The 2015-2017 framework programme of Alzheimer Europe aims to achieve the following objectives:
1. Increasing knowledge about current national dementia policies and strategies, in order to promote best practices and reduce inequalities in dementia care in Europe (dementia-friendly communities, legal capacity and proxy decision making, care standards and care services for people with dementia and their carers),
2. Promoting collaboration and exchange on ethical issues linked to dementia through the organisation's European Dementia Ethics Network (Ethical challenges faced by professional carers, the changing definition of Alzheimer's disease and disclosure of risk information, societal obligations to people with dementia and their carers),
3. Improving the involvement of people with dementia in EU activities through the active consultation and involvement of the European Working Group of People with Dementia,
4. Improving the information exchange on dementia through the setting up of a European Dementia Observatory and the organisation of an Annual Conference,
5. Capacity building for national Alzheimer associations via the organisation of an Alzheimer Association Academy,
6. Ensuring effective governance.

The organisation's activities are fully aligned with the European Commission Communication on a European initiative on Alzheimer's disease and other dementias which recognised that "the importance of these conditions has long been recogned at a European level has long been recognised at a European level" and will provide important support to the growing number of Member States that are implementing or developing national dementia strategies. The work plan also addresses the priority identified in the third health programme of "support[ing] cooperation and networking in the Union in relation to ]...] improving the response to chronic diseases including [...] neurodegenerative diseases, by sharing knowledge, good practices and developing joint activities.


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The key objectives of AE's 2016 activities are as follows:
1. Increasing knowledge about current national dementia policies in order to promote best practices and reduce existing inequalities in dementia care in Europe
2. Promoting collaboration and exchange on ethical issues linked to dementia
3. Improving the involvement of people with dementia in EU activities
4. Improving the information exchange on dementia through the setting up of a European Dementia Observatory and the organisation of an Annual Conference
5. Capacity building for national Alzheimer associations
6. Ensuring effective governance
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The key objectives of Alzheimer Europe's 2017 operating grant are:
- the inventory and comparison of care standards for care services for people with dementia and their carers and the publiciation of results in the 2017 Dementia in Europe Yearbook,
- the analysis of ethical issues linked to societal obligations to people with dementia and the development of a rights-based approach to dementia and the development of ethical recommendations,
- the continued involvement of people with dementia in all operating grant activities with a particular focus on collaborating with the 2nd Joint Action on dementia to ensure views of people with dementia are fully taken into account in recommendations and best practices identified by Joint Action,
- the further development of the European Dementia Observatory monitoring scientific and policy developments in the field of dementia,
- the organisation of a successful Annual Conference in Berlin under the motto "Care today, cure tomorrow" attracting at least 500 participants,
- the support of national Alzheimer's associations through the capacity-building workshops of the Alzheimer's Association Academy and the provision of good governance to the operating grant activities.



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As part of its 2018 operating grant, Alzheimer Europe will aim to:
- Provide a voice to people with dementia by carrying out an inventory and analysis of existing working groups of people with dementia, their membership, working methods and findings and producing a report with the findings and identified good practices
- Make dementia a European priority by comparing and analysing differences and commonalities contained in the priority actions and themes of national dementia strategies and providing a comparative report with the key findings
- Promote a rights-based approach to dementia by identifying the issues faced by people with dementia, carers and professional carers coming from ethnic, cultural and religious minorities as the priority of its European Dementia Ethics Network, carrying out an extensive literature review and analysis of existing initiatives on this subject and producing a report with the key findings and recommendations
- Support dementia research by developing an online database of phase II and phase III clinical trials on Alzheimer's disease and dementia, by continuing the development of its European Dementia Observatory and by organising a conference in Barcelona from 27-29 October with at least 500 participants from 30 European countries
- Strengthen the European dementia movement by carrying out a mapping exercise of organisations with an interest in dementia, developing a networking strategy and by organising the Alzheimer's Association Academy with capacity-building workshops for its national member organisations.
The activities undertaken as part of Alzheimer Europe’s 2018 Work Plan are fully aligned with key EU programmes and respond to the calls made by successive EU Presidencies for greater European collaboration on dementia. In particular, the organisation will ensure to respond to the detailed 2015 Council conclusions and support the work of the 2nd Joint Action on dementia and the Group of governmental experts on dementia.


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In 2019, AE will:
• Ensure that the voices of people with dementia are duly included in all operating grant activities by involving its European Working Group of People with Dementia, organise at least three meetings of the group and collaborate closely with the 2nd Joint Action on Dementia and develop recommendations on dementia-friendly and dementia-inclusive initiatives
• Collect information on epidemiological studies carried out in European countries looking at the incidence and prevalence of MCI, AD and dementia, carry out a meta-analysis, calculate the estimated numbers of people with dementia in all Member States of the European Union c and publish a report of these findings in the 2019 edition of the Alzheimer Europe Yearbook.
• Identify the issues faced by people with dementia when participating in research as the priority of its European Dementia Ethics Network and carry out an extensive literature review on this subject, develop recommendations to promote a human rights based approach to the involvement of people with dementia in research and publish the recommendations with the findings of the literature review in a report.
• Continue with the development of its European Dementia Observatory, organise a conference in The Hague, Netherlands under the motto “Making valuable connections” from 22-25 October 2019 with the participation of at least 750 participants from 30 European countries and carry out an invetory of European and national treatment and management guidelines for dementia.
• Carry out a mapping exercise of its national organisations to understand their membership, staffing, funding as well as their activities and services and bring together representatives of the national Alzheimer associations for three networking meetings of the Alzheimer’s Association Academy.
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