ERN EpiCARE call for new members

Dear Members of the Board of Member States, ERN Coordinators and Project Managers,

We are pleased to inform you that the call for new members to join existing ERNs is open from the 30 of September 2019 until 30 of November 2019.

You will find more information on the call and access to all relevant documents at the European Reference Network website
and in EpiCARE HCP membership & application criteria and reporting

The application tool was activated on the 30 of September at 12.00 pm (CET).

The role of the ERN Coordinators at this stage of the process is to provide to the Applicants that might contact them any clarification on the scope, organisation and goals of each Network. For that we provided on the website the list of the contact details with functional mailbox of the Networks (these Networks that are pending to provide their functional mailbox please send it to us as soon as possible).

The role of the Member State (MS) at this stage of the process is to provide a written statement of endorsement for the Healthcare Provider certifying that its participation in the European Reference Network (ERN) is in accordance with its national legislation. The MS is responsible for defining its national process to support eligible Healthcare Providers and ensuring that this process is transparent.

As you know the governability and coverage is a major issue for the sustainability and effectiveness of the Networks. We strongly encourage you to be selective in the type and number of new Applicants to endorse, and to carry out an assessment of them against the criteria specified in the call website before completing the process. We do not expect any new endorsement coming from Member States that are already well represented in the same Network.

Please be reminded that the launch of the call (30 of September) also marks the end of the designation period for Affiliated Partners, as agreed with the Board. Accordingly, if you plan to designate further Affiliated Partners, please do so as soon as possible, at the latest until the launch of the call.

To recall, the designation letter shall be sent to the Commission’s functional mailbox SANTE-ERN-AFFILIATED-PARTNERS@ec.europa.eu and to the Coordinator of the Network that this Affiliated Partner shall join (with Project Managers in copy).

Kind regards,
Kasia and Enrique on behalf of the ERN team

More information: EpiCARE HCP membership & application criteria and reporting