Where Dialogue Meets Actions: The BEAMER Consortium Gathering in Portugal

Not much time has passed since the entire BEAMER consortium came together in Porto (Portugal) for the first time ever. The two-day experience was, to say the least, energetic and meaningful. Organisation partners who had spent the initial year of the project coordinating online could now meet their colleagues in person and carry the conversation even further. And, when we reflect on the BEAMER consortium meeting, perhaps the word “conversation” best describes what took place in the city filled with historical sites and bright blue tiles.

Throughout these two days, project partners spoke and listened to one another about advances made and the next steps needed to help promote progress. Disagreements occurred, of course, but like any gathering of different expert profiles (pharma, patient organisations, SMEs, academia and healthcare professionals), only an open and transparent exchange of words would pave the way for breakthrough insights and impactful action.

BEAMER CONSORTIUM MEMBERS IN PORTO, PORTUGAL (SEPTEMBER 2022)

For instance, the consortium fully agreed that stakeholder engagement–especially with individuals with health conditions–would be key to developing a successful BEAMER model. “Successful” within this context means the model to be developed will be fitted to the unique needs of end-users. Although debate arose on the approach in contacting and involving different stakeholders, e.g., healthcare professionals or policymakers, regularly through a 5-year project, we could outline and review an initial draft procedure that enables all partners and their expertise to contribute (this is currently being formalised internally for execution in the coming month).

…only an open and transparent exchange of words would pave the way for breakthrough insights and impactful action.

This scenario is just one example of many, in which we saw how honest, focused conversations could invite desirable outcomes–be it a newly structured process or even the consideration of data ownership and protection practices. There is still much more to accomplish in our case, given that we just stepped into year 2 of the project. However, if we keep speaking with one another and attentively listening to ensure that end-users will benefit, there is no doubt that the BEAMER project will have much to say in little time.

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Would you like to see a sneak peek of the two-day BEAMER consortium meeting in Porto, Portugal? Watch the video below and listen to Elisio Costas (University of Oporto) and Claire Everitt (Pfizer) as they speak about the project, its aims and potential impact.