In March 2023, the THCS Partnership, co-funded by the European Commission (EC), launched its first Joint Transnational Call (JTC) for Research and Innovation (R&I) proposals under the theme "Healthcare of the Future." This ambitious initiative united 36 Funding Organisations, including Xjenza Malta (formerly the Malta Council for Science and Technology), from 24 countries to support the highest-ranking collaborative transnational research projects.

Xjenza Malta, through its Internationalisation Unit, has been actively involved since the inception of the Partnership, particularly in Work Package 8 (WP8), which is responsible for monitoring and assessing the results and impact of THCS projects. As the leader of the "Impact Assessment of the Joint Transnational Calls" task, Xjenza Malta conducts statistical analyses on the performance of each JTC. For the first JTC in 2023, Xjenza Malta coordinated and produced a comprehensive impact analysis in collaboration with WP8 partners and the Coordinating Team. This analysis includes a detailed breakdown of various data points such as gender, type of entity, research area, and geographical distribution of both the submitted proposals and those selected for funding.

A total of 177 full proposals were submitted, requesting a combined budget of €192 million. Ultimately, 28 proposals were selected for funding, involving 29 out of the 36 Funding Organisations. The total national call budget expenditure amounted to €31.1 million, supplemented by an additional €6.6 million in EC top-up funds. This selection process underscored the Partnership's commitment to addressing transformative challenges in health and care systems, with the flexibility of funding agencies and EC top-up funds playing crucial roles in bridging financial gaps.

The majority of proposals came from research teams in Italy, Switzerland, Spain, The Netherlands, France, Portugal, and Norway. The top-performing teams were primarily based in The Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, France, and Switzerland. The Maltese research sector responded very well to the Call, thanks in part to the extensive dissemination and support by Xjenza Malta. Six proposals were submitted, each including a Maltese-based partner, with a national total requested funding of €2.4 million. Maltese applicants included representatives from public R&D organizations, public entities, and private entities, with three partners applying as project coordinators. Unfortunately, in the end, no Maltese proposals were awarded funding.

Most proposals focused on Health Policy and Systems Research, with significant emphasis on Health Technology among selected projects. The research types included Applied Research, Implementation Research, and Demonstrator Projects, with a notable emphasis on Implementation and Applied Research among the funded projects.

This first JTC 2023 attracted significant interest from the scientific community, demonstrating flexibility in funding and maintaining a balanced approach in addressing the transformative challenges of health and care systems. The selected projects are expected to make substantial contributions to the future landscape of health and care services.

For a full list of funded projects and their concept notes, click here. To download the report presenting the detailed impact analysis and performance of this first JTC, click here.

Stay tuned for more updates on our journey towards shaping the healthcare of the future!

Please find attached the official press release.

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