The Social Innovation Centre developed the Actionable Strategy for Healthy Ageing 2027–2030 to help close the EU’s healthspan–lifespan gap by integrating research, public discourse analysis, and regional data into a coordinated framework that prioritises behavioural interventions, regional solutions, and the active role of older adults in shaping healthier ageing.

The Actionable Strategy for Healthy Ageing 2027–2030 is a policy and practice framework designed to close the EU’s 9-year healthspan-lifespan gap — the difference between how long people live and how long they live in good health. Built around four strategic pillars — Behavioural Infrastructure, Clinical Translation, Discourse & Equity, and EU Alignment & Research — the strategy sets measurable targets for 2030, including reducing negative ageing sentiment below 30%, achieving 60%+ physical activity adherence among adults aged 55–74, and securing over €12 million in EU co-funding. It draws on an integrated evidence base spanning biology, pharmacology, public discourse analysis, and regional demographic data, and aligns with the European Commission’s PAHA+ targets for adding healthy life years across the bloc. What makes the strategy distinctive is its insistence that knowledge is no longer the barrier — coordination is. It prioritises proven behavioural interventions (exercise, diet, sleep, social connection) as the foundation, ahead of emerging pharmacology, and explicitly rejects uniform national approaches in favour of regional differentiation to reach populations where negative ageing attitudes and health inequalities are most acute. It also centres older adults as agents rather than recipients, building infrastructure for their voices to shape public discourse. With a phased implementation roadmap from 2024 to 2030 and a governance model spanning ministerial, municipal, clinical, and EU levels, the strategy offers a blueprint for turning well-established science into real population-level outcomes.