The Italian reference sites of the European innovation partnership on active and healthy ageing: Progetto Mattone Internazionale as an enabling factor

Background. Ageing population implies an increasing demand for health care services and resources, unsustainable according to current previsions. The European Commission is tackling this challenge throughout initiatives such as the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA), where all the efforts are aligned to the common goal of adding two active and healthy years to the life of European Union (EU) citizens. Method. We presented the collaborative efforts of Italian Reference Site Collaborative Network 2012-2015. Results. Italian regions joined forces through the "Progetto Mattone Internazionale" of the Ministry of Health developing several national and international collaborations. Activities from all five Italian reference sites are presented with different good practices and scale-up approaches for improving health in ageing population. Discussion. The simultaneous development of these activities allowed the strengthening of the coordination of Italian stakeholders in the European arena fostering collaboration and supporting the streamlining of the Italian regions still outside these projects.