96 million NOK for new Center for personalised digital health promotion
The Norwegian Centre for E-health Research has been awarded NOK 96 million by the Research Council of Norway over eight years to establish and lead a new Center for personalised and digital health promotion. The aim is to develop and test digital solutions that can prevent lifestyle-related diseases, reduce health inequalities and contribute to a more sustainable health and care system.
Eight research environments have today been awarded a total of NOK 768 million by the Research Council of Norway to establish new Centres for Research-based Innovation (SFI). The Norwegian Centre for E-health Research (NSE) is one of the centers receiving funding and will lead the initiative Centre for Personalized Digital Health Promotion.
Preventing illness before it occurs
The new center will develop, implement and evaluate innovative digital solutions for personalised health promotion. The ambition is to make it easier for more people to make good health choices and to provide better support to those at higher risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases.
“We want to develop digital solutions that promote good health and prevent lifestyle-related diseases. The goal is to slow the development of these diseases, which in turn will reduce sickness absence and hospital admissions. Overall, this will contribute to a more sustainable health and care system,” says Professor Paolo Zanaboni at the Norwegian Centre for E-health Research.
Zanaboni will lead the new center.
Personalised advice – available to citizens via Helsenorge
An important part of the work will be to develop solutions that are easily accessible and financially sustainable for both industry and the public sector. The center will also work to ensure that citizens gain access to tools that can provide personal risk profiles and recommendations via Helsenorge.
To support innovation and sustainability, the center will, among other things, make use of artificial intelligence and large-scale digital studies.
Close cooperation between research, industry and the public sector
“If we are to move Norway forward, we must develop new knowledge, adopt new technology and strengthen cooperation between research and industry. That is why commercialisation and the use of research are central elements in the government’s Plan for Norway. The new SFIs will be extremely important in this work in the years to come,” says Minister of Research and Higher Education Sigrun Aasland.
The SFI scheme is intended to strengthen innovation capacity in Norwegian industry through long-term research and binding cooperation between research institutions and R&D-intensive enterprises, often in collaboration with the public sector.
NSE will collaborate with SINTEF, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, NTNU, Nord University and the University of Agder.
In addition, seven Norwegian companies and four partners from the public sector are participating:
ABEL Technologies, Motitech AS, Lifeness AS, ExorLive AS, Valori AS, Mia Health AS, Braive AS, KS, Norsk helsenett, LHL and Bodø municipality.
Eight-year period – and requirement for co-funding
The new center will be established for a period of eight years. NSE will receive NOK 96 million in funding from the Research Council of Norway together with its partners. At the same time, the scheme requires a minimum of 50 per cent co-funding from NSE, partners in industry and the public sector.