Innovation for Ageing kick-off meeting engaged also external expert’s vision and insights.

The kick-off meeting of the IN-4-AHA project was held on 9 February. External stakeholders were invited to join the morning programme to discuss the project’s mission, the current policy framework, and existing barriers to scale-up active and healthy ageing. IN-4-AHA proved how it can unlock the potential and deliver the promise of digital innovation. The consortium furthermore showcased how stakeholders such as the EIP on AHA community, policy-makers, healthcare providers, SME’s, and investors can be engaged in the project. 

Irina Kalderon Libal (DG CONNECT, European Commission) presented the current EU policy framework around ageing and focused on the Green Paper on Ageing that was published on 27 January 2021. Gisela Garcia- Alvarez (Galician Health Cluster), a partner in the IN-4-AHA consortium, discussed the importance of clusters and digital innovation hubs to engage with several layers of the society and together work towards innovative solutions. During a lively panel discussion, members of the IN-4-AHA consortium and external stakeholders discussed the legacy of EIP on AHA, and, furthermore, identified what kind of changes are required for the future. The speakers agreed that new solutions should be sustainable and must be built upon strong dialogues with all sorts of stakeholders. The new plans should be in line with procurers’ needs and the expectations of the end-users.

Link to recording: https://www.tehnopol.ee/en/innovation-networks-for-scaling-active-and-healthy-ageing/

Experienced Partners Joint Forces to Empower Innovation for Active and Healthy Ageing

The EU-funded IN-4-AHA project (SC1-HCC-08-2020) will build on the achievements and legacy of the EIP on AHA ecosystem to further enhance the uptake of digital innovations in active and healthy ageing. The main outcome of the IN-4-AHA project is an active and healthy ageing innovation scale-up model that is validated by stakeholders and complemented by a clear implementation roadmap, an innovation impact evaluation toolkit and a strategy for long-term investments.

February 2021– The Innovation Networks for Scaling Active and Healthy Ageing (IN-4-AHA) project consists of nine partners and will build upon the legacy of the EIP on AHA ecosystem and advance digital innovation for the benefit of the silver economy.

The success and large-scale use of digital tools for citizen empowerment and person-centred care heavily depend on an active contribution from local and regional ecosystems, stakeholder groups, and organisations, including industry, civil society, academia, and public administration. In this respect, the main objective of the IN-4-AHA project is to ensure the overall coordination and support to further scale-up mechanisms provided by EIP on AHA and its stakeholders towards a more efficient uptake of innovations in active and healthy ageing.

IN-4-AHA will engage with stakeholders in multiple workshops throughout the project and capitalize those workshops in two ways – in improving both the innovation cycle as well as the engagement with all relevant stakeholders. Besides actively involving the EIP on AHA community, the project will also engage with the Joint Programming Initiative on More Years Better Lives, the Active and Assisted Living Programme, EIT Digital and EIT Health.

The IN-4-AHA project is aiming to bring together the supply and demand sides in implementing scaling up strategies for innovative solutions (technology, integration of health and social care, systemic change), taking into account end-users’ perspective. IN-4-AHA will develop a model which facilitates the scale-up of innovative solutions in active healthy ageing. This model will be built around:

  • The efficient engagement and active contributions from stakeholder networks and the existing ecosystem;
  • The spill-over of actionable knowledge into practical tools for EIP on AHA and its Reference Sites;
  • A Roadmap to implement the change and boost the scale-up;
  • The Investment strategy.

With a total budget of € 1 958 137,51, the project will be implemented by a consortium of 9 partners coming from 6 EU countries with different and complementary backgrounds. IN 4- AHA is coordinated by TEHNOPOL SCIENCE AND BUSINESS PARK.

Consortium partners

  • EIT HEALTH SCANDINAVIAN REGIONAL INNOVATION HUB
  • GALICIAN HEALTH CLUSTER
  • CIVITTA ESTONIA
  • EUROPEAN REGIONAL AND LOCAL HEALTH AUTHORITIES ASBL
  • FOUNDATION PRAXIS CENTRE FOR POLICY STUDIES
  • PROUD ENGINEERS
  • SOUTH-EASTERN FINLAND UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES
  • COMPETENCE CENTRE ON ACTIVE AND HEALTHY AGENING OF UNIVERSITY OF PORTO