Final Conference
MOBILISING NEW FINANCIAL APPROACHES FOR EQUITABLE HEALTH AND WELLBEING
28 May 2026 (08.30h-17.15h)
Venue: Brussels, European Committee of the Regions
How can we finance prevention, equity, and wellbeing in a sustainable way?
We are pleased to invite you to the final event of the Invest4Health Horizon Europe project:
“Mobilising New Financial Approaches for Equitable Health and Wellbeing”
28 May 2026 | 09:00–17:15
Brussels, European Committee of the Regions
European health systems are under growing pressure, so investing in prevention is no longer optional, but it’s essential.
The Invest4Health project, funded by Horizon Europe, addresses this challenge through Smart Capacitating Investment (SCI), an approach that reframes prevention as a long-term social and economic investment. By combining financial and non-financial resources, SCI strengthens communities, tackles the social determinants of health, and helps reduce inequalities.
Over the past three years, the project has:
- Designed and tested innovative financing models across European regions
- Explored outcome-based and blended funding approaches
- Strengthened cross-sector collaboration
- Generated evidence to support real-world implementation and scaling
This final event marks a key transition from project results to practical uptake.
Who should attend?
Policymakers, investors, researchers, public health professionals, and practitioners working across health, social care, and related sectors. The event is also highly relevant for regional authorities, innovation hubs, and organisations focused on health promotion and disease prevention.
Programme highlights:
- Keynote speeches and expert panels
- Insights from regional testbeds
- Discussions on scaling innovative investment approaches
- Networking reception
We are honoured to welcome keynote speakers from the World Health Organization, EuroHealthNet, and Invest-NL, alongside a diverse group of leading European experts.
Join us in Brussels and be part of shaping the future of health financing in Europe, moving from short-term costs to long-term investment in health.
PROGRAMME
08:30 – 09:00 | REGISTRATION, WELCOME COFFEE (ROOM JDE51)
SESSION 1 – PLENARY (ROOM JDE51)
WELCOME AND KEYNOTE SPEECHES – SETTING THE CONTEXT
09:00 – 09:20 | WELCOME SPEECHES | From a Horizon Europe project to action: Mobilising Invest4Health – What our consortium built, why it matters, and what comes next
09:20 – 09:40 | KEYNOTE SPEECH | Why act now? Turning the prevention investment gap into an opportunity for equity and sustainability
09:40 – 10:00 | KEYNOTE SPEECH | Leveraging private capital for accelerating prevention
10:00 – 10:20 | KEYNOTE SPEECH | Unlocking public and private funding for investment in health promotion and well-being
10:20 – 10:30 | Q&A | Questions and discussion
10:30 – 11:00 | COFFEE BREAK | NETWORKING
SESSION 2 – PLENARY (ROOM JDE51)
FROM PILOTS TO UPTAKE
11:00 – 11:15 | PRESENTATION | Smart capacitating investment: models, motivations, success factors
11:15 – 11:30 | PRESENTATION | What would draw banks into financing health impact? Investability and the management of risks
11:30 – 12:30 | PLENARY PANEL DISCUSSION | From pilots to uptake: financing and governance models for prevention, health promotion and equity
12:30 – 13:15 | LUNCH | NETWORKING
SESSION 3 – AFTERNOON PARALLEL SESSIONS (A)
A1) TESTBED EXPERIENCES – SMART CAPACITATING INVESTMENT IN PRACTICE (ROOM JDE51)
13:15 – 13:30 | INTRODUCTORY PRESENTATION | Framing the evidence from the regional testbeds
13:30 – 14:30 | ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION | Collective learning from testbeds through short stories and examples
A2) UNDER CONSTRUCTION – PAVING THE PATH FOR UPSTREAM HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE (ROOM JDE53)
13:15 – 14:30 | INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP | Scaling SCI: From tools to implementation
14:30 – 15:00 | COFFEE BREAK | NETWORKING
SESSION 4 – AFTERNOON PARALLEL SESSIONS (B)
COMMITMENT AND NEXT STEPS
B1) POLICY CONSIDERATIONS OF INTRODUCING INNOVATIVE INVESTMENTS (ROOM JDE51)
15:00 – 16:00 | PANEL DISCUSSION | Mainstreaming health promotion investment: what should policy look like?
B2) DELIVERING SCI THROUGH SOCIAL FRANCHISING: A TRANSFERABLE CONCEPT (ROOM JDE53)
15:00 – 16:00 | INTERACTIVE WORKSHOP | Delivering Smart Capacitating Investment through Social Franchising: Scaling health promotion across Europe
SESSION 5 – FINAL PLENARY (ROOM JDE51)
16:00 – 16:15 | CLOSING REMARKS
RECEPTION
16:15 – 17:15 | NETWORKING
17:15 | CLOSURE
SPEAKERS, PANEL MEMBERS
Click here for the detailed programme
Guest speakers and external contributors
Alain Coheur – Member, European Economic and Social Committee; Director of European and International Affairs, Solidaris
Cornel Riscanu – Project Officer, European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA)
Graham Randles – Consultant – Well-being Economy, WHO European Office for Investment for Health and Development (keynote speaker)
Pascal Lardier – Co-organiser, éditoHealth and Radical Health Festival
Stanleyson Hato – Team Lead, Life Sciences & Health Business Development, Invest-NL (keynote speaker)
Ushma Issar – Co-Founder and CEO, Rypple
Invest4Health consortium speakers and contributors
Alison Massen – Programme Manager, EuroHealthNet
Anant Jani – Senior Research Fellow, University of Heidelberg
Apostolos Tsiachristas – Associate Professor in Health Economics, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences & Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford
Balázs Babarczy – Senior Research Associate, Syreon Research Institute
Balázs Nagy – Senior Research Associate, Syreon Research Institute
Bengt Stavenow – Senior Innovation Manager, Innovation Skåne
Caroline Costongs – Director, EuroHealthNet (keynote speaker)
David Evers – Project Manager, FIR an der RWTH Aachen; North Rhine-Westphalia testbed representative
Elena Stebbings – Trainee Clinical Scientist, Hywel Dda University Health Board; West Wales testbed representative
Jolanda Van Vliet – Invest4Health Project Manager; Senior Innovation Manager, Innovation Skåne; Region Skåne testbed representative
Joanna Lane – Managing Director, Stichting Health ClusterNet (SHCN); Chairperson, FHEF; Professor, USN; Advisory Board Co-Chair, THCS Partnership
José María Romero Fidalgo – Director, Health Development and Innovation Area – ACIS; Galicia testbed representative
Lars Münter – Invest4Health Citizen Patient Advisory Group representative, Nordic Wellbeing Academy
Lina Papartyte – Project Coordinator, EuroHealthNet
Maureen Rutten-van Mölken – Professor of Economic Evaluation of Innovations for Health, Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management
Petra Vogt – Medical & Strategic Advisor, I4H Project Coordinator, Region Skåne
Rhiannon Tudor Edwards – Professor of Health Economics; Co-Director, Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation, Bangor University
Jacob Davies, Research Officer, Health Economics at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation (CHEME), Bangor University
Shabs Rajasekharan – Senior Associate, IESE Centre for Research in Healthcare Innovation Management
Shirin Bartholdsson – Innovation and Process Leader, RISE, Social & Health Impact Centre
Stephen Wright – Independent Economic Consultant; Research Associate, Stichting Health ClusterNet
Theologos Xenakis – EU Project Manager, Norway Health Tech
Vidya Oruganti – Associate Professor in Digital Business, SNF Centre for Applied Research, NHH Norwegian School of Economics

The content of the meeting is the sole responsibility of the organisers and does not reflect the views of the Committee of the Regions.