Policy Forums

Policy Forums are the main opportunity that partners have to work together to identify and reflect on the implications of the learning from workshops. A Policy Forum follows each workshop, so 4 Policy Forums will be held during the operation. These Forums are designed to last 1.5 days. Participants come from each partner region.

The Forum participants are mainly senior policy makers representing the partner and other key organisations within each region. One the first day, they work together in facilitated small groups to identify short and longer-term policy recommendations. The feedback from each group is then drawn together into a draft policy agenda. This agenda is presented on the second day and further work done to refine it and consider how and to who it should be promoted.

If you look under the 'Policy recommendations' tab you will find the Bilbao Agenda on health sector procurement, and the Graz Agenda on capital investment. These are the policy agendas that the Network seeks to promote within partner regions, with the European Commission and with other external stakeholders.

Each agenda contains a number of recommended practical short and longer-term actions. How these are implemented will depend on individual circumstances within each partner region. However, all partners can approach each agenda confident that it reflects good practice across the Network and that it expresses a collective idea of what should be possible to achieve - in strengthening the contribution of regional health systems to regional development.