In response to the long-standing problems of reactive healthcare funding, made worse by economic crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and ageing populations, I4H offers a new approach: treating health, especially prevention, as a smart, long-term investment rather than just a cost.
Smart Capacitating Investments
At the heart of this vision is Smart Capacitating Investment (SCI). Through SCI, the project is:
- Designing long-term, outcome-focused investment strategies
- Strengthening local capacity to test and scale innovative financing models
- Engaging stakeholders across public, private, and civil society sectors
- Involving citizens and patients to ensure meaningful, trusted solutions
SCI is more than just a financial model. It introduces co-governance frameworks to make stakeholder engagement part of how decisions are made. Citizens and patients are involved not only as beneficiaries but as actors in shaping priorities and identifying what works. We also apply a social franchising approach, designed to scale successful models and bring impact to more regions.
Through collaboration with public administrations, healthcare providers, investors, communities, and the general public, the I4H testbeds are co-developing real-life, scalable financial and business models. The goal is to unlock new funding pathways for health promotion and prevention that generate long-term social and economic value while addressing local needs.
Four new regions joined Invest4Health
Following a successful Open Call that closed in March 2025, we welcomed four new regional testbeds to the I4H project: (i) Lazio, Italy – Istituto Superiore di Sanità, (ii) Lisbon, Portugal – National School of Public Health, NOVA University Lisbon, (iii) Belgrade, Serbia – Health Tech Lab, and (iv) Jönköping, Sweden – Region of Jönköping County.
These new testbeds will have a unique opportunity to apply and tailor SCI thinking within the project timeframe, a phase that typically comes only after a project ends. They will collaborate closely with the consortium, including existing testbeds in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), Galicia (Spain), Skåne (Sweden), and West Wales (UK), expanding our shared learning and real-world experimentation.
Competence Building Programme: What has happened so far
To support the new regions, Invest4Health launched its Competence Building Programme, which is an eight-session, structured learning journey that helps testbeds understand and apply SCI in their own contexts. Coordinated by IESE Business School, this programme blends interactive workshops, peer exchange, and practical tools.
The first session, held in May 2025, introduced the fundamentals of SCI and the project’s shared goals. Since then, testbeds have participated in a series of focused sessions covering:
- Problem definition using the “Problem Tree” method to explore root causes of local health challenges
- Stakeholder mapping, to identify key actors by influence, interest, and existing relationships
- Value proposition design, helping teams clarify the benefits their initiatives offer to different stakeholders
- Engagement strategies, including trust-building and co-creation approaches
Through group discussions, collaborative tasks, and independent follow-up work, the new testbeds have begun developing their local SCI ideas with increasing clarity and depth. They’ve explored practical questions like:
- Are we solving the right problem?
- Who are the key stakeholders we need to engage, and why?
- What quick wins or existing entry points can we build on?
- How do we make our value visible to policymakers and investors?
This foundational work helps to prepare for the next chapters in the training journey.
Next steps
After the summer break, the Competence Building Programme continues with sessions focused on:
- Linking outcomes to resources
- Identifying relevant metrics and measuring results
- Exploring investment pathways and financing tools
- Designing sustainable business and delivery models
Each testbed will complete the programme with a clear understanding of the local context and explore opportunities for Smart Capacitating Investments (SCI). These will be grounded in real-world challenges and shaped by the input of key stakeholders, laying the groundwork for future implementation.
As these regions deepen their work and test what’s possible, we’ll continue to share their learning and challenges.
