The participation of Member States in the EU Health Programme.

Background: While the strategic objectives for the EU health policy are defined by the Health Strategy, their achievement depends on the participation of the health sector in the Community Action Programme for Public Health. Institutions, associations, and organisations in the Member States (MS) can participate in the Programme by submitting proposals for projects, operating and conference grants, and joint actions. To maximize the programme’s reach and the equitable distribution of resources, participation should ideally be well distributed across MS. Efforts to increase participation over the past years include the organization of decentralized information days, distributing information brochures and setting up a call website and helpdesk. Method: Statistical analysis of the database of applications submitted in response to the Calls for Proposals 2008 through 2012 provides a detailed description of the participation, both successful and unsuccessful, of organisations from the different MS, related to the different financing mechanisms, strands and priority areas. Results: Participation by Member States remained stable throughout the Programme, with more than 90% of the applications made by organisations from countries that were EU MS before the 2004 enlargement (EU15). However, participation of EU12, EEA countries and Candidate EU MS is much stronger when participation as associated partners is considered. Most countries participate in several proposals, and some, including several EU12 countries, are represented in a large number of proposals. Project and conference proposals submitted by organisations from the EU12 are less likely to be accepted for funding than those from the EU15, but the difference is not statistically different. On the other hand, participation of EU12 countries as associated partners enhances the likelihood of a proposal to be funded, although proposals with predominantly participants from the EU12 are less successful Conclusions: Despite efforts to involve all MS in the programme, EU12 countries as well as EEA countries and candidate Member States remain largely underrepresented as lead partners of proposals. However, while the threshold to take charge of an application may be too high for organisations without a proven capacity in project management, participation as associated partners may be a more realistic goal in the short term, and could help to develop the capacity to lead projects at a later stage