Impact: Across the sector

At a sector-wide and international level the work of The National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) is stimulating change through ground-breaking initiatives with supply side tech solution providers tech providers, communities and cities. Whilst HWL is making an impact on the demand side with front line with care workers at care homes such as Abbotsford in Fife to instigate scaleable change that can adopted across the sector. Both types of innovation are necessary and complimentary to accelerate progress.

Impact: across the sector

In conversation with Lynne Corner, Deputy Director of The National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA).

John Mathers, former Design Council CEO, Chair of the British Design Fund and HWL advisor, caught up with Lynne Corner, to find out how NICA helps to get people the products and services which they need, want and aspire to have.

NICA was established by the UK Government with the specific remit to look at longevity and, in particular, to help innovative businesses to capitalise on the colossal economic growth opportunities presented by the healthy ageing market.

Lynne is also the Director of VOICE, an international network of older consumers who can react to new ideas and inspirations. Established in 2010 VOICE focusses on harnessing the imagination and experience locked in the minds of citizens, and embracing a co-design approach – an ethos at the heart of the HWL programme.

Lynne has strong views on the need to re-position the Care sector, the need to radically re-think what exactly Care will mean in the future and what is Healthy Ageing.

Enabling care workers to lead change

1. How is NICA stimulating innovation in care?

“NICA is pioneering a programme called - The Internet of Caring Things, that supports growing companies to help allow individuals to live independently. We’re exploring how can businesses create data-driven products and services that aid consumers’ most important needs and wants? What are people’s unmet expectations and aspirations around hardware and software innovation? And how can we create a more ‘caring’ future together?

Together, citizens and businesses will be able to develop design insights about care and data-driven technologies that will help people live better lives, as well as solutions that will be beneficial to your end-users and stakeholders.”

2. Why can’t you innovate without users?

“To properly harness the opportunities, we need to realise how much better served we will be by listening and empathising; understanding users challenges and opportunities, recognising that healthy ageing is multi-generational issue.

It’s important, to realise that VOICE is not just in the UK - it embraces a truly international agenda and has representation in the US, Canada, Australia, Singapore, China, Taiwan, and across Europe.”

3. What’s your perspective on the healthy ageing innovation landscape?

“I’m particularly interested in the work you are doing in the Healthier Working Lives programme. NICA recognises that the Care sector underpins everything we all do in healthy Ageing and that innovation is desperately needed.”

Listen to Lynne’s views on the need to raise standards and to value care workers, how we need to pay for care moving forward, tackle the clunky commissioning structures and look at how we work smarter in the future.

And finally hear Lynne’s thoughts about the Vision which NICA has – thinking differently, using the smartest of technologies and how we use data more effectively – without ever forgetting that we are dealing with humanity. It’s a fascinating conversation.

Connect with Lynne

Change Agents: putting older workers at the vanguard of change

The National Innovation Centre for Ageing is a global organisation supported by an initial investment from UK Government and Newcastle University to help co-innovate - together with citizens and private and public organisations - services, technologies and products and deliver them to the market through innovative, ethical, and sustainable business models.

NICA’s mission is to “add intelligence to ageing and longevity”, by connecting and interpreting the personal, social, environmental and economic dimensions that underpin different stages of life. The purpose to create a world in which we all live better, for longer, caring about planet and people - present and future.

NICA's sister organisation, VOICE®, is a unique organisation, comprising a large network of citizens across the UK and internationally. VOICE members contribute immense insights, experience, ideas and wisdom to identify unmet needs, wants and aspirations to drive innovation for healthy ageing and longevity and improve research.

VOICE® harnesses the insights, wisdom, vision, and experience of the public, of all ages, all backgrounds, and has particular expertise in harnessing the immense contribution and skills of older citizens. Voice has been successfully building and operating our thriving and successful citizen engagement network for over 10 years and are constantly evolving our advanced digital platforms to make reaching and connecting different people and communities as easy and effective as possible.

Closely collaborating with selected partners, VOICE® is rapidly expanding across the globe. Nurturing a growing international community of ‘innovation savvy citizens’ we are leading global dialogue and debate with citizens, co-designing, co-developing and testing in real-world, real-time settings what is needed and wanted for happier, healthier lives.