Tiers-Lieux d'Expérimentation en santé (TLE)

Mission

Support

Type of actor

Support player

Fields of intervention

Health / Social care / Medical Device

Intervention zone

Regional / National

What are Tiers-Lieux d'Expérimentation (TLE)?

TLEs are consortia, typically led by healthcare organizations.

Driven by the France 2030 program, 37 TLEs are developing a range of services for developers of innovative digital healthcare solutions.  

TLEs help developers of innovative digital healthcare solutions “mitigate the risks” associated with their projects. By ensuring the solution’s usability and acceptability among future users, its technical and regulatory compliance, and its business model, TLEs maximize the chances of successfully reaching the target market. 

Discover the Tiers-Lieux d'Expérimentation here

Find out here how a user study can help you refine your project

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💡 I have a project—how can connecting with Tiers-Lieux d'Expérimentation in health (TLE) help me?

The main mission of a TLE is to help you refine your project and maximize the chances that your solution will find its market.


To this end, the TLE offers project leaders a customized service package that allows you to:

  • Co-design your solution with professionals and users;
  • Test your solution in real-world conditions and assess its ability to meet the expectations and usage constraints of professionals and users;
  • Assess the clinical and medico-economic benefits of your solution;
  • Receive guidance on the technical and regulatory specifics unique to the healthcare sector;
  • Receive guidance on funding and market access strategies…


Through the consortia formed by the TLEs, you’ll have access to: 

  • Your future users and beneficiaries (healthcare professionals, patients);
  • Your future clients (healthcare facility management);
  • To specialized expertise (medical, market, regulatory, technical, etc.);
  • To an organization recognized for the methodological quality of its trials and evaluations, which will enable you to showcase the results of these studies.
Affiche - TLE - Présentation de notre offre de services

🌟 I have a project—how do I work with a TLE?

Each TLE has its own structure and processes, but they all share the same goal: to support you in designing, testing, and bringing your solution to market.

  • You can learn more about each TLE (priority health topics, consortium composition, areas of expertise, services offered, etc.) through G_NIUS;
  • You can contact the TLEs that interest you, also through G_NIUS;
  • The TLEs will offer you customized services based on your specific needs and the maturity of your solution;
  • TLE services generally require a fee.

 

Are you a healthcare professional or a patient who would like to contribute to a TLE? Feel free to reach out to them to participate in the pilot projects led by the TLEs! 

🤝 At what stage of my project should I get in touch? 

You can request a TLE at any stage of your project, from the initial idea to commercialization, such as: 

  • Ideation phase (TRL 0–1): to foster innovation and draw inspiration by staying closely attuned to user needs;
  • Feasibility study (TRL 2–3): to gain a thorough understanding of the project’s challenges by consulting with stakeholders;
  • Advanced development / testing and evaluation phase (TRL 4–5): to co-design and test the prototype or solution under real-world conditions;
  • Clinical trials and proof-of-concept/experimentation phase (TRL 6–7): to validate the solution’s impact and its implementation in real-world settings;
  • Production / Commercialization Phase (TRL 8–9): to continue evaluating the solution and further adapt it to users’ specific contexts of use.

💸 Do they fund projects?

No, but they can assist you in securing funding and referencing your solution in the catalogs of purchasing cooperatives such as RESAH or UniHA’s “Innovative Solutions—TLE” marketplace.

🧰 Accessible Resources

Digital health" acceleration strategy List of Tiers-Lieux d'Expérimentation en santé (healthcare experimentation Tiers-Lieux) Tiers-Lieux d'Expérimentation en santé call for projects

📖 Practical Guide

All the questions you need to ask about Tiers-Lieux d'Expérimentation en santé (TLE). 

Who is the right person to contact?

Find the Tiers-Lieux d'Expérimentation in your region and their contact information here.

Do you have to pay for the services provided by these facilities?

Yes, the services provided by Tiers-Lieux d'Expérimentation in health may be subject to a fee.

Do TLEs manifest as a physical location?

No, TLEs do not necessarily have a physical space. They are a group of stakeholders with diverse areas of expertise, brought together through a consortium agreement.

Is a TLE the same as a startup incubator or accelerator?

No, a TLE’s primary mission is not to incubate or accelerate a startup, but to help it design, test, and evaluate its solution in real-world settings within healthcare facilities. However, many TLEs have partnerships with incubators or accelerators to provide you with a more comprehensive range of services.

Does going through a TLE guarantee that my solution will be purchased by the healthcare organization at the end of the pilot program?

No, the TLE does not replace the procurement department of healthcare organizations. However, thanks to the evaluations conducted by the TLE, you will have evidence of the value of your solution.

Can a TLE grant me CE marking?

No, a TLE is not a notified body and is therefore not authorized to grant CE marking to a solution. However, testing and evaluating your solution with a TLE can help you put together your CE marking application.