STICHTING FONTYS

Their core work

Fontys is one of the Netherlands' largest universities of applied sciences, based in Eindhoven, with a strong tradition of practice-based education and applied research that connects academic knowledge to real-world professional contexts. In H2020, their work focused on social innovation in aging and long-term care — contributing expertise in participatory research, user engagement, and co-design methods to international consortia. They brought the applied sciences perspective to both a multi-sectoral training network on ageism (EuroAgeism) and a digital co-creation platform for improving access to care services (SoCaTel). Their value in European projects lies in bridging research frameworks with frontline practice, particularly in health and social care settings involving older adults and public service professionals.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both projects launched in 2017, making a true temporal shift difficult to assess — the dataset covers a single entry point rather than a multi-year trajectory. That said, the two projects together reveal a complementary arc: EuroAgeism addressed aging as a social and cultural challenge through training and research capacity-building, while SoCaTel moved toward digital platform development, combining co-creation methodology with big data tools to improve care service access. The overall direction suggests Fontys was moving from awareness and training toward technology-enabled service innovation in care, even within this narrow window.

Fontys appears to be moving toward digital social innovation — combining participatory design with data-driven tools to reshape how older adults and care professionals access and deliver long-term care services.

How they like to work

Fontys participates exclusively as a partner in this dataset, never as project coordinator, which is consistent with their role as a specialist contributor bringing applied research and user engagement expertise to larger consortia. Their two projects involved 27 unique partners across 14 countries, indicating they are comfortable operating in large, internationally diverse consortia rather than small bilateral teams. This profile suggests a reliable, experienced European partner rather than a consortium builder — they add domain depth and applied research capacity without taking on administrative leadership.

Fontys has connected with 27 unique partners across 14 countries through just two projects, indicating they operate within large, geographically diverse European consortia. Their network spans academic institutions, healthcare organizations, and applied research partners primarily across Western and Southern Europe.

What sets them apart

Fontys brings a distinctly applied sciences orientation — they are not a research-only university but an institution designed to connect knowledge with professional practice, which is valuable in social care and health projects where implementation and user adoption matter as much as research outputs. Their expertise in co-creation and participatory methods with older adults and social workers fills a gap that pure academic partners often cannot — they know how to engage end-users and translate research into practice-ready tools. For consortium builders in aging, social care, or integrated health services, Fontys offers Dutch healthcare innovation context combined with a large educational institution's access to professional networks and applied research capacity.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EuroAgeism
  An MSCA Innovative Training Network spanning multiple disciplines and sectors, making it one of the most structurally complex project types in H2020 and reflecting Fontys's capacity to contribute to European doctoral-level training on aging.
• SoCaTel
  A rare combination of co-creation methodology and big data in a long-term care context, with Fontys contributing to a multi-stakeholder platform that directly targets access barriers for older adults across several European countries.