Background Since 2009, the King Baudouin Foundation (an independent and pluralistic foundation working in Belgium and at the international level) is working on the way to improve quality of life and autonomy of the person with dementia, with a particular attention to early healthcare planning. From 2012 to 2014, the Foundation financed twelve pilot projects in Belgium which implemented Advance Care Planning (ACP) for people with dementia within different settings.

Methods The authors conducted an action-research by visiting the projects, studying their records and by means of (semi-structured) interviews. Moreover, 4 meetings were organised with all participating projects, the researchers and several experts in the present field in order to encourage interchange of knowledge and self-reflection of the projects.

Results The great variety of projects has been analysed through a typology whose pro’s and con’s will be presented. Beyond this diversity, consensus has been found about different principles which will be discussed. For example, the idea that the dialogue process is more important than the documents. Or the principle that even when there are documents such as advance directives, priority must be given to what the person expresses now about his/her wishes.

Conclusions Some of the recommendations to public authorities will be set forth, about the necessity of a citizens information concerning ACP, professionals training on how to manage the ACP process, or the need for more research and pilot experiences on specific topics.