Every 7 April, World Health Day highlights major global health challenges. In 2026, under the theme “Together for health. Let’s support science” (#StandWithScience), the World Health Organization launches a campaign that goes beyond awareness-raising: a global call to strengthen the role of science and international collaboration as key pillars to protect the health of people, animals, plants and the planet.
This initiative comes at a time of increasing health complexity, where challenges such as chronic diseases, the impact of climate change, zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance require integrated responses. In this context, the “One Health” approach is gaining prominence, emphasising the interdependence between human, environmental and animal health.
This year’s campaign is also marked by two major milestones: the International One Health Summit, promoted by WHO and the French Government within the framework of the G7, and the first WHO Global Forum of Collaborating Centres, bringing together nearly 800 scientific institutions from over 80 countries. Together, these events represent one of the largest global scientific mobilisations around health, highlighting the central role of international cooperation in turning evidence into action.
In Europe, this commitment is reflected in initiatives funded by programmes such as Horizon Europe, where research and innovation are increasingly oriented towards systemic solutions capable of integrating science, technology, public policy and society.
In this context, Kveloce actively participates in European health projects that reflect this very logic: connecting scientific knowledge with real-world implementation, contributing both to the preparation of competitive proposals and to the development and exploitation of results within Cluster 1 (Health) and the Cancer Mission.
From proposal to implementation: a full project lifecycle perspective
One of Kveloce’s distinctive strengths is its involvement across the entire lifecycle of European projects — from proposal design and writing to implementation, exploitation and knowledge transfer.
The projects in which it currently participates illustrate how Europe is addressing health through increasingly integrated approaches, combining technology, data, environment and person-centred care models.
In this context, CO-CAPTAIN promotes an innovative solution based on the patient navigation model, aimed at reducing inequalities in healthcare for people with mental health conditions in Europe. In this project, Kveloce leads communication and dissemination — a key role to ensure that results go beyond the scientific sphere and reach healthcare professionals, policymakers and other stakeholders. This involves not only dissemination, but also structuring messages, aligning them with public policies and facilitating their uptake.
A different but equally relevant approach can be found in K-HealthInAir, which analyses the impact of indoor air quality on health through monitoring campaigns across representative European environments. The project combines the analysis of chemical and biological pollutants with the study of their health effects and sources. In this case, Kveloce leads knowledge exchange, training, social engagement and exploitation strategy activities, ensuring that results are accessible, reusable and sustainable over time.
The urban dimension of health is the focus of the HORUS project, which examines how urban environments influence the development and progression of non-communicable diseases, particularly among vulnerable populations. Through pilots in Valencia, Rijeka and Rotterdam, the project works in real-life settings to analyse and implement interventions that improve the relationship between urban environments and health. Here, Kveloce combines several strategic roles, from communication and dissemination to the development of policy recommendations, helping ensure that results can be scaled up and integrated into urban strategies.
Finally, Palliakid focuses on a particularly sensitive area: paediatric palliative care. The project works on developing new care models, innovative tools and co-design processes involving patients, families and professionals. In this context, Kveloce leads key tasks related to policy recommendations, evidence-based communication standards, innovative business models and solution design in pilot settings, helping to bring innovation into clinical practice.
Established experience in health projects and the Cancer Mission
Kveloce’s current participation in European health projects is not occasional, but the result of a well-established track record in initiatives addressing different health challenges from complementary perspectives, including projects aligned with the Cancer Mission.
One example is CANCERLESS, which developed an innovative intervention aimed at improving access to cancer prevention in Europe by combining the Patient Navigator model with patient empowerment strategies. The goal was to provide a viable alternative to reduce inequalities in access to preventive resources. In this project, Kveloce led communication and dissemination, helping translate scientific evidence into accessible knowledge and strengthen prevention strategies.
From a broader perspective on the social determinants of health, WELLBASED addressed energy poverty as a key factor directly affecting people’s wellbeing. The project designed, implemented and evaluated a comprehensive urban programme across several European cities. Kveloce played a particularly strategic role, leading quality and risk management, as well as exploitation and innovation strategies. It also contributed to cost-effectiveness analysis and explored alternative financing mechanisms, such as Social Impact Bonds, linking health, economics and social innovation.
Meanwhile, VALUECARE focused on improving integrated care models for older people, one of the major challenges for European healthcare systems. The project developed and validated solutions across multiple pilot sites, combining technological innovation with person-centred approaches. Within this framework, Kveloce contributed its expertise in Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), leading co-design activities in seven European pilots, developing legal frameworks for exploitation and standardisation of results, and supporting evaluation, quality management and the Valencia pilot.
Beyond innovation: integrating impact, society and public policy
The experience gained through these projects reflects an increasingly evident reality in the health field: innovation is necessary, but its impact depends on how it is integrated into real and complex contexts.
Understanding how healthcare systems are organised, how patients make decisions, what barriers exist in implementation, and what conditions enable long-term sustainability is just as important as the innovation itself.
In this sense, the social, economic and regulatory dimensions are no longer complementary — they are central to project design.
This is precisely where Kveloce brings a distinctive approach. Its work lies at the intersection of SSH, sustainability and exploitation models, and alignment with public policy, ensuring that solutions are not only scientifically sound but also implementable and scalable.
This approach supports the development of projects that not only generate knowledge but also have the real capacity to transform practices, influence policies and improve people’s quality of life.
Positioning health innovation through strategy
Kveloce’s experience in European health projects goes beyond its participation in consortia. It also includes supporting universities, research centres and other organisations in preparing proposals under Cluster 1 and the Cancer Mission.
In this context, scientific excellence is only the starting point. Successful proposals are those that demonstrate from the outset how that excellence will translate into real impact: how it will be integrated into healthcare systems, what value it will bring to patients and professionals, and under what conditions it will be sustainable and scalable.
Understanding how proposals are evaluated is important, but what truly matters is understanding what makes an idea viable in the European context. This requires working not only on the scientific content, but also on its strategic fit, its social dimension and its alignment with policy priorities.
It is precisely this combination — experience in real projects and deep knowledge of the evaluation process — that enables Kveloce to support the development of strong, coherent proposals with real funding potential.
Health innovation with real impact
World Health Day highlights the importance of continuing to promote innovative solutions that address major health challenges.
The projects in which Kveloce participates demonstrate how it is possible to advance towards models of health innovation that not only generate knowledge but also translate it into tangible impact on healthcare systems, public policy and people’s quality of life.
Because in the field of health, innovation only makes sense when it is implemented. And for that, strategy is just as important as science.
