At the EUnetHTA Plenary Assembly meeting (the highest governance body in EUnetHTA) in Madrid in April representatives from the EUnetHTA Partner and Associate organisations, Stakeholder Forum and the European Commission discussed the short-term (2014-2015), mid-term (2016-2020) and long-term (2020+) strategic development of EUnetHTA. (Please see the Plenary Assembly Madrid preparatory guiding documen(t3 Preparing for the PA meeting Madrid Apr 10-11_Guiding Document)) that supported the discussions at the meeting).
The two days of interaction confirmed a growing common understanding and a convergence of EUnetHTA participants’ views on challenges and the way forward. Some of the highlights:
- Sharpened focus on and commitment to the implementation of EUnetHTA output and tools in the national and regional HTA production processes and daily practices is at the top of the “to-do-lists” of the EUnetHTA participating agencies
- The topic identification and selection process for the joint work in EUnetHTA should be further developed to be more responsive to the emerging needs of the national/regional HTA production processes
- Specifying the tasks and remits of the HTA Network (strategic level) and EUnetHTA (scientific and technical mechanism/level) of the European cooperation on HTA as per Directive 2011/24/EU ensuring avoidance of duplication between the levels is important in promoting understanding and support for the European HTA cooperation efforts, both nationally as well as across borders and stakeholder groups
The outcomes of the Plenary Assembly discussions provide a solid foundation for bringing forward concrete recommendations on the implementation of a sustainable European network for HTA (the Recommendations are EUnetHTA JA2 Deliverable number 1 as per the EUnetHTA JA2 Grant Agreement with the European Commission). The recommendations will be developed over several months and the final outcome will be presented at the HTA 2.0 Europe conference in Rome on October 30-31, 2014 (www.eunethta2014.it).
Further details on the discussion outcomes can be found in the Summary Report from the meeting.
