C.H.I.CO. Cluster of Health Innovation and Community, the first Health Cluster of the Lazio Region (Italy), is a private not-for-profit membership organisation for Life Science and Healthcare sectors.

It was founded as facilitator for the transfer of knowledge and technologies from research to industry to developing innovative projects in the field of health and wellbeing.

The partners of the Cluster organisation are Health Authorities (municipalities of Latina, Civitavecchia, Frosinone, Viterbo, Rieti), Universities (Sapienza, LUISS, Tuscia, Tor Vergata, Campus Bio-Medico), Research Institutions (PIN, Università di Firenze, Sapienza Innovazione, Istituto Zooprofilattico, Fondazione BioCampus, Sportello Matematico per l’Industria Italiana), Hospitals and pharmaceutical, biomedical, information technology, functional food, agribusiness companies.

Until January 2016 joined the Cluster of Health more than 100 partners.

Mission and Aims

C.H.I.CO.’s mission is to maximize the global competitiveness of the Cluster members by developing relationships, promoting the cooperation for innovative projects for Life Science and Healthcare sectors to ensure a sustainable economic growth.

The Cluster represents the interests of all its members and the role of C.H.I.CO. is to facilitate and support them in their innovative processes development as a main factor of competitiveness by planning of effective activities that contribute to enhancing the capacity for innovation of the participating members.

Therefore, the main aim is to create guidelines for the development of the Life Science and Healthcare sectors at national and international level that would increase the impact of the innovative projects of the actors involved on key economic players.

-  Specialised Enterprises, Health Authorities, Universities, Research Institutions and Hospitals can cooperate closely together to be more innovative and to create more jobs.

-  Easiness to transfer knowledge and technology from research departments to the various industrial sectors in order to develop innovative projects.

-  Promotion and research for national and international business opportunities and partnerships in the field of technology transfer and industrial and commercial cooperation.

-  Development of industrial and commercialization projects mainly on Cluster members’ priority thematics.

-  Stimulation of added value interactions among the shareholders of the Cluster organisation to create synergies complementarities and to promote all relevant collective initiatives.

-  Creation with all regional, national and EU partners of an adequate environment for development of innovation projects, particularly for Life Science sector.

-  Cooperation and partnership with Research Centers, Regional Clusters, Research Institutions and Foundations at national and international level (Cluster Tecnologico Nazionale sulle Tecnologie per le Smart Communities– FONDAZIONE TORINO WIRELESS, Cluster Nazionale ALISEI, Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences, Umbria Biomedical Cluster, Sardinia Biomed Cluster, Cluster Abruzzo).

-  Possibility of participation to European programmes in the framework of the smart specialization strategy regarding the new operational EU programmes 2015-2020

-  Planning of training programmes focused on the needs of C.H.I.CO.’s members