THCS

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THCS SRIA (2023)

The THCS SRIA (2023) outlines a coordinated European effort to transform health and care systems into sustainable, resilient, and people-centred structures. It emphasizes digitalisation, interoperability, integrated care models, and evidence-based policymaking as key enablers for transformation.

For OPENVERSE, THCS represents a strategic collaboration target for applying immersive, interoperable, and simulation-based technologies to health ecosystems. Joint work could advance digital twins for health systems, ethics-by-design governance, and data-driven interoperability across the digital health landscape.

Basic Identification

• Initiative / Partnership Name: Transforming Health and Care Systems (THCS)
• Full SRIDA Title & Version: Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), February 2023
• Publication / Last Update Date: February 2023
• Governing Body / Association: THCS Coordination and Support Action consortium; co-funded European Partnership under Horizon Europe Cluster 1.
• Type: Co-funded Partnership (public-public, focusing on health system transformation).
• Website / Source: https://www.thcspartnership.eu

Strategic Orientation

• Vision Statement:

To accelerate the transformation of European health and care systems towards resilience, sustainability, and person-centredness by coordinating research, innovation, and implementation efforts across Member States.

• Core Mission / Objectives:
  1. Develop and implement evidence-based, sustainable models of health and care delivery.
  2. Support integrated care that is proactive, data-driven, and equitable.
  3. Strengthen the resilience of health systems against shocks (e.g. pandemics, demographic changes).
  4. Enable digital and organisational innovation in healthcare through policy alignment and systemic experimentation.
• Key Strategic Pillars / Focus Areas:
  • People-centred Care Transformation – integration of preventive, primary, and long-term care.
  • Health System Resilience and Sustainability – governance, workforce, and financial models.
  • Digital Health & Data-Driven Transformation – data spaces, AI, and interoperability.
  • Evidence-based Policymaking – cross-national evaluation and learning mechanisms.

• Expected Outcomes / KPIs:
  • 20+ cross-country projects co-funded by 2030.
  • New evaluation frameworks for health innovation adoption.
  • Increased implementation of interoperable digital solutions across Member States.

• Policy Alignment:
  • Horizon Europe Cluster 1 (Health)
  • European Health Data Space (EHDS)
  • EU4Health Programme
  • Digital Europe Programme

Technological and Thematic Priorities

Theme	Focus Areas	Examples / Expected Results
Digital Transformation of Health Systems	Adoption of interoperable, AI-supported digital solutions for care pathways.	Development of secure data-sharing infrastructures.
Integrated Care Models	Patient-centred design integrating public health, primary care, and social care.	Cross-border testbeds for continuity of care.
Health Data Spaces & Interoperability	FAIR data principles, data linkage across health domains, and semantic interoperability.	Support to EHDS and secondary data use.
Workforce & Skills Transformation	Upskilling healthcare professionals for digital and integrated care.	Cross-country training programmes.
Sustainability and Governance	Value-based healthcare, financial sustainability, and ethical data use.	Policy experiments and scaling of best practices.

• Cross-cutting Topics: ethics and trust in health data, citizen engagement, gender equality, social innovation, and sustainability.
• Related Infrastructures / Platforms: European Health Data Space, EDIHs, EIT Health, IHI JU, and AI4HealthEU.
• Interdependencies / Synergies: Strong complementarities with IHI JU (innovation uptake), ADRA (AI & data), and EOSC (data sharing and FAIR principles).

Governance & Ecosystem

• Leading Organisations / Associations: THCS Partnership Coordination (CNR, Italy, and ISCIII, Spain) and 50+ national and regional funding agencies.
• Stakeholder Groups: national and regional health authorities, research institutions, healthcare providers, policy makers, patients, and citizens.
• Engagement Mechanisms:
  • Open calls and joint transnational funding calls.
  • Thematic workshops and policy dialogues.
  • Stakeholder consultations on SRIA updates.
• Update Frequency: Biannual review and alignment with Work Programme priorities.
• Contact / Participation Info: Public calls and events published via thcspartnership.eu.

Alignment with Virtual Worlds

Relevance to Virtual Worlds Domains:

The THCS SRIA provides a policy and systemic perspective on digital transformation, highly relevant for OPENVERSE’s goal of federating trustworthy, interoperable, human-centric virtual infrastructures.

• Key Points of Alignment:
  • Human-centric digital ecosystems: Mirrors OPENVERSE’s focus on trust, ethics, and inclusion.
  • Data interoperability: Direct alignment with OPENVERSE’s technical and semantic interoperability building blocks.
  • Digital twins and simulation for policy: Health system modelling and scenario-based simulations overlap with OPENVERSE’s virtual twin logic.

SRIDA Document Metadata

• Keywords / Tags: health systems, resilience, interoperability, digital transformation, integrated care, sustainability, AI, data spaces.
• Referenced Horizon Europe Clusters: Cluster 1 (Health) and Cluster 4 (Digital, Industry & Space).
• TRL Range: Typically TRL 4–7 (implementation-oriented).
• Budget or Investment Priorities: €300+ million co-funding through Horizon Europe and Member States for 2023–2030.
• Policy References: European Health Data Space (EHDS), Digital Europe Programme, EU4Health Programme, The European Green Deal.