Belgrade, Serbia, is a dynamic metropolitan area with a population of approximately 1.7 million people, operating within a health system undergoing transition toward more integrated, preventive, and innovation-driven models of care. While healthcare services are largely centralized and traditionally focused on treatment, there is growing recognition of the need to strengthen health promotion, disease prevention, and community-based approaches, particularly in the area of mental health.
In Serbia, Social Prescribing is still at an early stage of development, without a fully formalized system or structured referral pathways. However, there are emerging practices that reflect its core principles, particularly at the intersection of health, culture, and community engagement. Initiatives involving cultural participation, heritage-based activities, nature exposure, and community programs are increasingly recognized for their positive impact on well-being and social inclusion. These efforts provide a strong foundation for the future development and institutionalization of Social Prescribing approaches in the country.
Health Tech Lab, based in Belgrade, is an innovation-driven organization dedicated to advancing health technologies, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and enabling the translation of research into real-world impact. It connects stakeholders across healthcare, academia, startups, research organizations, and public institutions, with a strong focus on developing and scaling solutions that improve access, efficiency, and outcomes in health systems.
Within the Invest4Health project, Health Tech Lab leads a testbed focused on rethinking mental health support through a preventive, community-based, and innovation-driven approach. The testbed addresses key challenges identified through stakeholder engagement, including limited access to early mental health support, stigma, fragmented services, and insufficient integration of prevention into existing systems.
A central component of the testbed is the development of a Mental Health Hub, designed as a safe, inclusive, and user-centred space that integrates health promotion, disease prevention, and innovation development. Initially focused on young people, the concept is scalable and adaptable to broader population groups. The Hub functions both as a service delivery point and as a living lab, enabling the co-creation, testing, and validation of new solutions, tools, and approaches in real-life settings.
The approach is grounded in a holistic, cross-sectoral model of well-being that extends beyond traditional healthcare services. In line with Social Prescribing principles, the Hub connects individuals with non-clinical, community-based interventions. By building on existing practices in Serbia and structuring them within a coordinated framework, the initiative aims to move toward a more formalized and scalable Social Prescribing model.
In parallel, the testbed explores innovative governance and financing mechanisms aligned with the Smart Capacitating Investment approach. This includes the development of new service and subscription models, as well as potential pathways for integrating preventive and holistic services into formal healthcare and insurance systems. The aim is to bridge the gap between informal well-being activities and formal healthcare structures, creating more integrated and sustainable models of care.
Through this work, Health Tech Lab contributes to strengthening the role of prevention, innovation, and community engagement within the Serbian health system. The Mental Health Hub is designed as a scalable and transferable model, supporting the development of citizen-centred, resilient, and future-oriented health systems in Serbia and beyond, while laying the groundwork for the broader adoption of Social Prescribing approaches.
