As a partner of the EU Horizon research project 'SynAir-G' and a member of the 'IDEAL research Cluster', EFA joined the IDEAL Annual General Meeting 2024 in Helsinki, Finland.
On the 15th and 16th of May 2024, EFA took part in the IDEAL Cluster Annual General Meeting 2024 as one of the representatives of the SynAir-G project, a project included in the IDEAL Cluster initiative focusing on indoor air quality. The meeting was organised at Aalto University in Espoo (Finland) hosted by InChildHealth project, the current coordinator of the IDEAL Cluster, and gathered around 90 participants in the room and online.
The involvement in SynAir-G and the IDEAL Cluster is an opportunity for EFA to shape the future of EU indoor air quality policies to improve lives of patients living with allergies, asthma, atopic eczema and COPD, as well as contribute to the implementation of preventative measures that can improve their health and well-being.
What is the IDEAL Cluster?
The IDEAL (Indoor Air Pollution and Health) Cluster is a task force promoted by the European Commission and formed by seven projects: SynAir-G, K-HEALTHinAIR, InChildHealth, LEARN, TwinAir, INQUIRE and EDIAQI, which are all working to improve and safeguard health and well-being of citizens in indoor environments. The Initiative has been created to optimise synergies, avoid overlaps and increase the impact of the projects selected for funding under the call HORIZON-HLTH-2021-ENVHLTH-02-02.
What is EFA’s role in the IDEAL Cluster?
EFA co-leads the Working Group (WG) 1 “Science translation for policy and practice”, focusing on:
- Developing policy briefs and recommendations addressed to European and National authorities,
- Integrating the results of the cluster into policy strategies and initiatives, and
- Influence policymakers' priorities, ensuring a timely uptake of the research results.
On this occasion, EFA Programme Manager Valeria Ramiconi attended the meeting on behalf of EFA to update the Cluster Members and the European Commission on The focus of the Working Group is to ensure the timely translation of the IDEAL Cluster’s research results on indoor air quality into policy and practices, contributing to improving the health and well-being of people. The activities included the development of policy briefs and recommendations addressed to the European and national policy makers.
2024 activity highlights
The Common Policy Strategy
The Common Policy Strategy details the IDEAL Cluster strategy and methodologies for effective policy actions to maximise the impact of the IDEAL Cluster and the individual projects of its members with the final objective of identifying the recommendations to ensure the scientific translation of indoor air quality research into policy and practice.
The first policy brief of 2024 on indoor air quality and health
The first Policy Brief was submitted in February 2024 and enhanced the understanding of indoor air quality in Europe by outlining its key aspects from the health perspective as well as the analysis of the policy context and the existing gaps. The policy brief is the baseline for further development of policy recommendations.
Learn more about the event and the activities of the IDEAL Cluster here.