On 17–18 February 2026, the EVOLVE2CARE consortium met in Athens, Greece, for its 4th Plenary Meeting. Held in parallel with Athens Digital Health Week 2026 (ADHW2026) at the Royal Olympic Hotel, the gathering offered more than just coordination updates, it created a moment to reflect, realign, and strengthen the project’s next phase within Europe’s rapidly evolving digital health landscape.
Across two intensive days, partners focused on consolidating the Open Call results, reinforcing the EVOLVE2CARE experimentation framework, advancing the positioning of AccelUP, and scaling outreach and sustainability efforts.
Day 1: From Open Call Results to Real-World Experimentation
The first day was dedicated to a pivotal transition point for the project: moving from Open Call completion to structured implementation in Living Lab environments.
Reflecting on the Open Call Impact
With the Open Calls now officially finalised, the consortium reviewed:
- Key statistics and insights from the application and selection process
- Improvements introduced through Deliverable D2.2
- The shift from recruitment to real-world pilot implementation
Beyond numbers, the discussion focused on impact. How can the lessons learned from the Open Call strengthen communication materials and support the long-term positioning of project outcomes?
The emphasis is now clear: experimentation must generate measurable, documented value within Living Labs.
Strengthening the EVOLVE2CARE Experimentation Framework
Day 1 also included final roadmap presentations for three central deliverables shaping the project’s experimentation model:
- D1.4 – Roadmap on navigating complexities enabling innovative technologies in transitional care
- D1.5 – Stakeholder Needs Analysis and KPI Framework
- D1.6 – EVOLVE2CARE Action Plan
Concrete decisions were taken to reinforce structure and comparability across pilots:
- Each mini-project will submit a structured “initial context” (solution, target users, key assumptions) before pilots begin, enabling meaningful before/after analysis.
- A Regulatory & Ethics Log will allow Living Labs to systematically record compliance and data-related issues during implementation.
- The KPI framework will be disseminated beyond the consortium, engaging relevant European health clusters and sister projects.
Day 2: Connecting Ecosystem Dialogue with Strategic Planning
The second day blended external engagement at ADHW2026 with focused internal alignment on evaluation, outreach, and long-term sustainability.
Engaging the Digital Health Ecosystem at ADHW2026
On the morning of 18 February, EVOLVE2CARE hosted the workshop:
“Engaging the Value of Living Labs to Innovate Healthcare”
Chaired by Despoina Petsani (AUTH), the session brought together innovators, clinicians, researchers, and ecosystem actors to tackle a pressing HealthTech question:
How can promising digital solutions successfully transition from pilot testing to routine clinical practice?
The discussion went beyond technology development and addressed the structural realities of healthcare innovation, including regulatory complexity, GDPR compliance, interoperability limitations, integration into clinical workflows, and fragmented stakeholder collaboration.
Across contributions, Living Labs emerged as structured experimentation environments capable of reducing deployment risks while generating real-world validation.
🔗 Read the full workshop recap here.
Aligning the Next Phase of the Project
Returning to the plenary discussions, partners focused on shaping the next phase of EVOLVE2CARE.
The agenda centred on five strategic priorities:
- Structuring the evaluation framework for mini-project experimentation
- Aligning questionnaires and feedback tools for innovators and Living Labs
- Strengthening AccelUP’s positioning beyond the Open Call phase
- Expanding participation in European Commission and EIT-related events
- Planning sustainability and exploitation activities for all project results
Key Highlights from the Discussions
- Evaluation tools were aligned to ensure structured before/after feedback capturing both technical and market-oriented value.
- Pricing perception and value-creation questions were integrated into experimentation surveys.
- Complementary assessment mechanisms were coordinated to ensure systematic data collection.
- The exploitation approach was further defined, combining questionnaire-based validation with market and competitor analysis.
- Dissemination efforts will intensify in the “Global Outreach & Sustainability” phase, with stronger participation in European-level events, broader press outreach, and enhanced digital engagement.
- Strategic planning began for participation in Open Living Lab Days and policy-oriented events to showcase the project’s KPI framework and experimentation insights.
Key Decisions Moving Forward
- Mini-project evaluation will follow a structured, comparable methodology capturing both experimentation outcomes and market insights.
- Two internal exploitation workshops will be organized. One dedicated to AccelUP positioning, and another focusing on the remaining project results.
- Outreach efforts will prioritise European Commission–related events and EIT KIC engagement.
- Communication efforts will intensify, with coordinated partner promotion and increased focus on subscriber growth and stakeholder engagement.
A Strategic Transition Point
The 4th Plenary Meeting marked a clear evolution for EVOLVE2CARE:
- From Open Call recruitment to structured pilot implementation
- From framework design to measurable evidence generation
- From awareness-building to strategic European outreach
- From experimentation to sustainability planning
With mini-projects underway, evaluation tools aligned, and exploitation strategy defined, EVOLVE2CARE moves forward with a clearer pathway toward scalable, validated, and ecosystem-integrated HealthTech innovation!
