The final conference of the HEROES Joint Action was held in Rome on 7–8 July 2026, bringing together European policymakers, health policy experts, researchers, and leading professionals in health workforce planning to review the achievements of the project’s more than three years of collaborative work. Semmelweis University was represented at the event by our colleagues, Dr. Eszter Kovács and Dr. Zoltán Cserháti from the Health Services Management Training Center at the Faculty of Health and Public Administration (HSMTC).
The HEROES Joint Action builds on the achievements of the JA-EUHWF Joint Action and the SEPEN service contract, both of which featured a leading contribution from the HSMTC of Semmelweis University throughout their implementation.
The HEROES Joint Action brought together 51 partner organizations from 19 European countries with the shared objective of strengthening national capacities for health workforce planning across Europe.
The project focused on four strategic areas:
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improving human resources for health (HRH) data and developing advanced workforce planning and forecasting models;
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strengthening the competencies of professionals involved in health workforce planning;
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enhancing stakeholder collaboration;
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reinforcing policy governance and strategic coordination.
As a result of the project, a comprehensive portfolio of practical tools, methodological guidance, data development approaches, training materials, and national policy action plans has been developed to support evidence-informed health workforce planning across Europe in the long term.
Over the past three and a half years, the Health Workforce Planning Knowledge Centre of Semmelweis University’s HSMTC also led three horizontal activities within the Joint Action:
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maintaining and further developing the https://healthworkforce.eu/ platform;
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pptimising HRH data to support agile workforce planning;
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cCoordinating policy dialogues among participating countries and stakeholders.
The conference showcased the methodologies, tools, policy recommendations, and good practices developed within the HEROES Joint Action. Participants also discussed how these outputs can be sustained and further integrated into future European cooperation. The event was streamed online, enabling broad international participation.
One of the conference’s key messages was that health workforce planning has evolved beyond a purely technical exercise into a complex process requiring strategic governance, coordination, and cross-sector collaboration.
High-quality data, robust planning models, well-trained workforce planning professionals, and active policy cooperation together provide the foundation for sustainable decision-making and dynamic evidence-informed workforce planning. The expert community established through HEROES and the extensive exchange of knowledge among participating countries clearly demonstrated the significant added value of European collaboration in strengthening health systems’ resilience.
The final conference marked not only the successful completion of the HEROES Joint Action but also the consolidation of a strong European professional community that will continue working together to advance health workforce planning in the years ahead.
The legacy of HEROES – including its tools, methodologies, policy recommendations, and enduring partnerships – will continue to support European countries in responding more effectively to workforce shortages, demographic change, digital transformation, and the evolving challenges facing healthcare systems.