A CALL FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE RESEARCH WITH A FOCUS ON THE MODERATE AND LATE STAGES OF NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES

On January 7, 2025, the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) initiative launched a transnational call for health and social care research with a focus on the moderate and late stages of neurodegenerative diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are debilitating conditions that lead to the progressive degeneration and death of nerve cells. Their likelihood increases dramatically with age. Worldwide, it is estimated that there are more than 50 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, the most common class of neurodegenerative diseases. This figure is expected to double every 20 years as the population ages.

There is an urgent need to better understand the disease-related individual requirements and to improve the quality of life of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Interventions, medical and social support currently available are often focusing on the early stages of the disease. However,
research into health and social care as a neurodegenerative disease progresses to a more
moderate, advanced and final stage, is not sufficient. A better understanding of the factors that contribute to quality of life would be important to enable healthcare systems in different countries to better meet the needs of patients and caregivers. As the availability of and access to support varies widely across Europe and beyond, evidence-based solutions may help to overcome the limitations and foster a better coordination between health and social care systems established in different countries. Identifying the problems and accessing the needs of patients, carers and relatives therefore requires an in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of existing services and the social factors that contribute to cognitive decline or stability in order to establish new concepts and ideas for improving health and social care.

In this context, JPND launches this joint transnational call for with the aim of improving the well-being of people with neurodegenerative diseases through social sciences and humanities research. Proposals to this call must be ambitious, innovative and multi-disciplinary. Consortia of these proposals must advance research on health and social care related to neurodegenerative diseases at moderate, advanced and end of life stages of disease by working together across national borders and considering ethical issues.

Funding: The total made available for this call is about 15 million euros.

 

Participating JPND countries

The funding organisations that have agreed to fund this joint call for multinational research projects, with a view to adding value to their existing nationally funded activities, are listed below.

  • Belgium, The Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.-FNRS)
  • Canada, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
  • Canada, Brain Canada Foundation (CBF)
  • Czech Republic, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS)
  • France, French National Research Agency (ANR)
  • Germany, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)*
  • Hungary, National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH)*
  • Ireland, Health Research Board (HRB)
  • Italy, Ministry of Health (MOH-IT)
  • Luxembourg, National Research Fund (FNR)
  • Netherlands, The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Dev. (ZonMw)
  • Norway, The Research Council of Norway (RCN)*
  • Poland, National Science Centre (NCN)
  • Slovakia, Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic (MESR)
  • Sweden, The Swedish Research Council for Health, Working life and Welfare
    (FORTE)
  • Switzerland, Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)
  • Turkey, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK)


Deadlines

Pre-proposals must be submitted no later than 12:00h C.E.T. on March 4, 2025, via the electronic submission tool.

Where can I get more information about this call? Links to the relevant documents and resources can be found below:

Call text*– download all specific information about the call. [PDF]

Call procedures– description of the evaluation procedure and decision-making process applied for this call. [PDF]

Country-specific information – all requirements and details from participating funding organisations.

Pre-proposal template – mandatory for creating proposals. No other formats are accepted.

Proposal Submission Tool – mandatory for submitting proposals. No other routes are accepted.

 

For further information, please contact the Joint Call Secretariat representatives:

Dr. Sabrina Voß and Dr. Sara Breid
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (+49) 228-3821 2111

In case you will not apply but are interested in supporting this JPND call as an expert reviewer, please contact us via email.


Please Note:

All information regarding future JPND call topics is subject to change. Final call information will be published on the JPND website (www.jpnd.eu).