COOPERATIVA SOCIALE COOSS MARCHE ONLUS SOCIETA COOPERATIVA PER AZIONI

Their core work

COOSS is a large Italian social cooperative based in Ancona (Marche region) that delivers health and social care services, particularly for elderly populations and people with dementia. In EU research, they contribute as an end-user and pilot site, bringing real-world care settings — hospitals, care centres, and community services — into technology validation projects. Their practical role bridges the gap between research prototypes and actual deployment in care environments, testing digital tools like VR rehabilitation systems and cybersecurity training with frontline staff and patients.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

COOSS entered H2020 through their core competency in dementia care and community health services (CAREGIVERSPRO-MMD, 2016). By 2018, they diversified into cybersecurity awareness for care facilities and social innovation, reflecting a growing concern for digital resilience in healthcare. Their most recent project (VR2Care, 2022) signals a pivot toward immersive digital technologies for elderly rehabilitation — combining their care expertise with emerging VR tools.

COOSS is moving from traditional social care delivery toward technology-enhanced elderly care, making them a strong pilot partner for digital health and assistive technology projects.

How they like to work

COOSS participates exclusively as a partner, never as a coordinator, which is consistent with their role as an end-user organisation that provides real care settings for piloting and validation. With 31 unique partners across 12 countries from just 4 projects, they operate in medium-to-large consortia and bring diverse international connections. Their value to a consortium is as the organisation that tests whether a technology actually works with real patients and care staff.

Despite only four projects, COOSS has built a network of 31 partners across 12 countries, indicating they join sizeable European consortia. Their connections span health, digital, and security sectors, giving them cross-domain visibility unusual for a social cooperative.

What sets them apart

COOSS is rare in EU research: a large social cooperative that operates actual care facilities and can serve as a real-world testbed for health technologies. Unlike university partners who offer research capacity, COOSS offers direct access to elderly patients, caregivers, and healthcare staff in operational settings. For any project needing Italian pilot sites in elderly care, dementia support, or hospital cybersecurity training, they are a practical and experienced choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CAREGIVERSPRO-MMD
  Their largest project (EUR 631K) and earliest H2020 entry, focused on community-based dementia care — their core mission.
• VR2Care
  Most recent project representing their strategic shift toward VR and immersive technologies for elderly rehabilitation.
• SecureHospitals.eu
  Unusual topic for a social cooperative — cybersecurity awareness in hospitals — showing adaptability beyond traditional care roles.