FAQs
Please find below a set of frequently asked questions regarding the different phases, from submission until possible co-funding of implementation of best or promising practices via the EU4Health Programme. More detailed information can be found in the submitter’s guide and best practice criteria.
If the available information does not answer your question, please write to: sante-health-best-practices@ec.europa.eu
The FAQs are divided according to the different phases of the procedure:
- Submission
- Evaluation
- Publication in the Best Practice Portal
- Presentation to other EU Member States
- Selection for co-funding at EU level via joint actions or other instruments in the EU4Health Programme
a) Submission
Q: Who can submit a practice?
A: Governmental and non-governmental organisations (national, regional or local) in the EU Member States which are eligible to participate in the EU4Health Programme.
Q: What is the added value of submitting a practice?
A: Practices assessed as “best” or “promising” will be published in the Best Practice Portal. This will be of added value for other EU Member States wishing to learn from your experience. It will help health authorities to improve the quality of life for European citizens and to make health services around Europe more efficient. You can of course also use this recognition in your own promotion. Recognition can be important for the wider dissemination of your intervention. Finally, the assessment will provide you with a qualitative evaluation of your practice.
Q: What is the time investment required for submission?
A: Completing the online questionnaire may take some time, depending on the complexity of the practice and the preparation of the requested documents. We encourage you to be thorough and comprehensive. The evaluators will only rely on your submission and materials provided therein, for their evaluation of your practice. You can keep your submission as a draft until you are ready to submit.
Q: Can I download the questionnaire?
A: No, the questionnaire is only available online.
b) Evaluation
Q: How long does the process take?
A: Practices will be evaluated by experts following the best practice criteria adopted in the Steering Group on Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Management of Non-Communicable Diseases, which is the predecessor of the current Public Health Expert Group. The evaluation process may take up to 3-4 months after which submitters are informed about the outcome. In the case of submissions during an open round, the evaluation may take up to one year.
c) Publication in the Best Practice Portal
Q: What does it mean if my practice is published in the Best Practice Portal?
A: By submitting a practice for evaluation, you accept that it will be published with your personal contact details on the Best Practice Portal in case of evaluation as a "best" or “promising” practice. In principle, practices will be kept on the portal for up to 5 years. A practice may, however, be removed from the portal earlier if it is no longer considered as an example to be shared.
Q: What level of involvement is expected from a practice owner?
A: If your practice is selected as a best or promising practice, you may be invited to participate in a ‘marketplace event’), where you will present and discuss your practice with national experts. Moreover, if your practice is then selected for implementation by EU Member States, the consortium of a joint action (see below) will contact you and will agree with you the type and form of your involvement. The action will receive co-funding via the EU4Health Programme.
d) Presentation to other EU Member States
Q: What does a presentation to other EU Member States entail?
A: If your practice is evaluated as a best or promising practice, and if EU Member States are interested in implementing it in their countries, you may be invited to a ‘marketplace event’. It may be an online or physical meeting, either on a single day or over multiple days, with the purpose of informing EU Member States representatives about each of the practices. Practice owners will be requested to prepare a presentation for this meeting and to answer questions raised during or after the meeting.
Q: What if I am not able to join the ‘marketplace event’?
A: It will be possible to record a presentation in advance. Any questions will then have to be replied to in writing.
Q: What happens after the ‘marketplace event’?
A: A voting procedure takes place in which EU Member States representatives can express their interest in obtaining EU funding to implement one or more of the best or promising practices presented. This will take place in the Public Health Expert Group (PHEG). The best or promising practices that are ranked highest by the EU Member States representatives in this group, could then be invited to participate in a joint action.
e) Selection for co-funding at EU level via joint actions or other instruments in the EU4Health Programme
Q: What does selection for co-funding mean?
A: The action will receive co-funding under the EU4Health Programme.
According to Article 8(3) of the EU4Health Programme, grants paid by the Union shall not exceed 60 % of eligible costs for an action (relating to an objective of the Programme or for the functioning of a non-governmental body).
Actions with a clear Union added value shall be considered to have exceptional utility, inter alia, where:
(a) at least 30 % of the budget of the proposed action is allocated to EU Member States whose gross national income per inhabitant is less than 90 % of the Union average; or
(b) bodies from at least 14 participating EU Member States participate in the action, of which at least four are EU Member States whose gross national income per inhabitant is less than 90 % of the Union average.
In cases of exceptional utility the contribution by the Union may be up to 80% of eligible costs. In order to verify whether your action would fall under one of these two categories, please refer to the link action grants - second wave under EU4Health (europa.eu), to the document named Gross National Income 2019 .
Q: Is there any kind of funding for researchers and/or practice owners if the practice is chosen for funding via a joint action?
A: Researchers/owners of the best practice will not be funded as a direct consequence. However, the consortium of the joint action can decide to involve (e.g. by sub-contracting) the owner of the best practice to develop very specific activities designed during the preparations of a joint action and for the implementation of the joint action.
Q: What activities will be done by the best practice owner?
A: For example: support EU Member States or other involved parties implementing your practice in their countries; participate in meetings and workshops to support involved parties on how to better transfer your practice into their countries’ context; assist in the adaptation of your materials to be used in other EU Member States.
Q: If a practice from a country participating in the EU4Health programme is chosen - and it is owned by for example a non-governmental organisation (or other organisation) - who should then be nominated as competent authority in the joint action if it is rolled out?
A: A non-governmental organisation (or other organisation) to be nominated as a competent authority needs to fulfil the eligible criteria as a competent authority to be part of the joint action (the same to appoint the organisation as affiliated entity, eligibility criteria must be met). A nominated competent authority in a country participating in the EU4Health Programme is the authority responsible for health, or a relevant international health organisation or public sector bodies or non-governmental bodies that are mandated by those competent authorities, regardless of whether those bodies act individually or as a network. If the practice owner does not fall in the above categories, it should be engaged in the joint action in a different role e.g. subcontractor or associated partner, depending on the tasks this entity is expected to carry on and the amount of money to be allocated consequently. Please note that in the case of subcontracting, as a principle, the competent authority may need to follow national procedures for tendering. This principle applies unless there is a monopoly situation which will be invoked, in which case no open procedure will be launched. If this is the case, this explanation should be mentioned in the application for the joint action.