Operating Grant : Active and Assisted Living Program

As stated in CIHR's Strategic Plan, Health Research Roadmap II: Capturing Innovation to Produce Better Health and Health Care for Canadians, CIHR wants to seize the momentum and contribute to innovative, evidence-informed eHealth solutions that will improve patient experiences, health outcomes and the sustainability of the health care system, as well as engage with the international community. As a way of expanding the opportunities for funding and engagement in international markets for ideas and industries, this program enables CIHR to leverage the value of its funding investments by participating in transnational joint calls in eHealth research.  

This funding opportunity lies within the scope of the International component of CIHR's eHealth Innovations Initiative (eHII). The Active and Assisted Living Programme (AAL) provides Canada with an established and successful mechanism to foster international collaborations and offers the opportunity to engage diverse communities in generating transformative eHealth solutions.

The AAL Programme is a common funding activity of member states of the AAL Association, with the financial support of the European Commission, based on article 185 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The AAL Programme calls are complementary to the Horizon 2020 calls related to Active and Healthy Ageing under Societal Challenge 1 (SC1), as well as to the Horizon 2020 2018-2020 Work Programme on Information and Communication Technologies [ PDF (1190 KB) - external link ].

The aim of the AAL Programme is to provide innovative Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) based solutions including products, systems or services. These solutions aim to enhance older adults' quality of life, to improve the long-term sustainability of the health and long-term care systems and to strengthen the industrial base in Europe and internationally. The main goal is to improve the autonomy, participation in social life, skills, and employability of older adults.

The challenge-led Call for Proposals AAL 2019: Sustainable Smart Solutions for Ageing Well is part of the AAL Programme that was approved in May 2014 by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.

The AAL Call 2019 is open to collaborative projects developing ICT-based solutions targeting any application area(s) within the AAL domain, with a focus on specified markets (Consult AAL website for more information on different markets). The solutions need to be embedded into the strategies of the participating end-user organizations, service providers and business partners. The wishes and aspirations of older adults in combination with the demands from the other stakeholders involved – e.g. providers and payers - will have a critical role in shaping useful and attractive AAL solutions with a high market potential.

Although the AAL Call 2019 is supporting two types of projects, CIHR will only be funding Collaborative Projects:

• Collaborative projects are multi-annual projects that are expected to be user-driven through co-creation and address a specified challenge. Furthermore, the route to market needs to be clearly described and aligned with the business strategies of the partners responsible for commercialisation. Collaborative projects (carried out by consortia composed of at least 3 organisations from 3 different countries including an end user organisation and a business partner) are the main funding tools for this call. This type of project has a duration of 18 to 36 months with maximum funding of €2.500.000.

For more information, and the full call text please consult the Active and Assisted Living website.