Professional council for research and innovation in e-health
Since the beginning of the 2000s, the University of Agder (UiA) has worked to develop knowledge and competence in e-health and modern care and welfare technology, and in 2011 e-health was defined as a focus area at the university. The Centre for e-health was established as a result of an inter-faculty initiative and is today run as a collaboration between 5 faculties: Health and Sports Science, Humanities and Education, Social Sciences, Engineering and Science and the School of Business and Law.
The Centre for e-health quickly became an attractive partner both for larger research projects and for less practical service development projects. However, it proved challenging to reconcile the need for research, research-based service innovation, product development and testing, and after a few years, what is today called i4Helse was born. I4Helse will stimulate and facilitate the creative and innovative process from idea to implementation, and is anchored in the four I's: Idea, involvement, innovation, and implementation. I4Helse was opened on 30 August 2019, and today houses various research environments at UiA, employees from Grimstad municipality, SSHF and Norwegian Smart Care Cluster as well as i4Helse AS.
E-health and welfare technology is an area that requires knowledge and competence across disciplines and research fields, and collaboration between actors from both the private, public, and voluntary sectors. It is therefore important for the university to secure input and advice from various actors in the field. In 2018, a joint professional council for research and innovation in e-health was established at the University of Agder. The ambition is to create a common meeting arena, discuss current challenges and give advice to the University of Agder. In this way, the professional council can function as a coordinating body and contribute to a common boost for the entire e-health initiative in Agder.
Mandate
The professional council must:
be an advisory body for the e-health initiative at UiA
contribute with strategic input to ensure the quality and relevance of research and innovation in e-health in Agder
make recommendations related to the development of e-health at UiA and the coordination between the Center for e-health and i4Helse.
contribute to creating and strengthening collaboration between academia, the public sector, business and user organizations within e-health, and in this way facilitate value creation and business development.
ensure a good flow of information between the various member organizations in the professional council.
be updated on and provide input on current professional networks, projects in development, and partners.
Organization
The council is chaired by the dean of the Faculty of Health and Sports Sciences. The head is obliged to keep the other faculties and the university management informed about input and advice that emerges in the council. Until 2021, the administrative head of the Center for e-health will act as the secretariat for the professional council and be responsible for convening meetings and keeping minutes. She will also act as a contact person between the professional council meetings. The council meets 2-4 times a year at the University of Agder, and all members of the group can raise issues for discussion. However, the professional council has no formal, independent decision-making authority. Matters that require a formal anchoring will have to be promoted and dealt with within the university's existing decision-making bodies. The professional council shall be convened for meetings with reasonable notice, normally not less than 2 weeks. The university covers travel expenses but does not provide fees for participation.
Members
To ensure good discussions and good advice, it is important that the professional council is broadly composed, and it can also be expanded after prior discussions in the professional council. The following companies / persons are members of the professional council:
Leader
Anders Johan W. Andersen, Dean at the Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, UiA
Members
Elin Thygesen, Professor and scientific lead at the Centre for e-health, UiA
Ragni MacQueen Leifson, Administrative lead at the Centre for e-health, UiA
Michael Hansen, Dean at the Faculty of Engineering and Science, UiA
Hans Kjetil Lysgård, Vice Rector for Research and Interdisciplinary Projects, UiA
Aase S. Hobbesland, Municipal manager, Grimstad Municipality
Anders Emil Ånonsen, Representativ for user organization, FFO Aust-Agder
Arild Kristensen, CEO, Norwegian Smart Care Cluster (NSCC)
Jon Harald Kaspersen, Executive director Health and Society, NORCE
Kathrine Melby Holmerud, Representative for Regional Coordination group (RKG e-healthAgder)
Kari Grimholt, Senior advisor, The Norwegian Directorate for e-health
Jon-Torgeir Lunke, Senior advisor, The Norwegian Directorate for e-health
Steinar Omnes, Representative for Sørlandet Hospital Health Corporation
Stein Olav Skrøvseth, Centre Director, Norwegian Centre for E-health Research (NSE)
Tine Mette Falck, Advisor, Agder County Municipality
Alia Zaka, Department manager, Development and Innovation at Sykehuspartner.no