August 2025 Partner Meeting

Supported by PEACEPLUS and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), SUMIT is dedicated to improving support for individuals facing substance use and mental health challenges by integrating digital solutions with existing services across Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Fife, Scotland. In August 2025, representatives from Trinity College Dublin (TCD), the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre (DHI, Scotland), the University of St Andrews, and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations attended a workshop focused on coordinating SUMIT activities and finalising timelines before engaging with community demonstrator sites. SUMIT partners will collaborate with a variety of community and voluntary groups in the North-East (Dundalk and Drogheda), North-West (Derry/Letterkenny), and Belfast (Prison Services) to support people dealing with substance use and mental health needs. The project will work closely with associate partners in these regions to co-design digital tools tailored to address local challenges and enhance current services. Participating organisations will also have the chance to join a cross-border Community of Practice for sharing knowledge and best practices.

Workshop Outcomes

The workshop proved to be highly productive, resulting in:

• Clearly defined, measurable outcomes for project evaluation
• Potential time savings for project initiation
• A shared understanding of each partner’s activities and work plans
• Established processes and protocols to ensure ethical standards and governance throughout project activities

Cross-border approach

The period of conflict has had notable effects on cross-border communities, especially for individuals dealing with substance use and mental health issues. SUMIT focuses on addressing these challenges by aiming to reduce stigma and enhance health, wellbeing, and social inclusion among populations affected during the peace process. The initiative brings together cross-border expertise from academia, industry, community, voluntary, and health service sectors at both strategic and operational levels. This cross-border approach is intended to foster greater cooperation for integrated service delivery, facilitate knowledge exchange, and streamline procurement processes, supporting long-term collaboration.

Looking forward

SUMIT integrates specialist academic expertise, advanced digital implementation capabilities, practical wisdom, and lived experience to develop innovative digital solutions aimed at addressing complex challenges for people with substance use and mental health issues —individuals experiencing significant health inequalities—within a cross-border programme. The initiative will engage stakeholders across organisational boundaries, including health, social work, and voluntary/community sectors, facilitating collaboration and reducing silos between drug, alcohol, mental health, and criminal justice systems. Employing participatory co-design methodologies, SUMIT will creatively involve individuals with lived and living experience alongside service providers to collaboratively design future care and support within a digitally enabled framework.

The programme will focus on supporting individuals during vulnerable transitional periods, such as release from prison and homelessness, with the objective of mitigating stigma. By leveraging pioneering insights and expertise in digital healthcare from partners in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland, SUMIT aims to expedite implementation, anticipate challenges, and address practical issues effectively. This pilot initiative will harness international best practices in digital health and care, aligning them with experienced practitioners from NI, IRE, SCO, and industry innovators to expand care delivery to 1,500 beneficiaries, while generating evidence to inform optimal commissioning, implementation, and value realization from investment in digital enhancements of health and care services.