The Second HEROES Policy Board: Driving Sustainable Healthcare Workforce Planning Across Europe

We are thrilled to announce the successful conclusion of the Second Policy Board Meeting of the HEROES Joint Action! This board—composed of representatives from the Ministries of Health and other competent authorities of our 19 participating countries—plays a critical role in guiding the sustainability of our project results and ensuring that evidence-based policy making remains at the core of healthcare workforce planning across Europe.

During our discussions, several key challenges emerged:

• The collection and analysis of reliable workforce data, which is often fragmented among different data owners and systems.
• The creation of accurate forecasts that account for demographic shifts and evolving healthcare demands, while remaining accessible to policymakers and stakeholders alike.
• The need for bilateral and multilateral collaborations to share best practices, standardize methodologies, and enhance communication and stakeholder engagement.

Our Policy Board members highlighted that greater European collaboration could move us toward a more integrated healthcare workforce planning system—one that recognizes the dynamic nature of the healthcare workforce and the complex role of planners at the intersection of statistics, strategy, and policy.