inDemand Community FAQs

What inDemand is

inDemand is a H2020 project supported by the European Commission (GA number 763735) that proposes a new model where Healthcare organizations and companies co-create Digital Health solutions, with the economic support of public regional funds. The model is developed and tested in three regions (Murcia, Oulu and Paris).

Why is inDemand creating an inDemand Community

inDemand is not simply a project financed for the period September 2017 – September 2020. The objective is to make it sustainable and spread this innovative and co-creative approach to other parts of Europe than in the pilot regions and to apply to other sectors than e-health only.

Who make the inDemand model work?

The model is operated by four types of actors out of whom three should be identified at the beginning of the process. The fourth one is procured.

• Challengers are public entities, health care providers that identify the unmet needs and then co-create the solution with the solvers. They have to be identified right at the beginning.
• Funders are public fund management organisations, managing authorities, usually managing ESIF at regional level. They launch the competitive call to identify the solvers. They have to be identified right at the beginning.
• Supporters are business intermediary organisations, clusters that provide assistance to optimise the business model, access to funding and the commercialisation. They have to be identified right at the beginning.
• Solvers are private ICT companies that offer the solution to the Challenger’s unmet needs and the co-create the solution with the Challenger. They do not have to be identified right at the beginning of the process, their services are procured through the competitive call launched by the Funder.

Steps of the inDemand model

Need identification

Internal consultation in which healthcare professionals within the healthcare provider (Challenger) report those needs (challenges) that could be solved with digital health solutions. Out of all the proposals, each regional committee, integrated by challenger and supporter)  will select 4 main needs in each iteration and report them to Funders.

Call for companies

Regional public Funders launch a call for companies – to finance a maximum of 60% of the project development. During the project lifetime two rounds of call will be implemented in all three regions. Altogether, 8 solutions will be procured in each region.

Solution development and business model optimisation

Solvers together with the public healthcare provider co-create the solutions (8 per region during 3 years). These solutions will be tested and validated.

Supporters provide advice to the ICT companies on the business model optimisation

Benefits of the inDemand model

The demand lead co-creation process ensures that the uptake of the digital solution will be more successful as it serves a real, existing and prioritised need. The model enhances the innovation capacity of the region and contributes to a more efficient use of public funds. This approach fosters the capacity of health entities to systematically identify and solve their needs while creating opportunities for private companies.

The model will be tested in the area of e-health but it will be transferable to other sectors as well.

Scale-up of the inDemand model

The objective is to spread this successfully validated model to other regions in Europe that wish to increase their innovation capacity. The validation process in different environments (urban-rural, densely-sparsely populated areas, high and moderate innovator regions) proves that the model can be adapted to various contexts.

inDemand is looking for 12 interested and committed regions that join the community and will follow the process to organise an identical set of actors (see: Who make the inDemand model work?), make them collaborate and replicate the model.

Expectations towards the Regions integrating the inDemand Community

The interested candidates have to apply to become members of the indemand Community. The selection process will be open to all European regions between April and August 2018. The selected inDemand Community Regions will sign a Terms of reference with the inDemand consortium for the duration of the project (till end-August 2020).

Benefits for the inDemand Community Regions

inDemand Community Regions will benefit from a personalised support how to implement the model in their territories. Since they will take up an already validated model, this will allow them to save time, energy and efforts to avoid failure and risk. Technical online sessions will be organised for Challengers, Funders and Supporters from these 12 regions. A one-day training session will be held in Brussels in 2019 whereby Challengers, Funders and Supporters from these 12 regions will be invited and their travel-accommodation costs will be reimbursed.

inDemand Community Regions will learn how to foster the cooperation between these key actors within the region and will contribute to the innovation capacity building of the health care provider and the whole region itself.