Projects like ONCOSCREEN, which provide a structured approach to enhancing early cancer detection and health outcomes at the population level, need to take careful consideration of the formal processes taking place within governmental and intergovernmental systems. In addressing complex societal challenges, these types of projects frequently engage with public health policy, drive research innovation, and contribute to transformational governance, especially within the frameworks set by the EU Commission and its Member States.
The ONCOSCREEN project is an EU-funded project under the Horizon Europe umbrella, dedicated to early detection colorectal cancers. The way the project has been developed demonstrates the theoretical frameworks that can be designed, coordinated and executed, to incorporate cutting edge research into governmental departments and supranational organizations, and bring it into practice.
Policy Anchor and Strategic Positioning
A policy anchor is a guiding policy framework or reference point that aligns project goals with governmental strategic priorities. The vertical integration of such anchors takes place within the annual strategic healthcare agendas that are defined by national governments, or through periodic programs issued by specific governmental departments. In the case of ONCOSCREEN, this integration is shaped by the European Commission, specifically through the Directorate-General of Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), which acts as a key institutional partner. In this, ONCOSCREEN targets objectives outlined in the EU’s Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, a comprehensive strategy developed by the European Commission to combat cancer across all stages, from prevention and early detection to treatment, follow-up, and survivorship.
The strategic position of ONCOSCREEN, in its alignment with the EU’s Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and its integration within the broader European public health policy framework, is designed to ensure both political endorsement and long-term financial sustainability of the solutions developed by the project. At the same time, national health ministries and public health agencies are expected to be influenced to incorporate ONCOSCREEN’s outcomes into their national cancer screening policies and healthcare systems.
Funding and Oversight
ONCOSCREEN is financed through the Horizon Europe Program under the auspices of European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation . Governmental departments and their related research units are recipients of part of these funds. In this, they assist in financial compliance, financial reporting and accountability, and certifying that the project is statistically able to deliver health outcomes. In most instances, national health authorities also contribute through in-kind support to investigate issues such as infrastructure, data registry and clinical expertise.
Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration
ONCOSCREEN is being delivered through a consortium approach, working with multiple stakeholders, including academic institutions, hospitals, health ministries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private sector representatives.
As one of these actors, government departments act as both facilitators of the work and as eventual receivers of it. This is because government departments will translate this research into action-oriented policy, such as the changes needed in screening guidelines or new population health management strategies. They also support this process through managing the regulatory and ethical considerations related to the use of patient data, as well as coordinating across borders to establish screening programs.
Implementation and Change Pathways
One of the difficult components for projects like ONCOSCREEN is to develop innovative tools and approaches to cancer screening that can be easily incorporated into a national health system. This challenge necessitates a partnership with ministries of health and reimbursement agencies, as well as requiring legislative approval to ensure efficacy, feasibility, and public uptake.
Health ministries use a range of strategies to disseminate research findings and stimulate adoption, including policy briefs, stakeholder workshops, and pilot projects in public hospitals. In addition, health ministries often collaborate with researchers to develop plans for scaling and implementing innovations across healthcare systems.
Conclusion
ONCOSCREEN project reflects the potential of government employees, researchers, and policymakers working together to reshape and improve public health systems. Health ministries play a critical role in translating research innovations, such as new screening technologies, risk stratification models, or digital monitoring tools, into tangible improvements in public healthcare, by supporting their adoption in clinical practice, ensuring public access, and aligning them with national health priorities.