Senior Living Lab: An Ecological Approach to Foster Social Innovation in an Ageing Society

Abstract

Abstract:The Senior Living Lab (SLL) is a transdisciplinary research platform created by four Universities that aims at promoting ageing well at home through the co-creation of innovative products, services and practices with older adults. While most living labs for ageing well are focused on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), this social laboratory adopts a transdisciplinary approach, bringing together designers, economists, engineers and healthcare professionals to develop multiple forms of social innovation using participatory methods. The SLL is based on an ecological approach, connecting professionals and users in a cooperative network and involving all of the stakeholders concerned with ageing well, such as existing associations, business entities and policy-makers. Three main themes for the co-design of products and services were identified at the beginning of the SLL conception, each sustained by a major business partner: healthy nutrition to cope with frailty, improved autonomous mobility to foster independence and social communication to prevent isolation. This article shows the innovative transdisciplinary approach of the SLL and discusses the particular challenges that emerged during the first year of its creation, investigating the role of ICTs when designing products and services for older adults.

ICT-enabled co-production of public services: Barriers and enablers. A systematic review

“…Finally, bureaucracy (formality, hierarchy, uniformity) may hinder the uptake of ICTs to co-produce. Turning to citizens, use of ICTs to co-produce may be hampered by a range of structural factors, including their technical skills and motivations, or citizens' demographic factors, such as their gender and age (Angelini et al, 2016;Max-Neef, 2005;Van Deursen and Van Dijk, 2011). Furthermore, citizens may avoid ICTs due to a range of cultural factors, including their reluctance to integrate these practices as a habit into their daily lives, fears that ICTs may invade their privacy, or because they do not trust in government (Fledderus, 2015;Porumbescu, 2016).…”

<p>A Comprehensive Scoping Review Protocol of Using Living Labs to Explore Needs and Solutions for Older Adults with Dementia</p>

“…6,7 In parallel, more and more healthcare professionals and individual citizens want to participate in these innovations and voice their opinions on the definition of pertinent, innovative, and implementable solutions. 8 Indeed, the field of health care is actively looking for open-innovation approaches to meeting the day to day complexities of clinical practice. One means of doing this is by driving collaborative multi-stakeholder inquiries that can better identify and respond to the complex health needs of community-dwelling older adults with cognitive impairment due to varied etiologies.…”

User-driven innovation and technology-use in public health and social care: A systematic review of existing evidence

“…Focus group was a method to debate about open topics, such as nutrition, mobility, and interpersonal communication; it also helped to investigate the users' perception of existing technological options. The World Café was a gathering that involved the users in discussing prepared topics, such as the most valuable elements that relevant to the older adults' health aging and the innovative ways to obtain them (Angelini et al, 2016).…”