In November 2024, the THCS Partnership, co-funded by the European Commission (EC), launched its third Joint Transnational Call (JTC) to support Research and Innovation (R&I) proposals titled “Better care closer to home: Enhancing primary and community care”. This Call brought together 34 Funding Agencies from 22 countries, committing an initial budget of approximately €36 million.

From 149 eligible pre-proposals were submitted requesting €183 million. Following evaluation and a Peer Review Panel (PRP) meeting, 63 were invited to full proposal stage, where the widening initiative allowed invited consortia (under 9 partners) to add one partner from underrepresented Funding Agencies. Finally, 60 full proposals were submitted, from which, after evaluation and PRP meeting, 29 outstanding projects were selected for funding, with a 19.5% success rate and €31.8 million allocated funds (generating €6.9 million EC top-up).

The JTC 2025 two-stage process, embedding the widening initiative, supported undersubscribed Funding Agencies, refined proposals, built stronger consortia, broadened widening country

participation, and strengthened pan-European collaboration in primary and community care R&I - aligning with European Research Area goals. Notably, all participating Funding Agencies had at least one project selected for award.

The call attracted wide participation, especially from Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Canada, Norway, and Sweden; top-performing teams were from Italy, Spain, Netherlands, France, Sweden, Portugal, and Switzerland.

Awarded projects mirrored submission domains: interdisciplinary “Other” topics (25%) dominated, followed by mental health/social issues (18%), with stronger success in musculoskeletal, neurology and related diseases (11%) and neurodegenerative diseases (7%).

Project partners were largely academic, with meaningful input from healthcare/social welfare providers, SMEs, and a smaller % on non-profits (e.g., NGOs) and patient organizations.

The results of JTC 2025 reflect strong engagement from the scientific community and highlight the flexibility and impact of transnational collaboration in health R&I. The selected projects are expected to deliver significant contributions to the future of health and care systems across Europe. 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 third JTC, click here.

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

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