Lander Vermeerbergen, scientific coordinator, co-supervisor and project partner, together with Patrick Vermeulen, project partner, is committed to innovation within long-term care in the FutureCare project. This project focuses on developing innovative solutions for the care sector, which is facing staff shortages and a growing demand for care. It looks for ways to bring out best practices and success factors and create space for new collaborations. After six provincial explorations, FutureCare organised its first symposium this week. Among other things, it mapped which innovative projects already exist and which prototypes are promising for the future. These culminated in a conference on 16, 17 and 18 June in Leuven. The conferences are a starting shot for a plan of approach for intersectoral innovation that should result in concrete projects in the coming year.
FutureCare targets innovation space for new care models and collaboration in long-term care
Intersectoral collaboration and innovation
Lander Vermeerbergen: "Our healthcare landscape is sectorally divided. Each sector has its own group of users and performs its own tasks, such as residential care centres and organisations for people with disabilities. Because of the ageing population, more and more people need support for different conditions and in different areas of life. Due to the sectoral division, they sometimes fall between the cracks and do not get the optimal care and support. Intersectoral cooperation and innovation is needed to ensure that we do not leave people behind with complex conditions. FutureCare focuses on innovative pilots who will work together more across care sectors."
Role of Flemish government
The Flemish Minister for Welfare, Public Health and Family, Caroline Gennez, also attended the symposium this week. "We are currently investigating in the FutureCare trajectory what the role of the Flemish government should be to facilitate innovation in long-term care. We now want to make sure in particular that there are opportunities for new ways of working together and that we provide a regulatory framework for this. We will specifically focus on an innovation space where organisations that want to collaborate in a rule-free environment can really experiment."
For the scientific support, substantive and process guidance and practical implementation of FutureCare, an interdisciplinary consortium has been appointed. This involves all Flemish universities, Odisee Hogeschool and two Dutch partners (Radboud Universiteit and Maastricht University). KU Leuven is the consortium's penholder.
Contact information
- Contact
- Dr L.J.G. Vermeerbergen (Lander)
- Organizational unit
- Nijmegen School of Management, Institute for Management Research, Business Administration
- About person
- Dr L.J.G. Vermeerbergen (Lander) , Prof. P.A.M. Vermeulen (Patrick)