The vision of the newly established EU Partnership “Fostering a European Research Area for Health” (ERA4Health) is to foster a European Research Area for health. This EU-funded ERA4Health Partnership aims to establish flexible and effective coordination between funding organisations in the European Research Area (ERA) with the common goal of fostering high-impact translational research for addressing public health needs.
Unhealthy diets and inadequate physical activity exacerbate the risk of poor physical and mental health. Socio-economically disadvantaged groups are particularly affected, leading to further health inequities between social groups. There is a need to understand, predict and ultimately to permanently change citizens’ lifestyle and health behaviours and the circumstances determining these behaviours, not only with respect to the food and built environment for physical activity, but also the family, social, cultural, and local background, as well as digital influences. Following that, targeted innovative strategies leading to long-term behavioural changes need to be developed in order to reduce health inequities.
In this context, 19 funding organisations from 16 countries have agreed to launch a Joint Transnational Call (JTC2023) for collaborative research projects on “Increasing health equity through promoting healthy diets and physical activity (HealthEquity)”. This call contributes to the aims and ambitions of the ERA4health Partnership by addressing European public health needs with the establishment of transnational, collaborative and multi-disciplinary research networks.
Details of this scheme
Proposals should comprise holistic and multi-disciplinary research, that must include several approaches tackling different aspects, such as:
- Mapping the current situation of the vulnerable groups with respect to food and built environment for physical activity;
- Developing and testing innovative interventions/ targeted strategies, that
- may target the food environment and/or the built environment for physical activity and/or
- may address illiteracy by increasing knowledge with respect to food, lifestyle and adequate use of digital media and/or
- may be focussed on different settings, including but not limited to day-care, schools, workspace, retirement homes, neighbourhood, and/or
- may use a life course approach.
- Evaluating existing interventions, e.g. to identify barriers in the implementation;
- Assessing the efficiency of policies and fiscal approaches (e.g. taxes and subsidies) that were implemented to enhance healthy diets and physical activity;
- Expanding the theoretical basis on the systemic barriers to change, e.g. political, economic and/or cultural barriers to increase the effect of interventions.
The research results should have a clear potential to be translated into policy recommendations or actions.
The following types of research projects are excluded for partners funded by the Health Research Board:
- Proposals involving basic biomedical research.
- Research intended to create human embryos solely for the purposes of research or for the purposes of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Who can apply?
This is a joint transnational call: applicants must apply as part of a transnational consortium.
Researchers from Ireland can apply as coordinators or partners. If successful, researchers from Ireland will be funded by the Health Research Board up to the maximum amount for the call. Applicants applying for funding from Ireland must be based at an eligible HRB Host Institution.
Individual country partners/coordinators should confirm eligibility with their national funding organisation contact point.
Main Eligibility Criteria
- A minimum of three eligible and a maximum of five eligible partners from at least three different countries participating in the call.
- The maximum number of eligible partners can be increased up to six or seven if they include one or two partners, respectively, from the following participating, potentially underrepresented countries: Latvia; Lithuania; Slovakia; Türkiye.
- No more than two eligible partners from the same country participating in the call will be accepted within one consortium.
- A maximum of two collaborators per consortium. Collaborators are self-funded partners.
How to apply
Please review HRB’s guidance and FAQs on this page alongside the core call text for full details of the aim, objectives and scope of the call: https://era4health.eu/healthequity-2023/ .
The European Commission’s partner search tool can be used to identify potential partners.
Apply for this award
There will be a one-stage application procedure for joined applications. One joint proposal document (in English) shall be prepared by the partners and must be submitted by the Coordinator via the electronic submission system.
Contact us
For general information, please contact the Joint Call Secretariat (JCS):
DLR Project Management Agency, Germany
Dr Felicitas Bosen and Dr Ann Siehoff
Email: era4health(at)dlr.de
For country-specific information for Irish Partners, please contact the HRB, Ireland:
Dr Siobhán Hackett
Email: eujointprogrammes(at)hrb.ie