Demographic ageing has resulted in increasing need for long-term care services. In order to ensure the sustainability and efficacy of long-term care systems, it is paramount to have a well-qualified, motivated and healthy workforce. To this end it is important to have a good picture of the present working conditions of the long-term care workforce in order to anticipate future needs in this area.

Following an increased interest at the EU level in the prevention of chronic diseases, the current project aims to carry out a comprehensive review of scientific evidence and policies related to nutrition and physical activity with particular focus on overweight and obesity. A series of expert workshops will be held to discuss and validate the reviews and to formulate conclusions that may be relevant for policy-making. Based on the review and the expert workshops a robust set of evidence-based policy options will be defined.

A number of countries regularly publish data on the consumption of pharmaceuticals. Recently, the Main Association of the Austrian Social Security Institutions has provided administrative data on pharmaceutical consumption in Austria which have been analysed and presented in a draft report. The European Centre will coordinate an external evaluation of these analyses.

The Bridge Building Summer School on social welfare was a response to the need for capacity building from the 2016 Launch event 'Building Bridges in Social Welfare Policy in Eastern Europe' (19 September 2016 in Vienna) regarding joint research, project acquisition and project development, especially, in the areas of youth unemployment, labour market policy, healthy and active ageing and demographic change.

The so-called ‘Industry 4.0’ is regarded as the 4th industrial revolution and has enormous impacts on the world of work. It influences qualification needs, work organisation, the quality of work, and, in more general, the collaboration between human and technology. The course covered major work-related topics during its seven training modules such as new forms of work organisation, changes/needs for ‘learning & skills’, diversity, gender and the ageing of work force.