Interim 2013 Annual Report

Report on the last year’s activities for Board Meeting August 25th 2013

This report uses as a baseline the minutes of the Cloughjordan meeting 30.8.12 and the IOW meeting 19.10.12.The aim is to put into context the draft work plan 2014 which was submitted as part of the bid for an Operating Grant to the EC and circulated to the team in late March 2013. It is proposed that that work plan should continue to provide a framework for our activities in 2014 but it needs to be modified in the light of progress that has been made in the intervening months.

The overarching context for our activities is the five elements of the mission of EHFF, namely: (create a) Forum (a network of networks); (use the Forum as a resource for) Knowledge exchange; (promote active employment of) Future tools; (promote through multistakeholder collaboration) Holistic transformation and (create a virtual intergenerational) Innovation Community.

The Operating Grant exercise, although challenging and at times irritating in the detail requested, was very helpful in demanding a focus on the requirements for the operational infrastructure of EHFF as opposed to the tasks it sets out to do. This helped to tease out from the issues minuted in August and October the traditional triad of structure, processes and outcomes.

Structure elements successfully put in place during the year:

1. Constitution (documents mostly posted on website * if not):
   1. mission
   2. membership criteria
   3. articles of association*
   4. draft policy paper on governance and structure (VSM)*
   5. structure of Board as Company limited by guarantee
   6. legal registration with Companies House, UK
   7. transparency and co-operation principles stated on website
   8. minutes of formal Board meetings on website
2. Week to week operational co-ordination:
   1. Minuted regular Skype meetings by Directors
   2. Bank account for Company finalised
3. Active

   and developing main website

4. Manpower issues under review: Directors logging expenses, but no money to be taken until Charity status is completed and funds allow it.
5. Funding sources:
   1. projects (for 2013/4) consultancy for DS with Centre for Workforce
   2. Intelligence on horizon scanning for SANCO Joint Action (max. 7.5K)
   3. first SANCO tender on self-care (just announced) (20K)
   4. still to be determined: second tender on self-care (SANCO) (in development)
   5. SANCO operating grant 2014 (to be determined Oct.’13) – prob. re-bid next
   6. sponsorship from companies – currently still under review, bid to UNICA in preparation
   7. sponsorship from foundations in early stage of discussion

Processes (components overlap – building network, web-portal, brand):

1. Network: by Oct.’12 we had a corpus of 19 individuals who were involved in the project. Only four of these do not currently figure on the website (Community section) but all four remain in touch and interested. There are now 35 pictures and CV’s on the site and current rate of growth is one or two per month. Affiliate status with ESQH and EHMA as specimen EU NGO’s is in process, with other potential partners identified, and equally, early discussions are underway with three international futures organisations (IFTF, WFS and Health 2.0). The relationship with Shaping Tomorrow has been maintained but has developed more slowly than expected.
2. website: the website as well as explaining who we are publicises the growing community, our project activity and presentations, with ample capacity for development. There are now occasional tweets. Its potential as a portal for knowledge exchange is substantial.
3. There have been a limited number of presentations promoting the EHFF brand since Cloughjordan – Utrecht (Nov.’12), London (FAN club, London Feb.’13) and Tallinn (EOQ Conference June ’13). DS has attended other events where EHFF cards have been handed out discriminately (e.g. FAN club, Health 2.0 in London and one or two meetings in Brussels).
4. Promoting the brand through project activity (which also fulfils other aspects of the mission)

EC projects:

1. Having played a central role in January ’13 in bringing together the Consortium that would bid for the forthcoming SANCO tenders on self-care, EHFF was able to utilise its positioning to successfully lead a bid to provide expertise on patient empowerment following a request for offers of commitment to the EIP (European Innovation Partnership) on Active and Healthy Ageing in Feb.’13.The EMPATHIE network as it is now known, was represented by EHFF at the recent meeting of the EIP Integrated Care (B3) group in Brussels in June. EHFF has also led the collection of good practice examples, which was one of the B3 tasks and recently tendered 20+ examples from 8 organisations on behalf of the Consortium.
2. EHFF played a key role in supporting FAD from Barcelona in leading the EMPATHIE bid for the SANCO tender on self-care in chronic diseases. Very recently we learnt that the bid had been successful and will run for roughly 10 months probably from Oct. ’13. Although FAD are the statutory leader and very effective in this role and EHFF only has a consultancy involvement, they have indicated a wish for us to partner them in the activity.
3. There is an informal agreement with CBO that EHFF will act in a similar role to help them lead the bid for a second SANCO tender with a larger and wider remit due to be advertised in the autumn of 2013, to run for two years (probably 2014/5). EHFF is already starting discussions within the Network about pre-planning (prior to the tender call, as before).
4. Through a FAN club meeting DS was invited by Peter Sharp, then CEO of CfWI to become involved in one of the work packages of a major EC Joint Action on work force planning in health. DS attended the launch in Brussels in March and EHFF are now recognised as a Collaborating Partner in this WP (on horizon scanning). Peter also offered DS (as EHFF) a small package of consultancy to CfWI, to pay for travels and to support CfWI. The initial arrangement is a 10 day draw-down contract.

EHFF projects:

1. EVY is pursuing independent funding and is slowly developing. Recent interest in involvement came from Prof. Sakellarides (Inst. of PH, Lisbon) and Dr Peter Patel (GP commissioner) in the UK.
2. Horizon scanning. Discussions with Mike Jackson re the new Shaping Tomorrow site in September are promising and the contract with CfWIthat arises out of the JA on work force planning also provides contact with professional horizon scanners.
3. Educators Advanced Community of practice. SC has worked with others to produce an outline for a webinar hopefully to take place in the early autumn 2013 as a first step in this project.
4. Europe wide Scenario planning exercise. Ostensibly this project is ‘parked’ pro tem, but for example the extensive network of stakeholder contacts being developed for the self-care tender will be invaluable to support this project.

Finally: there a number of other ‘irons in the fire’ which represent potential activity at an early stage (e.g. project on health in Estonia; one on regional good practices in holistic approaches). These will be described in the companion paper which sets the scene for the discussion on next year’s work plan. Outcomes were not specified as they speak for themselves and formal, measurable targets were not set for this year.