For Top Sector Life Sciences & Health (LSH), the year 2016 was all about alignment. We have been investing in sustainable public-private partnerships. These PPPs consolidate the complementary expertise of organisations so that they can jointly address societal challenges. Our approach resulted in the establishment of several exciting consortia, combining the strengths of the Netherlands' cutting-edge scientists and industry-leading entrepreneurs. A result to be proud of, as these consortia will fuel the innovative power of the Dutch LSH sector for the years to come. This 2016 Year in Review magazine focuses on ‘Collaboration for innovation’, presenting a selection of last year’s results.

Involvement of health foundations and regions in public-private partnerships

Top Sector LSH aims to facilitate public-private partnerships that address societal challenges. Therefore, we are more than happy with the direct societal ties resulting from the strengthened involvement of the health foundations within our consortia. Knowledge institutes, companies and health foundations are  joining  forces in consortia. Within this context the top institute oncology (‘OncoXL’) was launched in 2016: creating an alliance between Dutch top researchers  in oncology. Another initiative, substantially supported by regions and regional development organisations, represents the expertise of the full innovation chain: from lab to patient on regenerative medicine (RegMed XB). In this project Dutch and Belgian efforts are combined.

Collaboration in crossovers

Of course, most societal challenges do not restrict themselves to the boundaries of Top Sector LSH. Crossover challenges require crossover collaboration, and therefore we have made significant investments in establishing partnerships with other Top Sectors. Some great crossover examples that were launched or strengthened in 2016 are Create Health and Health Research Infrastructure.

The international representation and export continues

In 2016, we have attended all kinds of leading international events: fairs, exhibitions and many international economic missions. Our distinctive orange Health~Holland branding was not to be missed, highlighting the many attractive features of the Dutch innovation climate. The Top Sector’s international presence clearly reflected our willingness and ability to collaborate on a global level.

Keep making the difference

In 2017, we will stick to our focus for 2016. Rather than developing new tools, we will focus on alignment, optimisation and the continuation of current activities. With the Dutch elections are coming, we will clearly communicate the achievements of previous years, as well as the lessons learned and best practices to benefit innovation-boosting policy.  

We are proud to look back at many activities in this Year in Review magazine. We hope it will inspire you as much as it inspires me!

Jan Raaijmakers
Chairman of the Top Team Life Sciences & Health

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