bringing forward the customer/citizen perspective More emphasis on deployment, business models and commercial exploitation of the results / knowledge New innovation programme focusing on public healthcare delivery system Closer cooperation with Ministry of social and health and Stakes – “partnership programme” Shared strategy for innovation in healthcare Bringing different policies closer to each other
AAL – Ambient Assisted Living European dimension Demographic change is a common problem and challenge for Europe Resources and competencies are distributed all over Europe Global competition requires European activities National dimension Country specific AAL related challenges Specific socio-economic and institutional frameworks Different criteria of acceptance Sometimes national solutions are necessary for pragmatic reasons (timeframe, complexity,…) Legal reasons
AAL – Ambient Assisted Living Member state initiative with community support based on Art. 169 of the Treaty Co-funded programme National programmes (25%), EC (25%), industry (50%) Total public funding about 50 M€ per year expected during Characteristics Smaller applied research/innovation projects 1-2 focused calls/year from ~50 M€ public funding/year Criteria include problem/market orientation, strong user involvement,SME participation, innovation