Swedish regional authority contributing clinical healthcare infrastructure, paediatric research capacity, and policy implementation to European health and cultural heritage consortia.
Västra Götalandsregionen is the regional government authority for Sweden's second-largest region, responsible for healthcare delivery, regional development, and research infrastructure across western Sweden. In H2020, they bring clinical healthcare capacity — particularly in paediatrics, stroke care, and elderly care — into European research consortia. They also drive regional innovation policy through triple-helix collaboration linking universities, industry, and public services, and have expanded into cultural heritage and sustainable tourism planning.
Core contributor to c4c (collaborative paediatric clinical trials network), ChiLTERN (children's liver tumour research), and ID-EPTRI (paediatric translational research infrastructure).
Participated in IN LIFE (independent living for elderly), DECI (digital cognitive inclusion), and Easy Reading (personalised cognitive accessibility).
Coordinated MoRE2020, their only coordinator role, focused on researcher mobility, smart specialisation, and triple-helix regional clusters in Västra Götaland.
Partner in HERILAND (heritage landscape planning) and participant in Be.CULTOUR (circular cultural tourism with human-centred innovation).
Contributed to PROOF (stroke neuroprotection via normobaric oxygen) and MEDIRAD (medical low-dose radiation exposure implications).
Early H2020 work (2015–2018) centred on elderly care, cognitive inclusion, and basic clinical participation — projects like IN LIFE, DECI, and EUthyroid — alongside a flagship researcher mobility programme (MoRE2020). From 2018 onward, the focus sharpened toward paediatric drug development and clinical trial infrastructure (c4c, ID-EPTRI), while a new thread in cultural heritage and circular tourism emerged (HERILAND, Be.CULTOUR). The shift suggests a deliberate move from broad health/social innovation toward more specialized clinical research roles and diversification into culture-related policy domains.
Moving toward deeper clinical research specialisation in paediatrics while exploring cultural heritage as a secondary policy-driven research line.
Västra Götalandsregionen overwhelmingly participates rather than leads — coordinating only 1 of 16 projects (MoRE2020, a researcher mobility programme suited to a regional authority). With 325 unique partners across 37 countries, they operate as a wide-network contributor embedded in large European consortia rather than a tight-knit repeat-partner hub. This makes them a reliable, low-ego consortium member who brings real-world clinical and policy infrastructure without competing for leadership.
Extensive European network spanning 325 unique partners across 37 countries, reflecting the breadth of large-scale health and innovation consortia. No strong geographic clustering — they are genuinely pan-European in their collaborations.
As a regional government running actual hospitals and public services, they offer something most academic partners cannot: direct access to patient populations, clinical infrastructure, and real-world implementation environments. Their dual track in health and cultural heritage makes them unusually versatile for a public body. For consortium builders, they are a credible end-user and policy-implementation partner who can demonstrate societal impact in grant applications.
