The CrossCare project stimulates, supports and accelerates innovations in healthcare.
CrossCare contributes to the development and implementation of healthcare innovations (products, services, concepts) by providing a healthcare living lab setting. It has a fund to support innovation projects. CrossCare provides an accessible route to realizing healthcare innovation on a larger scale. It is a cross-border project of Interreg Flanders-Netherlands and supports both practically and financially. Because CrossCare has eight care living labs in Flanders and the Netherlands, care innovations can be tested and developed by end users. Research groups Elderly Care and research group New Businessmodels, form one of the eight care living labs in which tests can be carried out by SMEs.
The other care living lab partners are in Flanders: LiCalab/Thomas More Kempen (province of Antwerp), Zorglab Aalst (province of East Flanders), Happy Aging/In4care (provinces of Limburg and Flemish Brabant) and Eerstelijnszone Brugge in cooperation with POM-West-Vlaanderen (province of West Flanders). In the Netherlands these are the partners: Care Innovation Center, Coöperatie Slimmer Leven and Brainport Development (province of Noord-Brabant) and Zuyd Hogeschool/EIZT (province of Limburg).
Care living labs and care innovations
In the first successful CrossCare project (2016-2021), Flemish and Dutch care living labs supported 30 care innovations. On Wednesday, May 17, 2023, Interreg Flanders-Netherlands approved the successor CrossCare 2.0. In the next three years, CrossCare 2.0 will continue along the same path and will again facilitate the development and implementation of innovations in the care and welfare sector.
On the one hand, companies or care organizations that develop innovations can receive financial support from the CrossCare Innovation Fund. This support can amount up to 100,000 euros per organization. On the other hand, care living labs on both sides of the border also support the selected companies or care organizations by demonstrating, testing and evaluating innovations with end users. The care living labs are experts in co-creation and live testing with care users and care professionals in their own living and working environment. They provide that expertise in this project free of charge.
The project receives four million euro European subsidies from Interreg Flanders-Netherlands.
