The investment plan for Europe : human capital, skills, social economy and health : state of play, 13 January 2016.
Date: 2016-03-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: EU investment, health care, public health, social economy, social impact, updating of skills

H U M A N   C A P I TA L ,   S K I L L S ,   S O C I A L   E C O N O M Y   A N D   H E A LT H

The  European  Fund  for  Strategic  Investments  (EFSI)  can 
contribute  to  meeting  the  social  objectives  of  the 
Europe 2020 Strategy (notably inclusive growth) through 
support  for  social  entrepreneurship  and  other  areas  of  the 
social economy.

In  line  with  the  skills  agenda,  specific  action  to  focus  upon 
increasing  skills  investment  in  SMEs  (e.g.  investing 
in  future  talent  by  opening  up  new  opportunities  for 
apprenticeship  places  for  young  people,  including  social 
impact  investment,  and  by  deploying  the  existing  EASI 
(employment  and  social  innovation)  programme  targeting 
vulnerable groups) could be developed to fit under the SME 
window of the EFSI.

The EFSI could also potentially play a role in financing migration-
related  projects,  for  instance  relating  to  accommodation 
infrastructure and the integration of refugees and migrants 
into education and training. Higher visibility of projects in the 
social economy and health sectors could be ensured via the 
European Investment Project Portal.

The Commission is in discussion with the European Investment 
Fund (EIF) about the creation of an innovative Social Impact 
Instrument. The intervention encompasses two pillars. 
• Catalysing  the  establishment  of  Social  Impact 
Funds (SIFs) or investing in existing ones, to support social 
entrepreneurship  and  the  provision  of  social  services  by 
social enterprises targeting vulnerable groups. In this context, 
a  dedicated  focus  may  be  put  on  refugees  and  migrants. 
The Social Impact Funds are meant to mobilise investments 
from  National  Promotional  Banks  and  the  private  sector. 
Mobilised  investments  at  the  level  of  final  recipients  are 
expected  to  be  up  to  EUR  1  billion.  The  Commission  is 
prepared to support investments in such SIFs under the EFSI 
framework  as  part  of  the  SME  window  equity  instrument 
which is currently being developed in cooperation with the 
EIF.  The  possibility  of  providing  complementary  financial 
support from the EaSI programme and the European Social 
Fund is currently under consideration.

• Setting  up  a  pilot  ‘Payment-by-results’  scheme  to 
scale  up  the  provision  of  social  services  by  private  sector 
providers  (notably  social  enterprises)  that  would  be  paid 
upon the achievement of specific social objectives through 
procurement  procedures.  Technical  Assistance  under  the 
European  Investment  Advisory  Hub  could  support  the 
development of impact metrics.

Sectoral coverage (some projects cover several sectors)

ICT

3

4

Mid-Caps/SMEs

Transport

8

Energy

17

RDI
1 project covering health

5

23

HEALTH

Environment/ 
resource efficiency

Out of the 42 projects approved by the European Investment Bank (EIB) so 
far, four projects are in the health sector. 

EIB financing:  
400 million €

Expected to trigger 987 million €  
in total investments

Projects are located in four 
Member States. 

1

1

1

1

THE INVESTMENT PLAN FOR EUROPESTATE OF PLAY13 January 2016List of projects in the human capital, skills, social economy and health

ES Grifols biosciences R & D   
(signed in October 2015)

UK Midland Metropolitan Hospital  
(signed in December 2015)

• Research  and  development  to 

improve  medical 
treatment for conditions including Alzheimer’s disease, 
vascular and cardiovascular surgery

• EIB financing under EFSI amounts to EUR 100 million; 
total  investment  triggered  amounts  to  EUR  241 
million

• Expected job creation during construction and operation 

phases: 12

• Construction of a new teaching hospital in a brownfield 

site in Birmingham, UK

• EIB financing under EFSI amounts to EUR 170 million; 
total  investment  triggered  amounts  to  EUR  494 
million

• Expected job creation during construction and operation 

phases: 3 800

IE Primary care centres (approved, not yet signed)

AT Hospital facilities in Austria (approved, not yet signed)

• Construction of new primary healthcare centres across 

Ireland 

• Construction and refurbishment of hospitals and 

replacing existing outdated facilities under a 
comprehensive integrated healthcare plan

Print

ISBN 978-92-79-55962-4

doi:10.2775/962793

NA-01-16-200-EN-C

PDF

ISBN 978-92-79-55961-7

doi:10.2775/62978

NA-01-16-200-EN-N