Strategic Blueprint
A Blueprint for European Cancer Data Coordination
UNCAN-Connect is a landmark initiative designed to unite fragmented data and research efforts across Europe. By creating a federated data ecosystem, we empower researchers to share insights, accelerate discoveries, and ultimately transform patient outcomes.
Roadmap
Project Phases
Our journey is divided into four critical phases designed to transition European oncology research into a unified ecosystem.
01
Project Preparation & Framework
Defining the conceptual, governance, and ethical foundations required for a trusted and scalable European cancer data ecosystem.
02
Infrastructure & Platform Development
Building the legal, governance, and technical infrastructure enabling secure and compliant federated data use across Europe.
03
Use Case Implementation & Validation
Applying and validating the UNCAN-Connect infrastructure through real clinical use cases across multiple cancer types.
04
Dissemination, Exploitation & Coordination
Ensuring continuous coordination, ethical oversight, dissemination, and translation of results into long-term impact.
Global Outcomes
Key Objectives
& Main Results
UNCAN-Connect delivers concrete, infrastructure-level impact by enabling secure, federated access to cancer research data across Europe. The project strengthens the foundations for cross-border collaboration, interoperability, and reuse of data in line with the EU Mission on Cancer.
Infrastructure
Federated Data Ecosystem
Establishing a secure, federated framework that enables cross-border discovery and analysis of cancer data while ensuring that sensitive patient data remain under national control and compliant with ethical and legal requirements.
Validation
Enabling Research Through Federated Data Collaboration
Supporting cancer research use cases by providing access to distributed datasets and analytical tools, illustrating how cross-border data collaboration can generate evidence while keeping data secure.
Policy & Coordination
Evidence for Scalable Collaboration
Generating practical evidence, best practices, and technical insights to inform future EU-level initiatives on cancer data sharing, interoperability, and federated research infrastructures under the EU Mission on Cancer.
Operational Pillars
Work Package Categories
UNCAN-Connect framework is divided into four strategic pillars, from governance to clinical impact.
WP 01–02
Governance & Stakeholders
Building the foundation and cross-border consensus required to align the research community.
WP 03–06
Infrastructure & Data
Architecting technical cores, data standards, and legal-ethical frameworks.
WP 07–12
Clinical Use Cases
Validating the platform through high-impact clinical streams and research.
WP 13–15
Dissemination & Ethics
Ensuring results reach policy makers while securing long-term integrity.
Guiding Principles
A Pan-European Alliance of Excellence
UNCAN-Connect is powered by a diverse consortium of Europe’s leading cancer institutes, research organisations, and digital infrastructure providers.
Our partners represent the cutting edge of oncology research and data science, working collaboratively to dismantle fragmented silos and build a unified data space.
Project Duration
60 Months
Total Budget
€ 30 Million
Consortium
53 Partners
Strategic Alliances
Project Synergies
UNCAN-Connect operates within a vibrant ecosystem of European initiatives, working closely with partner projects to harmonize efforts in cancer data and infrastructure.
CLUSTER PARTNER
CANDLE
CANDLE focuses on the integration of heterogeneous data sources to support the European Cancer Patient Digital Centre (ECPDC). By collaborating with CANDLE, we ensure that the technical architecture of UNCAN-Connect is fully interoperable with patient-facing digital health tools.
- Data Integration Standards
- Patient-Centric Infrastructure
- Cross-Project Technical Sync
Infrastructure Sync
EU-CIP
The EU-CIP initiative is dedicated to the Coordination and Integration of the Cancer Mission Projects. UNCAN-Connect project synergy with EU-CIP facilitates the sharing of best practices, legal-ethical frameworks, and communication strategies across the entire portfolio of EU-funded cancer research.
- Strategic Roadmap Alignment
- Joint Stakeholder Engagement
- ELSI Framework Harmonization
EU Project
Funding and Support
UNCAN-Connect is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101215206.
By uniting 53 international partners, UNCAN-Connect is developing the technical and legal architecture necessary to support the EU Mission on Cancer, ultimately improving patient outcomes through data-driven research and cross-border collaboration.
Grant Agreement No. 101215206