Division 3 SYNERGIES AND COMPLEMENTARITIES WITH EXISTING INITIATIVES

Health and active ageing related issues are strongly supported by many Union initiatives. Such initiatives encompass a broad range of policy domains in addition to the health sector, such as economy, security and the environment. They therefore indirectly contribute to such targets of Europe 2020 as R&D/Innovation, employment and social inclusion.

A KIC on innovation for healthy living and active ageing will closely co-operate with the pilot European Innovation Partnership (EIP) on Active and Healthy Ageing. It will take into account the concrete actions presented in the EIP Strategic Innovation Plan and contribute to delivering its objectives. It will create complementarity in education and training key actors, but also in providing a unique structured network of practitioners well placed to identify framework conditions and best practise on policy, regulatory or standardisation issues having an impact in the sector. In the context of the EIP, a KIC in this area can also contribute to the Lead Market Initiative – eHealth which aims at stimulating the market for innovative eHealth solutions through its focus on policy instruments (standardisation, certification systems and public procurement).

Coordination will be also fostered with the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) to boost research on Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, and the JPI 'More Years, Better Lives' - the potential and challenges of demographic change and the JPI "A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life". A KIC in this area will speed up and foster the exploitation of excellent public research pooled together by these JPIs, and thereby address fragmentation in the innovation landscape.

A KIC will also strongly build on and capitalise upon the major research results of the Joint Technology Initiative on Innovative Medicines and of the numerous framework programme research projects addressing this thematic field (such as the health research programme or the ICT research activities on health and ageing) to boost technology transfer and commercialisation via entrepreneurial top talent. Likewise, it will coordinate with the work of the Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme and the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme.

In conclusion, a KIC in this area would be complementary to these activities since it would focus on transdisciplinary activities within the knowledge triangle with a strong focus on innovative products and services and entrepreneurial education.