The Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) is an NGO leading on cancer control actions at the European level since 1980. Represented by members in the EU and non-EU countries at the national level, leagues are often the main resource for the public for cancer control information and services. ECL provides a unique platform for cancer leagues to share specific know-how and experiences and is the only network in existence exclusively for cancer leagues. The running of ECL has been mainly financed by fees from its members, which cover a skeleton staff and office expenses. Prior to receiving co-funding in 2015 in the form of an Operating Grant from the EU, ECL's main source of income was membership fees, rates which have not changed for 10 years, but due to times of austerity, ECL has been unable to justify increasing the fees. ECL applied for an Operating Grant in 2014 to increase its resources in order to be able to implement actions efficiently in line with its renewed strategy 2014-2017. In 2015, the EU co-funding allowed us to increase our activities in the implementation of work for Strategic Goal 2: Promote Cancer Prevention. The grant has enabled ECL to increase our work in cancer prevention, and specifically in communicating the new 4th revision of the European Code Against Cancer in 2015, activities which included confirming translations of the Code, encouraging our members to communicate the Code, targeting young adults and incorporating the messages in all our activities including work at the European Parliament. In 2016 we will continue and expand these efforts with the Code as well as continue our normal and important activities such as tobacco control and patient support, while increasing our work at the national levels with our member leagues and other partners, which will include to a limited extent global partners during the World Cancer Congress in October 2016 in Paris.
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The Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) is an NGO leading on cancer control actions at the European level since 1980. Represented by members in EU and non-EU countries, cancer leagues are the main resource for the public for cancer control information and services. As the only network exclusively for cancer leagues, ECL provides a unique platform for cancer leagues to share knowledge and experience. Prior to receiving operational grant funding, the running of ECL had been financed mainly by membership fees. The addition of EU co-financing since 2015 has allowed ECL to implement activities more effectively in line with our multi-annual strategy, leading to the progressive increase in activities across all 5 of our strategic goals, providing considerable EU added-value in the process. EU co-funding has enabled ECL to increase our work in cancer prevention, especially the promotion of the European Code Against Cancer (ECAC). This has led to the design of new communication tools to raise awareness amongst the general public; the creation of a youth ambassadors programme to improve dissemination amongst young people; and enhanced networking opportunities for leagues allowing them to share best practice and collaborate more efficiently. In 2017, ECL will continue to disseminate the ECAC, making efforts to measure and assess the impact of these activities. ECL will increase efforts to have explicit references to the ECAC in updated National Cancer Control Plans, and will place greater emphasis on the role of cancer leagues in promoting organised cancer screening programmes. ECL will continue its leading role in tobacco control by supporting the 2017 European Conference on Tobacco or Health (ECToH). ECL shall also launch a new task force on the crucial issue of equal access to medicines. This will complement ECL's ongoing secretariat work on behalf of the MEPs Against Cancer interest group of the European Parliament, and the Patient Support Working Group of ECL.
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This proposal lays out the Work Programme for 2017 within the contents of the Multiannual Work Plan for the European Reference Network for Craniofacial Anomalies and ENT disorders (ERN CRANIO). ERN CRANIO involves teams from 29 European hospitals (10 Member States) that provide care, education, teaching, research and management of rare craniofacial anomalies, cleft lip/palate and ENT disorders. Our vision is that the best multidisciplinary initial care for all those with craniofacial anomalies and ENT disorders is not a privilege to be purchased but a moral right secured for all European patients.
Our MISSION is to consistently and persistently strive towards achieving our vision through:
1. Establishment and management of a steady referral network for patients with craniofacial anomalies and ENT disorders throughout Europe; 2. Improvement of the quality of care, by enhancing diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of the patients with rare craniofacial anomalies and ENT disorders; 3. Minimization of the deviation from our operational standards and sharing best practices through suitable quality improvement initiatives, while monitoring their effectiveness using measures and indicators; 4. Stimulating innovation through multicentre research projects on (genetic) causes, pathophysiology, and associated problems, and introduction of eHealth; 5. Supporting the continuous learning and development of all our members by providing high quality educational and training opportunities to medical, nursing and other healthcare professionals; 6. Disseminating gained knowledge, making it available to all stakeholders.

In Year 1, ERN CRANIO will focus on collecting and analysing the available data on diagnoses, treatment, follow-up programmes, education and eHealth. In addition, the aim is to further expand the network in the first year by including relevant partners and experts. The results of the first year will set the agenda for subsequent years.
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Grounded in the extensive experience of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA), SCIROCCO aims to provide a validated and tested tool that facilitates the successful scaling-up and transfer of good practices in integrated care across European regions. SCIROCCO will specifically focus on successful local interventions (good practices) that have demonstrated significant benefits to citizens, communities and service providers and that feature moving towards community-based, integrated health and social care service models.SCIROCCO will deliver an assessment of the contextual requirements necessary for the scale-up of these interventions and the capacity of regions to adopt them. SCIROCCO will also compare the readiness of five European regions to adopt good practices in the provision of integrated care, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the tool in practice.SCIROCCO explores how matching regions that have complementary strengths and weaknesses can deliver two major benefits: a strong basis for successful twinning and coaching that facilitates shared learning and effective knowledge transfer; and practical support for the scaling-up of good practices that promote active and healthy ageing and participation in the community.Finally, SCIROCCO captures the lessons learned from twinning, coaching and knowledge transfer activities as a significant contribution to supporting the broader implementation and scaling-up of local integrated care interventions in Europe, in line with the European Commission's 'European Scaling-up Strategy in Active & Healthy Ageing'.
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Individuals with chronic diseases and mental disorders often experience work-related problems, such as unemployment, absenteeism, reduced productivity and stigmatization in the workplace, leading to negative consequences at individual, national and European level. The rising prevalence of chronic diseases and mental disorders as well as the current economic crisis make this issue even more problematic, requiring action in terms of innovative strategies to improve the participation of these persons in the labor market. Unfortunately, this is hindered by a lack of knowledge of which strategies are available in the different European countries and their effectiveness, and a lack of clarity regarding the employment-related needs of these individuals, leading to gaps between what is offered and what is needed. Therefore, PATHWAYS aims a) to identify integration and re-integration strategies that are available in Europe and beyond, b) to determine their effectiveness, c) to assess the specific employment-related needs of persons with chronic diseases and mental disorders and d) to develop guidelines supporting the implementation of effective professional integration and reintegration strategies. Involvement in PATHWAYS of 12 partners with vast expertise in the area of chronic and mental conditions and employment from 10 different European countries allows to compare strategies between different European regions, taking into account cultural, social, and political differences. Stakeholder consultations, including advocacy organizations, employers, policy makers, international organizations, and European Union delegates, will provide useful insights as to the development and implementation of policy recommendations to improve their integration or reintegration into the workplace. In this way, PATHWAYS will provide the first steps to work towards a more inclusive labor market in which persons with chronic diseases and mental disorders can meaningfully participate.
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