The overarching aim of the TransForm is to trigger the interest of and inspire policy-makers, key stakeholders and practitioners to foster integrated community care.
The focus of the Transnational Forum on Integrated Community Care (TransForm) goes beyond the most common interpretations placed on integrated care (i.e. integration of health and social care provision). Integrated Community Care (ICC) is moving to the forefront of an international policy and practice agenda. In its most rudimentary form, ICC is recognized as a much-needed and valuable expansion of the more typical notions of integrated care, with explicit recognition of the value, potential and power of communities, citizens and ‘laypeople’. However, this is a rather shallow vision on ICC.
ICC points towards a paradigm shift at the citizen, community and system level. Lived experience, a shared vision on the fate of the community, distributed power and collective learning are its cornerstones.
TransForm undertook a mapping exercise of promising practices in the area of ICC that served as a source of evidence and the basis for developing a series of conferences and site visits. This exercise was supported by an Advisory Group composed of experts from different backgrounds.
From September 2018 to September 2022, four transnational conferences – with accompanying site visit programmes – were organised in Europe and Canada. The conferences were based around expert lectures, illustrative case studies and theme-based workshops through which delegates were able to debate and develop a common understanding of integrated community care, its value, its principles, ingredients, challenges and facilitators. The study visits to ‘promising practices’ of ICC provided insights into different approaches to ICC and how to move from the theory to the practice, making ICC the new norm for care.
The diagram below illustrates TransForm’s learning journey.
TransForm is a joint initiative of six Foundations, hosted by the Network of European Foundations. Content support is provided by the International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC). The logos of the foundations involved in the partnership are listed below in alphabetical order.