News – Evolve2Care

Two training programs, one goal — Your feedback matters

Over the past months, EVOLVE2CARE has successfully wrapped up two insightful six-part training programs — one for HealthTech Innovators & Researchers, led by Anthology Ventures, and one for Living Labs, guided by ENoLL.

Across twelve sessions, we saw great participation, masterful speakers, and lively discussions that turned every meeting into a space for shared learning and collaboration. Together, we explored how innovation can move more quickly from the Living Labs to the market and how Living Labs can play a stronger role in supporting that journey.

Now, it’s your turn to assess the experience.

We invite all participants to share their feedback through our short questionnaires. Your insights will help us refine and improve future initiatives.

If you attended at least four out of six sessions, keep an eye on your inbox: your Certificate of Participation is coming soon!

The EVOLVE2CARE Open Call is still open! Take the next step and put what you have learned into practice; innovators and Living Labs are supported to collaborate and test a HealthTech solution in real-world conditions. Apply now: https://evolve2care.eu/open-call/

EVOLVE2CARE Open Call deadline extended to 6 November 2025

In response to the strong interest generated by the EVOLVE2CARE Open Call for HealthTech Innovators and Living Labs, the project is pleased to announce an extension of the submission deadline to 6 November 2025 (17:00 Brussels Time).

The extension offers additional time for HealthTech stakeholders, researchers, SMEs, and innovators to prepare and submit their proposals. It’s a unique opportunity to collaborate with Health and Wellbeing Living Labs across Europe and accelerate innovation in the Transitional Care sector.

Through the Open Call, (up to) ten selected innovators will receive Living Lab services valued at up to €5,000, including co-creation, user engagement, product validation, and access to data and infrastructure. This support will enable innovators to test and refine their solutions in real-world environments before market launch.

The EVOLVE2CARE project team encourages all interested parties to take advantage of this extended timeline and submit their proposals by the new deadline of 6 November 2025.

For more information and to apply, visit: https://evolve2care.eu/open-call
For questions, contact us at: helpdesk@evolve2care.eu

deadline extentsion Open Call

EVOLVE2CARE at Open Living Lab Days 2025

EVOLVE2CARE proudly participated in Open Living Lab Days 2025, the flagship annual event of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), held in Andorra la Vella from September 30 to October 3, 2025. This year’s edition embraced a unique concept—transforming an entire country into a Living Lab—making Andorra a dynamic testing ground for innovation.

Under the theme “Living Labs for Regenerative Futures: Connecting Local and Global Innovation Ecosystems,” the event brought together Living Lab professionals, public officials, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, academics, and innovators from around the world. Discussions focused on how Living Labs can go beyond sustainability to regenerate ecological, social, and economic systems actively.

EVOLVE2CARE had a strong and impactful presence, represented by key members from ENoLL and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH):

Marta I. De Los Rios White and Francesca Sperandio (ENoLL), who contributed to the organization and networking activities.
Evdokimos Konstantinidis, Project Coordinator of EVOLVE2CARE and Vice Chair of ENoLL (AUTH), presented the research paper “Optimizing Data Collection Planning for Living Labs’ Access and Effectiveness”.
Despoina Petsani, Project Mission Coordinator (AUTH) of EVOLVE2CARE, who presented the paper “Defining the Role of Living Labs to Clinical Research: Initial Findings for Framework Development.”
EVOLVE2CARE members supported the session “Bridging the Gap Between Living Labs and Companies: Towards a Stronger Collaboration Relationship.”

In addition, EVOLVE2CARE was featured at the ENoLL Valorisation Booth, showcasing its mission to accelerate HealthTech innovation through experimentation and collaboration between Living Labs and innovators. Our active participation reflects EVOLVE2CARE’s commitment to fostering collaboration between Living Labs and health innovation ecosystems, paving the way for solutions that regenerate and thrive.

Andorra event Living Labs OLLDs

EVOLVE2CARE at InnoHealth Forum 2025

On September 26–27, 2025, EVOLVE2CARE proudly participated in the InnoHealth Forum 2025, a dynamic two-day hybrid event held at JOIST Innovation Park in Larissa, Greece, and online. The forum brought together HealthTech innovators, startups, researchers, and policymakers to explore the future of health innovation in Europe.

EVOLVE2CARE was represented by AUTH and ViLabs, with active participation from Dr. Evdokimos Konstantinidis, Project Coordinator (AUTH Medical Physics & Digital Innovation Lab), Konstantina Tsimpita, and Anastasia Valtopoulou, both Research Associates at Medical Physics & Digital Innovation Lab, and Valia Giannakoudi, Junior Communications Manager at ViLabs.

Throughout the event, the EVOLVE2CARE team engaged directly with stakeholders in the matchmaking room, spreading the word about the EVOLVE2CARE Open Call and its unique opportunities for HealthTech innovators. Visitors to the EVOLVE2CARE stand learned how the project connects startups, SMEs, and research teams with Living Labs across Europe to co-create and test solutions in real-world environments.

A highlight of the forum was the panel discussion “Data-Driven Health | AI, Big Data & Decision Support”, held on Saturday, September 27, where Dr. Evdokimos Konstantinidis shared insights on how data and AI are transforming healthcare decision-making. His talk emphasized the importance of open, co-creative ecosystems in enabling impactful innovation in Transitional Care.

EVOLVE2CARE also shared the spotlight with its sister project, RAISE Science, highlighting their joint commitment to advancing inclusive, data-driven innovation in the HealthTech ecosystem.

event forum Greece InnoHealth Larissa

EVOLVE2CARE at TOGETHER4HEALTH 2025 in Denmark

From 16–18 September 2025, EVOLVE2CARE was proudly represented at TOGETHER4HEALTH 2025, a high-impact European event held in Denmark, dedicated to transforming and integrating healthcare systems across sectors. Hosted by the North Denmark Region in partnership with Aalborg University Hospital, the conference brought together health innovation stakeholders from across Europe and beyond to exchange knowledge, foster dialogue, and co-create solutions for a more connected and patient-centric healthcare future.

Adriane Thrash from Anthology Ventures (AV) participated actively in the event, engaging with healthcare professionals, policymakers, innovators, and researchers. Through targeted discussions and networking, she promoted the EVOLVE2CARE Open Call, emphasizing the project’s mission to accelerate HealthTech innovation by connecting startups and researchers with Living Labs across Europe.

Throughout the conference, several key themes emerged:

Northern Denmark region is investing heavily in digital healthcare, using a quadruple-helix model to build leadership in bio and life sciences.
Scandinavian citizens maintain high trust in their healthcare systems, but more must be done to remote communities across Europe.
Patient involvement in designing healthcare services is still limited and needs to be prioritized.
Imbalances in national health systems continue to hinder innovation from scaling across the EU.
Regulatory frameworks like EHDS and AI Act are complex and challenging for innovators; clearer pathways and accessible tools are needed.
Digital technologies such as robot caregivers are ready, but societal readiness lags behind—Asia is already ahead in integration.
Greater reliance on digital solutions risks alienating at-risk populations. Human-in-the-Loop (HitL) care models are multi-dimensional and offer benefits that go beyond what technology can easily measure. For example, group-living environments that encourage social interaction can lead to outcomes—like preventing dehydration—that surpass the effectiveness of digital tools such as “remember to drink your water” apps.

EVOLVE2CARE’s participation in TOGETHER4HEALTH 2025 reinforced the project’s commitment to building bridges between sectors and countries, and to shaping the future of healthcare through collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity.

Anthology Ventures Conference Denmark participation

Measuring impact & Evaluating success: A recap of the final training session for Living Labs

The sixth and final webinar of the EVOLVE2CARE Training Series for Living Labs took place on 19 September 2025, with a focus on measuring impact and scaling pilots. This session, titled “Measuring Impact & Evaluating Success”, was led by Prof. Dr. Dimitri Schuurman, Senior Research Strategist at the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL).

Key takeaways from the session

Understanding Living Lab characteristics

Prof. Schuurman emphasized the core elements that define a Living Lab, which include:

Multi-stakeholder: Living Labs engage a diverse group of stakeholders, including researchers, businesses, governments, and end-users. This broad collaboration ensures that innovation is inclusive and relevant to all parties involved.
Active user involvement: Ensuring the continuous feedback of users throughout the innovation process, from idea generation to final implementation.
Orchestration: Orchestration refers to the strategic coordination of all actors in the Living Lab. By aligning the interests and expertise of different stakeholders, Living Labs facilitate effective collaboration and drive the innovation process forward.
Co-Creation: Involving all relevant stakeholders in the design and development processes.
Real-Life Setting: Unlike traditional laboratories, Living Labs test solutions in real environments, which increases the relevance and applicability of the results.
Multi-Method Approach: Each Living Lab adapts its methods based on the problem and stakeholders involved, blending exploratory and confirmatory approaches.

Impact Models and Measuring Outcomes

One of the central frameworks discussed during the session was the Impact Model. This model is essential for understanding how to track the effectiveness of Living Labs over time. It incorporates the Theory of Change, which categorizes results into:

Input: Resources and efforts that go into the project.
Process: The activities and interactions that drive the project forward.
Output (Short-Term): Direct deliverables and tangible results produced immediately after implementation.
Outcome (Medium-Term): The effects of those outputs on the targeted stakeholders or systems.
Impact (Long-Term): The ultimate, lasting change or influence of the project, contributing to broader societal goals.

This model helps Living Labs track not just the immediate outputs, but also the long-term impacts, offering a roadmap for continuous improvement.

Living Lab Assessment Method

To effectively evaluate the impact of Living Lab projects, the Living Lab Assessment Method was introduced. It is designed to measure the effectiveness across six key areas:

Skill Capacity Enhancement
Instrumental Capacity Enhancement
Network Capacity Enhancement
Knowledge Capacity Enhancement
Agenda Setting
Real Solution Generation

These indicators are critical for understanding how well a Living Lab is contributing to innovation and systemic change in its targeted sector.
A heartfelt thank you to all participants who joined us for the six-part EVOLVE2CARE Training Program for Living Labs led by ENoLL from June to September 2025. Your engagement and contributions made this series a great success. In the coming weeks, all the session recordings will be made available at the ENoLL Living Labbers Academy, so you can revisit the valuable insights shared throughout the program. We look forward to continuing the journey of innovation with you!

evaluation impact Living Labs session training webinar

Measuring impact & scaling pilots — Highlights from the last session for Innovators & Researchers

The final session of the EVOLVE2CARE Training Series for HealthTech Innovators and Researchers was held on 19 September 2025, bringing the six-part journey to a close with a focus on how to measure meaningful outcomes and scale innovation with purpose. The session, titled “Measuring Impact & Scaling Pilots — Driving Evidence-Based Growth in Living Labs,” was led by Despoina Petsani, Project Manager at ThessAHALL – Thessaloniki Action for HeAlth & Wellbeing Living Lab.

Drawing from practical experience and Living Lab methodology, the session guided participants through the mindset and tools needed to move from small-scale pilot projects to real, system-level change.

From activities to outcomes

Despoina Petsani opened with a key challenge in innovation evaluation: many projects focus on reporting what they did (outputs), rather than what they achieved (outcomes). For example, counting users reached is not the same as understanding whether user behavior or well-being improved. To build real impact, innovators must start with clear goals and plan for measurable change from the beginning.

Planning for impact from day one

Participants were encouraged to define 2–3 priority outcomes before launching a pilot. These should be tied to the needs of users and stakeholders. The use of SMART indicators—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—was recommended to track progress clearly and objectively.

How to evaluate a pilot

Effective evaluation goes beyond proving that something worked. It explores how, why, and for whom it worked. Despoina presented a step-by-step evaluation framework that includes:

Defining pilot objectives (What are you trying to learn or prove?)
Set evaluation questions (e.g., Does this tool improve patient engagement in rural clinics?
Set evaluation questions (Who are your users? Where and how long will the pilot run?)
Set evaluation questions (Understand the “before” to measure the “after”)
Ethics and Privacy (Data protection, informed consent – especially in health and education sectors)

A mixed-methods approach was strongly recommended, blending quantitative and qualitative tools to provide both scale and depth.

Scaling pilots responsibly

Scaling isn’t simply about growing bigger—it’s about expanding what works, in ways that fit new contexts. Before scaling, a solution should show strong user feedback, positive outcomes, operational readiness, and a clear value proposition.

Three paths to scale were introduced:

Replication – Apply the same model in a similar setting – High control, but limited adaptability
Adaptation – Tailor to different user needs/settings – Maintain core principles, flex where needed
Dissemination – Spread knowledge, frameworks, and tools – Enable others to replicate/adapt independently
The instructor also emphasized the importance of partnerships, technology infrastructure, business model and policy and systems alignment.

Final reflections

The session closed with a strong message: evidence is essential for impact. It builds trust, informs decisions, and enables scale. Living Labs and innovators must embed evaluation early and treat it not just as a reporting tool, but as a driver of learning and growth.

evidence impact sesssion training

What makes a Living Lab official? Highlights from the 5th webinar

On September 10, 2025, the EVOLVE2CARE Training Series for Living Labs continued with its fifth session, focusing on one of the most defining aspects of Living Labs: certification and standardization. Delivered by Gabriella Quaranta and Alessandra Tricarico of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), the session unpacked not only the why of certification, but also the how—from evaluation frameworks and tools, to good practices and lessons learned.

Why certification matters

As Gabriella Quaranta explained, ENoLL certification for Living Labs is widely regarded as a global standard for user-driven innovation, reflecting a structural and methodological assessment of their maturity as an innovation ecosystem.

Harmonization: What is it?

A central theme of the session was harmonization. Gabriella Quaranta highlighted that ENoLL has developed a structured and comprehensive system to assess the maturity, sustainability, and impact of Living Labs. By harmonizing evaluations, ENoLL ensures consistency and quality assurance, while also providing guidance for improvement, enabling global collaboration, transparency, and accountability, and strengthening long-term sustainability.

This harmonized evaluation framework is built around six evaluation chapters, covering:

Strategy: Examines macro-level issues such as multi-stakeholder participation, the orchestration role of the Living Lab, collaboration strategies, and its overall business model.
Users & reality: Looks at collaboration with users, levels of engagement, and participation, with emphasis on iterative processes in real-life contexts and the correct use of tools and methods.
Operations: Evaluates how a Living Lab manages its operations, including infrastructure, equipment, and human resources.
Openness: Reviews the openness of processes, partnerships, and projects, as well as practices for feedback and intellectual property protection.
Value & Impact: Focuses on the development of co-created values and the identification of impact clusters generated by the Living Lab for its stakeholders.
Stability & Scale-up: Assesses financial and organizational stability, long-term sustainability, and the replication of strategies and practices across ecosystems.

Together, these chapters translate into 15 evaluation criteria, forming the backbone of certification.

Tools for Evaluation: Self-assessment and qualitative application

Certification is supported by two complementary tools, as Alessandra Tricarico pointed:

Self-Assessment Tool: A quantitative instrument that allows Livin Labs to assess their maturity and sustainability and following that gives them a customized evaluation report.

Qualitative Application Form: A narrative-based tool where applicants describe governance structures, business plans, internal and external communication, human resources, projects, available equipment and infrastructure, innovation partnerships and processes, and ownership of results. It is limited to 20 pages (plus annexes) and allows supplementary materials. Here, evaluators look not only at facts but also at the story of the Living Lab’s vision and practice.

By combining these two, certification captures both hard data and contextual insights, ensuring fairness, depth, and comparability.

Tips & good practices

To help applicants succeed, the speakers shared practical advice drawn from years of experience evaluating Living Labs:

Spend enough time preparing a proper assessment and compiling all supporting material.
Start working in advance, avoiding last-minute submissions.
In the qualitative application form, answer each question, keep responses to one page (excluding visuals), and ensure all documents are in English.
Provide a clear explanation of governance structures.
Prepare a business plan that transparently presents future strategies.
Detail human resources, specifying who is involved, in what roles, and with what expertise.
Describe equipment and infrastructure, emphasizing availability and access.
Highlight collaboration strategies, showing how diverse stakeholders are engaged beyond single-project contexts.

These tips underscored the importance of thoroughness, clarity, and forward-looking planning in the application process

What’s next?

The EVOLVE2CARE Training Series will conclude with its final webinar: “Measuring Impact & Evaluating Success” on September 24, 2025, at 15:00 CEST. This closing session will guide participants in defining key performance indicators (KPIs), assessing service design, and measuring the broader impact of Living Lab activities.

certification Living Labs standardization training webinar

Accelup in focus | Interview with the Project Coordination team of EVOLVE2CARE

As the EVOLVE2CARE Open Call continues to welcome applications from HealthTech innovators across Europe in order to matchmaking with Health and Wellbeing Living Labs and test their digital HealthTech solutions, one platform stands at the heart of the collaboration process: Accelup. Designed to streamline matchmaking, Accelup ensures that project proposals meet the right expertise, infrastructure, and support. In this interview, Evdokimos Konstantinidis, Project Coordinator, and Despoina Petsani, Project Mission Coordinator, share how Accelup works, what makes it unique, and why it’s a key enabler for co-creation and real-world validation in the EVOLVE2CARE ecosystem.

Read on to discover how Accelup is shaping collaboration in EVOLVE2CARE:

1. What is the Accelup platform, and how does it help innovators and Living Labs collaborate more effectively?

The Accelup platform is a digital matchmaking platform designed to connect innovators with Living Lab infrastructures. The platform offers the possibility for the innovator to upload a specific project specifying the services that would be required for its completion. For the design of the platform, a continuous assessment of stakeholder needs, existing tools and frameworks has been conducted, ensuring improved efficiency for the collaboration of the two parties.

2. How is it used within the EVOLVE2CARE project?

Within the EVOLVE2CARE project, the primary objective is to facilitate matchmaking between Health Tech companies and Living Labs. Rather than requiring innovators to independently identify a suitable Living Lab, Accelup facilitates improved communication and ensures that the matching process is streamlined, thereby relieving innovators of the need to undertake this task on their own. Therefore, it is designed to bring users with diverse research on demand needs together with Living Labs to co-develop, validate, and test innovative HealthTech solutions in real-life conditions.

3. Please give us a simple overview of how Accelup works.
Accelup enables innovators to create projects by submitting key details such as title, description, services required, budget range, and bid. ENoLL Certified Living Labs can then browse these projects, review the information provided, and submit bids with the required amount to perform the project, creating a structured and transparent matchmaking process.

4. Are there other platforms that aim to connect innovators with Living Labs? If so, what makes Accelup stand out in this space?

Yes, there are some other matchmaking tools that can be used in a similar way as Accelup. Such tools involve both digital and methodological approaches that facilitate the matchmaking process. However, Accelup’s mission is to enable transparent and effective matchmaking between innovators and Living Labs. Accelup is the only platform that gives the opportunity to innovators to get in contact with ENoLL Certified Living Labs that can facilitate their work. ENoLL certification provides a quality seal so that the innovators know that they will receive high-quality Living Lab services.

5. And finally, how is Accelup currently supporting the EVOLVE2CARE Open Call?

Accelup is the main form of connection of the two parties, with the innovator being given the opportunity to select a desired Living Lab. EVOLVE2CARE supports the collaboration by providing €5,000 to the selected Living Lab to perform the work that the innovator requested.

Ready to take the next step?

If you’re a HealthTech innovator looking to validate your solution or a Living Lab eager to collaborate on cutting-edge projects, join the EVOLVE2CARE Open Call and experience the power of Accelup matchmaking.

Accelup coordination interview team

How HealthTech innovators can fundraise with confidence

The fifth session of the EVOLVE2CARE Training Series for HealthTech Innovators and Researchers took place on 4 September 2025, delivering a deep and practical dive into the realities of startup fundraising. Led by Adriane Thrash, the session “Fundraising & Pitching: An Investor’s Guide” offered a no-nonsense guide to what investors actually look for—and how innovators can meet those expectations with clarity, strategy, and confidence.

One of the core themes of the session was understanding the different types of investors and what each brings to the table. Adriane Thrash broke down the key categories:

Angel Investors: Often the first to believe in a startup, angel investors typically invest at early stages. They are usually more flexible and founder-friendly but offer limited capital and may not always bring sector-specific expertise.
Venture Capitalists (VCs): VCs look for high-growth potential and scalability. They expect aggressive expansion, clear exit strategies, and strong returns. Their involvement often comes with structured oversight and performance expectations.
Corporate Investors: These investors seek strategic alignment with their own business goals. They may offer more than capital—such as access to distribution channels, technical resources, or regulatory support—but their priorities may shift based on internal strategy.
Impact Investors: Focused on measurable social or health outcomes alongside financial returns, impact investors are particularly relevant in HealthTech. They value mission-driven innovation and often require robust impact metrics.
Public funding sources: These include grants, subsidies, and innovation programs from national or EU-level institutions. While non-dilutive and mission-aligned, public funding often comes with strict eligibility criteria, reporting obligations, and longer timelines. Innovators must be prepared to demonstrate societal value, policy alignment, and long-term sustainability.

Choosing the right type of investor is as important as securing the funding itself.

Fundraising is a strategy, not serendipity

Adriane Thrash emphasized that fundraising is not about luck or charm—it’s about building a strategic plan that aligns with your startup’s stage, goals, and long-term vision. Innovators must understand their business fundamentals and be able to communicate them effectively.

Know your numbers — and your market

Investors want facts. That means knowing your TAM (Total Addressable Market), SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market), SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market), your projected growth, your burn rate, and your financial runway.

Transparency builds trust

One of the most important lessons: don’t hide problems. Investors are not deterred by challenges—they’re deterred by surprises. Be upfront about risks, gaps, and what you’re still figuring out. A founder who can clearly articulate both strengths and weaknesses earns credibility.

Pitching is communication

A strong pitch is built on clarity, confidence, and relevance. Adriane Thrash encouraged innovators to focus on storytelling—connecting the problem, solution, team, and market in a way that resonates. Avoid jargon, be concise, and tailor your message to the investor’s perspective.

Prepare for due diligence

Fundraising doesn’t end with the pitch. Adriane Thrash highlighted the importance of being ready for due diligence—the process where investors validate your claims, assess risks, and examine your operations. Innovators should have their data room organized, with financials, legal documents, team bios, and product details ready to share.

What’s next?

The final session of the EVOLVE2CARE Training Series for HealthTech Innovators and Researchers, titled “Measuring Impact & Scaling Pilots — Driving Evidence-Based Growth in Living Labs,” will take place on 19 September 2025 at 15:00 CEST. It will focus on helping innovators define success through SMART metrics, design effective pilot evaluations, and use data to demonstrate real-world impact. Led by Despoina Petsani, ThessAHALL Project Manager at AUTH, the session will guide participants in generating the kind of evidence that funders, policymakers, and partners require to support and scale innovation.

fundraising innovators investors pitching recap training webinar