The European Innovation Partnership is the European Commission's answer to the challenge of developing innovative ways of improving the quality of life for our ageing population, and enabling people to stay active longer. To this end, our aim is to harness continuously evolving technology for practical applications in people's daily lives. Our ultimate objective is a set of applications that will lead by example.
The Partnership brings together all key players across the health and care sector, including researchers, businesses, policy makers, organizations, and end users who have the knowledge and drive for innovation in three thematic areas:
- care and cure
- prevention, screening and early diagnosis
- independent living and ageing.
In this undertaking, which is an innovation itself, the partners involved offer their capacity to make the Partnership a success. The Steering Group, assembling 33 high level representatives, is the Partnership's governing body. The group is
co-chaired by the Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy and the Commissioner for the Digital Agenda.
The Partnership's primary objectives is to increase by two years, between now and 2020, the average healthy life-span of Europeans and pursue a triple win that will benefit older people, social care systems and EU industry through new markets and business opportunities.
In the European Commission, we are confident that in 2012, which will be the Year of Active Ageing, we will be able to launch the implementation phase of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. It will be the beginning of a new era which will hopefully bring real, practical, innovative solutions to improve our citizens' lives.
