Excellent EU programs push health R&I but are not sufficient. Synergy with strategic initiatives in MS and a new model for impactful collaborations are needed to address the challenges for health. ERA4Health brings the opportunity to increase EU transnational collaborative research funding by creating a funding body for joint programming in priority areas addressing EU Public Health Needs, with total duration of 7 years. ERA4Health focuses on tackling diseases and reducing disease burden and the following challenges: 1) the increasing demand for a better quality of life and a better care of patients, 2) the need to transform public health care systems in more effective, efficient, equitable, accessible, and resilient ones and 3) the need to strengthen disease prevention and health promotion. In this view, ERA4Health objectives are: .SO1- Support relevant medical research including clinical fields and intervention areas (prevention, diagnosis, treatment) .SO2- Improve the utilisation of existing health technologies in clinical practice .SO3- Build capacity, in particular in conducting Investigator Initiated Clinical Studies at EU scale .SO4- Implement and advance the practice of RRI across the breadth of the programme ERA4Heatlth will be implemented in 2 phases: . Phase 1 (2 years) will implement joint calls focused on nutrition and lifestyle-related diseases, cardiovascular diseases and nanomedicine (4 in two years). In parallel, it will establish a supporting framework to overcome the challenges in launching international IICSs joint calls. . Phase 2, if the EC approves it: additional multinational calls for IICSs and joint calls for other priority areas will be launched in accordance with the decision of the Health Programme Committee taken at the end of previous Phase 34 partners (20 from EU, 3 Third Countries associated to HE and 2 non-associated, non EU), will commit 90,510,000€, during the 3 first years, as financial support to third parties.

With [Pegasus]², the Research foundation Flanders (FWO) aims to enhance human capital in fundamental research in all scientific domains by attracting more excellent researchers to Flanders via the incoming fellowships, as well as by bestowing researchers in Flanders with increased international experience via the outgoing fellowships. This brain circulation through international and intersectoral mobility will not only foster excellence in the researcher’s training and career development, it will also contribute to dissolving regional and (inter)national boundaries and bring the European Research Area nearer to completion. Based on the success of the previous cofunded programme and the lessons learned from its execution and external evaluation, [PEGASUS]² is a deepened and extended programme including two fellowship schemes for experienced researchers: (1) 3-year incoming fellowships and (2) 3-year outgoing fellowships composed of two years of research abroad and one return year to the fellow’s host institution, in order to reintegrate into a long term position. Candidates can be of any nationality and active in any scientific discipline. In line with the European Charter and Code, the FWO is committed to fair and transparent recruitment and appraisal procedures, safeguarding the excellence and attractiveness of Flemish research in particular and of the ERA more generally. Fellows will be offered attractive employment conditions including a bench fee on top of the living and mobility allowance. By providing support and training all within an optimal research environment and enjoying the best working conditions, [Pegasus]² offers experienced researchers a unique opportunity to boost their research career through international and intersectoral mobility.

Worldwide, nearly 47 million people are currently estimated to be living with dementia, and the number is expected to almost double every 20 years, yet treatments that prevent or stop the progression of neurodegeneration are still lacking. Tackling this grand challenge requires enhanced coordination of national efforts to accelerate discovery. Such synergies have been created among 30 countries in the pilot EU JPI on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND). JPND has a long standing experience in collaborative actions; since 2011, a cumulated funding of 132M€ has been dedicated to competitive transnational calls and JPND is now a reference for European and global knowledge and as an innovation platform in the area of neurodegenerative diseases. Building on earlier successes of the JPND Research Strategy in scaling-up and establishing synergies with Horizon 2020, there is a need to continue previous efforts to consolidate the JPND successes in defragmentation, better coordination and alignment amongst the