Partnership

EuroHealthNet’s core activities, financing, and structure are designed to ensure a long-term and effective future for the partnership. This includes:

‍An organisational structure and governance to ensure accountability and diversity.

‍Finance which is reliable and transparent, and ethical Funding and Procurement practices.

A General Council Meeting at which all members of the partnership discuss and decide the strategic direction of the organisation and elect an Executive Board.

‍Thematic Working Groups and project teams to bring specialists across Europe together.
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‍Smart analysis and actions to engage with relevant policy and practice developments.

‍Outreach visits to make sure EuroHealthNet is delivering the right services and to understand the needs of members.

‍Communication to connect ideas and people; to provide up-to-date information where it’s needed; and to amplify the voices of our communities.

General Council Meeting 2018

A new board was elected during the General Council meeting, held in Brussels in June.

Dr Mojca Gabrijelčič Blenkuš (Senior Adviser, National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), Slovenia) was elected as President.

José Maria Albuquerque (Member of the Executive Board (VP) of the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Portugal) was elected as Vice President.

Dr Paolo Stoco (National Executive Committee of Federsanità ANCI, Italy) and Professor Mirosław J. Wysocki (National Institute of Public Health of Poland) were re-elected as Executive Board members. Giovanni Gorgoni (CEO, Agenzia Regionale Strategica per la Salute e il Sociale Puglia, Italy) and Vertti Kiukas (Secretary General, SOSTE Finnish Federation for Social Affairs and Health, Finland) were elected to the Executive Board for the first time.

Executive Board • From left to right: Malcolm Ward; Paolo Stocco; Caroline Costongs; Vertti Kiukas; Mojca Gabrijelčič Blenkuš; Frank Lehman; Mirosław J. Wysocki; Giovanni Gorgoni; and José Maria Albuquerque

Three new organisations were approved as members:

The National Centre of Public Health and Analyses (Bulgaria);
The Regional Agency for Healthcare and Social Affairs – Puglia (Italy);
The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (Latvia).

The École d’Assas (France) joined as an associate member, and the Ministry of Health Slovakia joined as an observer.

At the meeting, the Partnership also discussed and decided on our current programme of work and future strategies, including:

Health and social policies in the EU, including the European Pillar of Social Rights and the European Semester;
The EU Horizon Europe research programme and prospects for health and equity in all EU Programmes post 2020;
EU Joint Actions on Chronic Diseases (CHRODIS Plus) and Health Inequalities;
Achieving global Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals;
The WHO Coalition of Partners for Public Health;
Projects to address health inequalities experienced by LGBTI+ people;
Showcases for initiatives by our Partners.

The Partnership General Council agreed and published a Joint Statement on Innovative Funding for Health Promotion including for EU Programmes.

How we work

EuroHealthNet's activities are spread across three areas

The Practice Platform focuses on the implementation of strategies, methodologies, capacity building, and actions to reduce inequalities and promote health.
The Policy Platform monitors, analyses and informs the policy processes that affect health and inequality at international, European, national, and sub-national levels.
The Research Platform works within EU and international programmes to contribute to research projects which address the causes of health inequalities, while connecting and supporting research institutes.

A core team links the work of the platforms and is responsible for management and coordination, communication, finance, and administration.

Members

EuroHealthNet members are accountable public bodies with responsibilities and/or expertise in public health, health promotion, health inequalities, disease prevention, or other relevant fields. Usually national or regional institutes, authorities and government departments, they work on improving health, addressing the social determinants of health, and/or reducing health inequalities.

Members are part of all platforms and receive additional core member services. They set the direction of the partnership.

Associate members

Associate Members are universities, civil society organisations, and others which are not necessarily statutory bodies but identify with EuroHealthNet’s mission and want to take part in the work of EuroHealthNet that is most relevant to them. Associate members can join one or more of the three platforms and pay a reduced fee for the more limited services received. They have no voting or governance role.

General Council

The General Council is one of EuroHealthNet’s two governing bodies. It comprises members and associate members. The General Council meets annually to discuss progress, and to approve annual reports and budgets. The General Council also elects the Executive Board.

Executive Board

Members of the Executive Board are elected from the General Council. They serve terms of two years during which they develop annual strategies, work plans, and budgets. The Executive Board is informed by an external evaluator.

Observers

Observers are mostly Ministries of Health. They play a specific, mutually agreed role. Their status is reviewed and granted on an annual basis by the General Council and is by invitation only. They do not have a voting or governance role.

Staff

EuroHealthNet’s office is based in Brussels and staffed by a skilled team of 14 employees working in a diverse and dynamic environment with highly experienced leadership by Director Caroline Costongs.

Thematic working groups

Until December 2018, EuroHealthNet ran four thematic working groups (TWIGS), bringing together experts on:

Chronic and non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
Mental Health
Health Systems
Healthy Ageing

The TWIGS are open to staff from members of the partnership. Following a consultation, the EuroHealthNet’s working groups are ready to be relaunched.

Outreach Visits

Throughout the year, EuroHealthNet organises outreach visits, hosts webinars, and invites its members to visit the EuroHealthNet office in Brussels. Examples include:

The Austrian Health Promotion Fund (FGÖ).
Members in Puglia (Italy).
Members in the Netherlands.
The National Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Wellbeing in Spain.
NHS Health Scotland.
The Institute of Public Health, Ireland.
The Ministry of Health, Malta.
The Ministry of Health, Slovakia.
The Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA), Germany.
The National Institute of Health (ISS), Italy.

Communication

The EuroHealthNet communication unit amplifies the voices of the members of the partnership, connects ideas and people across Europe, and delivers up-to-date, evidence-driven information to public health and social equity communities and beyond.

Connecting ideas and people

We facilitate exchange of information and best practices across the partnership, and with the sectors that affect health and equity.

EuroHealthNet’s new communication network

‍This year we established a network of communication departments to improve the exchange of information around the partnership, to help partners express their interests and concerns at an international level, and strengthen the flow of information between European action, and national and regional agencies.

The group meets three times per year via video conferencing to share updates and news.

Calls and Opportunities Alerts

Calls and Opportunities Alerts include exclusive opportunities for funding, training, and capacity building. They are sent to Members approximately once per month, or as opportunities arise. Between July 2018 and April 2019, nine were sent.

Health Highlights

Each month, EuroHealthNet publishes a collection of the most important news in our fields in an email newsletter, Health Highlights. It is sent to more than 2,500 people. It covers leading stories, news from the partnership, news from EU institutions and agencies, international news, publications, and events. This year, the newsletter was refreshed with a new design.

Developing projects and partnerships

EuroHealthNet contributes to communicating the outputs of associated initiatives and projects, making sure work is joined-up. This year, we have joined the Joint Action on Health Inequalities (JAHEE) as a subcontractor and are working on stakeholder analysis and communication. Our work as part of the new Centre for Global Health Inequalities (CHAIN) also began this year. Our focus will be on bridging research, policy, and practice.

Providing clear, up-to-date information where it’s needed

This year, EuroHealthNet’s twice-yearly magazine was redeveloped, and more translations of articles are now available. It is designed for public health professionals and health promotion experts to share what’s happening in their field, and to see how their areas of work are being addressed in different countries and contexts. The magazine continues to be a popular resource.

Read the latest edition

The launch of a podcast

This year we produced our first podcast. ‘The effects of the gig economy on young people’s mental health’ was created for the EU Alliance for Mental Health – Employment and Work. It looks at how employment is changing, and the risks and benefits for young workers.

Listen online

Easily accessible information online

EuroHealthNet manages three websites, each providing information for different audiences and purposes.
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‍EuroHealthNet.eu hosts all resources produced by EuroHealthNet as well as information about the partnership.

‍Health-Inequalties.eu provides specific information about health inequalities in each Member State, information about financing and European funding to tackle health inequalities – including our support desk for members of the Partnership in search of financial support, and databases of policies, projects, and publications.

‍HealthyAgeing.eu contains resources about active and healthy ageing.

Amplifying the voices of the European health promoting communities

We strengthen the messages, evidence, and action of members of the Partnership at an international level

1,000 lifechanging days

We published a video demonstrating the importance of the first 1,000 days of life for long term health and wellbeing. It describes how early experiences shape development and what actions are needed. It is available for members to use in their national language.

Making news

We produce news releases to inform wide audiences within and outside the public health sphere about important changes and developments for health equity. Between September 2018 and March 2019, 15 news releases were published covering topics such as health and environmental change, the European Semester, the EU budget, and the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Read our news releases

Making a statement

On behalf of the partnership, we issue statements, joint letters, and articles describing EuroHealthNet’s positions on key legislative developments and other matters. Topics covered this year include work/life balance, the EU’s next long-term budget (The Multi-Annual Financial Framework (MFF), financial protection systems, and the need for investment and reforms for sustainable health and care systems.

Read our recent statements

Communication in figures

157,620

Views of EuroHealthNet.eu

15,630

Contacts in our database

4,747

Twitter followers

1,555

Facebook fans

1,676

LinkedIn followers

Funding

EuroHealthNet’s funding comes from three main sources:

member and associate member fees,
a core grant from the EU Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI),
co-funded EU project grants or specific funded work.

We continue to make efforts to increase the share of funding from direct participation. We do not accept funding from for-profit bodies.

In addition to internal financial management and planning, an external accountant prepares the annual financial and balance reports, which are then certified by a separate auditing firm. The General Council approves the financial reports at its annual meeting.
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EuroHealthNet works in a transparent, ethical, and independent way. We have adopted a code of conduct for the organisation and membership, and ethical guidelines for partnership building. Procurement, risk management, and financial rules are set out in the EuroHealthNet ‘How We Work’ document, available on request. We consider and evaluate the environmental impacts of all actions and procurement decisions.

Be part of our network

A sustainable partnership

General Council Meeting 2018