32
recreation positive global wellbeing age-friendly cohesive technology roadmap policy inclusive active solutions research policy occupation development vision stakeholders Bridging Research in Ageing and ICT Development Executive Summary healthy BRAID SUSTAINABLE Independent May 2012 ICT direction older bridging direction care capabilities dignity coordination internet supportive action digital regulation ECONOMICS

BRAID Executive Summary

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: BRAID Executive  Summary

1

recreation positiveglobal wellbeing

age-friendly

cohesive

technologyroadmap

policy

inclusive activesolutionsresearchpolicy occupation

development

vision stakeholders

Bridging Research in Ageing and ICT Development Executive Summary

healthy

BRAID

SUSTAINABLE IndependentM

ay 2

012

ICT

direction

older

bridging

direction

care

capabilities

dignity

coordination

internetsupportiveaction

digital

regulation

economics

Page 2: BRAID Executive  Summary

2

BRAID Vision

By 2020, European policy,

practice and R&D will

be directed towards the

promotion of healthy ageing

and empowering all citizens

(particularly those who fall

into vulnerable groups) to age

with dignity. This enabling

environment will be achieved

by the pursuit of smart,

sustainable and inclusive

growth in the area of ICT,

complemented and supported

by societal, organisational,

economic and regulatory

development.

Page 3: BRAID Executive  Summary

3

Foreword

Bridging Research in Ageing and Information

and Communication Technology Development

(BRAID) seeks to unleash the potential of

technology as a vehicle to enable people to

achieve their full capacity. To this end, BRAID

has engaged with key stakeholders to develop

a comprehensive Research and Technological

Development (RTD) Roadmap for Ageing.

BRAID characterises key research challenges,

and identifies strategic actions related to

Information and Communication Technology

(ICT) development and policy aimed at

supporting people to age well and with

dignity. The work was carried out in three

phases. In phase one, stakeholders and an

expert advisory group were identified and a

‘state of the art’ review of existing concepts

and technologies, including a comprehensive

taxonomy on ICT and Ageing technologies,

was carried out. Phase two focused on

stakeholder co-ordination and development

of the BRAID vision and roadmap, while the

final phase was devoted primarily to the

dissemination of results.

The BRAID vision and roadmap are focused

on four life settings that were developed in

consultation with key stakeholders, namely

independent living, health and care in life,

occupation in life, and recreation in life. Five

stakeholder engagement workshops involving

older people, policy makers and international

experts were held in Spain, Italy, Denmark,

Ireland and Hungary. The work was also

informed by participants at a BRAID workshop

in Melbourne and delegates at a conference in

São Paolo.

The members of the BRAID consortium are a rich

eclectic mix of people from different disciplines,

sectors and countries: Queen’s University Belfast;

Centre for Science, Society and Citizenship;

Trilateral Research & Consulting; Global Security

Intelligence Ltd; University of Tasmania; Instituto

de Desenvolvimento de Novas Tecnologias;

Universiteit van Amsterdam; Netwell Centre,

Dundalk Institute of Technology; and VDI/VDE

Innovation + Technik Gmbh.

This document reports on the operational

results of the project and includes details of the

BRAID taxonomy, stakeholder co-ordination

mechanism and engagement, the vision and the

roadmap and its implementation. The results are

synthesised into key recommendations to guide

future European Commission research on ICT for

active ageing.

Dr Karim Hadjri

BRAID Project Co-ordinator

Page 4: BRAID Executive  Summary

4

Introduction

The growth of research and development in

the area of Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) and Ageing has highlighted

the potential of ICT to provide tools that can

enhance quality of life for older people. If

ICT is to achieve its full potential in enhancing

the capabilities of citizens across Europe to

age actively and with dignity, research and

technological development in the area must

be supported by a coherent and strategic

research plan.

The BRAID roadmap consolidates the various

existing perspectives, plans, roadmaps and

research and provides direction on the co-

ordination of the stakeholders in ICT and

Ageing. It draws on published research

and stakeholder networks to create a self-

sustaining, dynamic strategic mechanism for

overcoming the fragmentation that has plagued

e-inclusion and for improving co-ordination and

collaboration among stakeholders. BRAID builds

upon the experience and knowledge developed

in previous EU projects, while taking account

of e-inclusion efforts in the EU27 as well as

Australia, Canada, Japan and the US. The

BRAID consortium is made up of representatives

of the four FP7 ICT and Ageing roadmap

consortia (AALIANCE, CAPSIL, ePAL, SENIOR)

and gathers together EU excellence in the field

of ICT and Ageing.

BRAID objectives are:

1 To create a dynamic ICT and Ageing roadmap

that addresses older people’s needs not

otherwise well met.

2 To instantiate a strategic research agenda.

3 To expand the BRAID networks to build a self-

sustaining co-ordination mechanism.

Context

BRAID is informed by the work of the European

Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy

Ageing (EIP), key EU strategies including Europe

2020 and The European Commission’s Digital

Agenda for Europe (DAE). It complements

FUTURAGE by identifying how the contribution

of ICT to the ‘ageing well’ agenda can be

enhanced.

BRAID Trends & Drivers

Technological: infrastructure and

network developments, ambient and

assistive technologies, supporting

tools and environments to cope with

technological advances

Societal: demography, new mechanisms

for social cohesion, ethics and protecting

societal values

Organisational: organized social

systems, training and professional activity

support and organised social associations

Economic: addressing care services, new

business aspects and models, business

value system and support service for

occupational involvement

Regulatory: policies and regulations

related to employment policies and

protection of individual rights, set by the

EU, national and regional organs.

Page 5: BRAID Executive  Summary

5

The BRAID roadmap has been developed within

the context of the opportunities and challenges

inherent in the demographic transition. The

roadmap seeks to use ICT to enable seniors

across the region to achieve their full potential,

by mobilising their legacy and supporting

them to age with dignity in an inclusive

society. Migratory patterns within Europe

have resulted in movement (of largely young

people) from rural to urban areas and to more

affluent member states. This movement has

resulted in a reduction of traditional extended

family structures and community cohesion,

and has been associated with a growth in the

perception of isolation and loneliness, especially

amongst older people. At the same time, birth

rates have been decreasing across the region

for many years. The Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

for EU27 is currently 1.59 and France is the

only country in the region with a TFR above 2.

The decrease in TFRs has been paralleled by an

increase in life expectancy and as a result the

proportion of people in the population aged

65 years and older is rapidly increasing. In the

past half-century, life expectancy at birth for

citizens in the EU27 has increased by 10 years.

This wonderful achievement is a product of

improvements in environment, reduction in

infant mortality and advances in health care.

It is not, however, a time to be complacent:

behind the crude indicators of life expectancy

there lies a picture of inequality and non-

random distribution of poor health amongst

socially excluded groups.

A significant step towards more equitable

health outcomes is found in the target recently

set for an increase in healthy life years (HLY).

HLY at birth for men and women in the region

are 61.7 years and 62.6 years respectively. In

February 2011, the first European Innovation

Partnership (EIP) on Active and Healthy Ageing

was launched with the goal of an increase of

two years of healthy life in the EU by 2020.

BRAID responds to this challenge by taking

cognisance of the broader determinants

of health and considering the impact and

contribution of ICT to active and healthy ageing

within four life settings: independent living,

healthy and care in life, occupation in life and

recreation in life.

The Digital Agenda Europe (DAE) is a ten-

year strategy that aims to maximise the social

and economic potential of ICT to create a

sustainable and inclusive Europe. The ultimate

goal is to use ICT to enhance quality of life for

citizens by supporting dignity and independent

living. Guided by the eight pillars underpinning

the DAE, BRAID is directed at supporting the

development of a dynamic culture of ICT-

related research and innovation within the EU.

It supports this agenda by providing a holistic

vision and robust roadmap that address issues

related to enhanced care and promotion of

autonomy for seniors. BRAID seeks to strengthen

research and technological development capacity

through recommendations which deal with the

barriers to innovation within ICT and Ageing.

Economic issues loom large across the EU as

all member states seek to respond to the cost

implications of housing, care and pension

provision within an ageing society and a

Pillars underpinning the Digital

Agenda for Europe

i Vibrant digital single market

ii Interoperability and standards

iii Trust and security

iv Fast and ultra-fast internet access

v Research and innovation

vi Digital literacy skills and inclusion

vii ICT-enabled benefits for EU society

viii International aspects

Page 6: BRAID Executive  Summary

6

globalised economy. BRAID recognises that

some seniors will require additional support

and care, and makes recommendations as to

how ICT can be used to support innovation

and effective service development in this area.

BRAID also seeks to temper the ‘tsunami’

discourse on ageing by challenging stereotypical

notions of seniors as a homogenous group of

vulnerable people. Reinforcing the work of the

Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Joint Programme,

BRAID is aimed at enabling all citizens to live

independently and be active in society, increasing

efficiency of care systems and promoting a

dynamic and flourishing ‘ICT and Ageing’

industry in Europe. BRAID recognises seniors as a

diverse group with much to contribute to society,

and addresses the role of ICT in value creation,

extending the working life and user-generated

knowledge. Sustainability of research and

technological development to support innovation

in Europe is crucial to this agenda and BRAID

makes recommendations to reinforce the co-

ordination and pooling of resources across the

member states and different sectors to support

user involvement.

A submission from Age Platform Europe (AGE)

to the first Annual Convention of the European

Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion

(October 2011) emphasised the responsibilities of

the Commission, national governments and key

stakeholders to ensure that the rights of seniors

are protected within this rapidly changing society.

The submission calls for inter alia development

of measures to address the shrinking access to

basic services such as health and long-term care

or decent housing, national targets to combat

poverty among the most vulnerable groups,

national budget standards for an adequate old-

age income and measures to ensure adequacy

of pensions.

If ICT is to achieve its full potential as a vehicle

to support the ageing well agenda, and enable

citizens to age with dignity, it needs to be

underpinned and governed by supportive

organisational structures and robust regulatory

frameworks. The ‘virtuous cycle’ of activity

identified in the DAE guided the BRAID roadmap

development, in which key issues including

interoperability, broadband speeds, capacity

development and protection of human rights

are addressed.

Demography, economics and technology,

individually and collectively, are spawning rapid

changes in service delivery and care provision

across a range of sectors including health,

employment and welfare. Increases in the age of

retirement and changes in employment policies

will result in increasing numbers of seniors

remaining in the workforce. Inclusive design is

increasingly recognised as being a major factor in

supporting autonomy and as being at the heart

of ageing well and age-friendly communities. In

the area of disease management, personalised

medicine is rapidly gaining momentum and health

care innovations such as eHealth and telemedicine

services are recognised as being crucial to the

long-term sustainability of health care systems.

BRAID provides a strong foundation on which

to build a coherent and co-ordinated approach

from the EU and other key stakeholders in the

commissioning and funding of research and

development in ICT and active ageing.

A major effort will be needed

to combat poverty and social exclusion

and reduce health inequalities to

ensure that everybody can benefit

from growth. Equally important will

be our ability to meet the challenge of

promoting a healthy and active ageing

population to allow for social cohesion

and higher productivity.

(EU Commission, 2010:18)

Page 7: BRAID Executive  Summary

7

The BRAID Process

Feeder Projects

BRAID built upon and synthesised the work of

four feeder projects as well as other initiatives

in active ageing (Figure 1).

CAPSIL (International Support of a Common

Awareness & Knowledge Platform for

Studying & Enabling Independent Living)

developed a roadmap for EU research to

achieve effective and sustainable solutions

to independent living based on an in-depth

analysis of clinical requirements and the ICT

scenarios developed or under development in

the EU, the US and Japan.

ePAL (extending Professional Active Life)

developed a strategic research roadmap

focused on inducing new ways towards a

balanced active life for retiring and retired

professionals, while promoting a new

notion of the silver economy with a wide

societal impact.

SENIOR (Social, Ethical and Privacy Needs in

ICT for Older People: a Dialogue Roadmap)

provided a systematic assessment of the

social, ethical and privacy issues involved in

ICT and Ageing, in order to plan strategies for

governing technology trends according to EU

legal and ethical standards.

AALIANCE (The European Ambient Assisted

Living Alliance) provided a framework for

stakeholders, led by industry, to define

research and development priorities,

timeframes and action plans on strategically

important issues in the field of ambient

assisted living (AAL).

BRAID responds to the prevailing fragmented

approach to the issue of ICT and Ageing

in Europe. BRAID provides a holistic view

that goes beyond merely integrating these

fragmented perspectives to providing a ‘full-

picture’ view of Ageing and ICT applications in

Ageing (Figure 2).

SENIORAALIANCE

Figure 2 BRAID concept

Figure 1 The four feeder projects

Page 8: BRAID Executive  Summary

8

BRAID Research Stages

The research work undertaken in BRAID is split into three distinct phases.

Phase 1 Data gathering and state of the art reviewThe first phase produced a ‘state of the art’ review

of existing concepts and technologies in ICT

and Ageing as well as technology trends (work

package one). The final work package report

contained a glossary of ICT and Ageing terms

and concepts, a taxonomy of ICT and Ageing

technologies that attended to the different BRAID

‘life settings’, and a technology and market

trends analysis.

This phase also included an identification of ICT

and Ageing stakeholders and their needs in work

package two. The resulting deliverable identifies

and characterises the main stakeholder groups,

their needs and interests in the EU27 countries as

well as Australia, Canada, Japan and the

United States.

Phase 2 Analysis

Phase two began by identifying various

organisations that seek to integrate different types

of stakeholders, analyse their relative success in

doing so and outline recommendations for an

optimal stakeholder co-ordination mechanism

(work package three).

Work package four analysed drivers, trends,

stakeholder needs and current roadmap visions to

arrive at a consolidated vision for EU leadership

in supporting ICT and Ageing. This vision was

validated in stakeholder engagement workshops in

work package five and resulted in the publication

of the BRAID vision in deliverable 4.2.

The culmination of this work was the production

of the BRAID research in ICT and Ageing roadmap

(work package six). This consisted of elaborating a

strategic research agenda that built upon existing,

emerging and disruptive technologies and devising

an approach to implementing the

research roadmap.

Phase 3 Stakeholders, dissemination and impact creationThe third stage was focused on engaging

stakeholders (work package five), as mentioned

above, and disseminating the project’s deliverables,

reports and findings (work package seven). These

stakeholder engagement strategies are expected to

assist in successfully achieving BRAID’s envisaged

impacts in the ICT and ageing sector, including

launching a stakeholder co-ordination mechanism,

implementing the research roadmap and achieving

the vision.

Page 9: BRAID Executive  Summary

9

Operational Results

The Taxonomy

The ICT and Ageing taxonomy maps current

ICT solutions against the needs of older people

in Europe. The purpose of the taxonomy is

• to provide a picture of how well

current technology solutions and future

developments in ICT and Ageing are

addressing or will address seniors’

needs and

• guide future research in ICT and

Ageing applications.

The taxonomy (Figure 3) is three dimensional

and is organised by an older people’s needs

dimension, a ‘thematic setting’ dimension and

an ICT and Ageing solution dimension.

Thematic Settings

Older people’s needs are comprised of:

• Ensure Personal Safety - protecting personal injury from external physical threats or

falls and cuts, and providing information on security and safety.

• Improve Access to Healthcare - remote monitoring and feeding of vital information

to care-givers and health care providers which does not undermine or displace face

to face care.

• Support Daily Activities - ergonomics, health and safety training, increasing

awareness of the ways in which ICT can benefit people with impairments and

assisting mobility.

• Make Technology Easy to Use - ensuring that technologies incorporate ease-of-

use features while remaining aware that older people’s capabilities are diverse and

change over time.

• Stay Connected with People - fighting social isolation by encouraging physical, social

and mental stimulation and contact with carers, colleagues, friends and family.

• Make Tools Suitable for Me - maintaining awareness that older people’s capabilities

are diverse and change over time, which requires adaptable and adaptive solutions.

Figure 3 Synthesising the taxonomy structure

NEE

DS

Dim

ensi

on

ICT i

n Agein

g

Older people’s

NEEDS

Dimensions

XOlder people’s

THEMATIC

Settings

XICT in

Ageing

Solutions

Page 10: BRAID Executive  Summary

10

People often balance three distinct aspects of their lives, specifically ones that characterise

their life at home (personal), work (professional) and as a member of a community (public). Given

our user-centred focus, the taxonomy examines these thematic settings (at home, at work and

in the community) as independent dimensions.

The taxonomy organises ‘ICT and Ageing’ solutions into the following families in order to

assess their ability to meet older people’s needs in different thematic settings.

• Tele-medicine: is comprised of technologies/solutions that combine elements of health-

monitors with the ability to provide information to care-givers/health professionals. It

also includes tele-care and tele-health.

• Collaborative Networks / Collaboration Software: these solutions allow people to work

collaboratively and involve aspects of social and affective computing.

• Broadband Access: includes solutions and services that provide and utilise high-speed

networking to the home.

• Internet: includes solutions and services that provide secure access to and utilise

resources from the world-wide web.

• Smart Homes: includes solutions that allow for non-invasive sensors located at different

points inside the home to sense the environment and activities of people living in it, and

enable enhanced interaction of people with their environment.

• Assistive Communication Technologies: solutions that provide ICT-based enhancements

to standard assistive technologies (e.g. hearing aids) to improve communications.

• Design for All: a major area that aims to design ICTs in order to enable all users,

regardless of their limitations, to use technology with comparable intensity and

maximum value.

• Social Computing/Social Networking: a powerful means of fostering social

connectedness amongst people and creating new forms of civic and political

participation, improving access to medical information, and enhancing lifelong

learning processes.

The taxonomy acts as a single point of reference that enables experts and policy makers to

understand user needs, and use contexts, available solutions and technology gaps to foster the

achievement of breakthroughs in new systems. The following excerpt serves as an example.

Page 11: BRAID Executive  Summary

11

Family Specific Need At Home At work In the

communityPersonal

Safety

Monitor for

personal injury

from external

physical threats

Current Social alarms

«

Social alarms

«

Social alarms

«

Future Smart Homes

««««

X X

Monitor for online

information

security

Current Web-based

tools «««

Web-based

tools «««

Web-based

tools «««

Future Beyond Web

2.0 ««««

Beyond Web

2.0 ««««

Beyond Web

2.0 ««««

Prevent falls Current X X X

Future X X X

Table 1: Sample Taxonomy analysis

Keys X = solution not available « = large gap in meeting needs

««««« = ideal solution – little or no gap in meeting needs

This excerpt illustrates how the taxonomy

enables diverse stakeholders to understand

gaps in technologies and products in specific

relation to meeting the needs of older people

in their own environments. For example,

social alarms exist as a solution to monitor

whether older people have experienced an

injury from an external threat; however, these

solutions are not well developed and there

is a significant gap in meeting older people’s

needs. In the future, this gap could be closed

by smart homes in domestic settings, but

more research is needed to meet this need

at work or in the community. In contrast,

Web-based tools and tools beyond Web 2.0

already promise relatively strong solutions for

ensuring online information security for older

people. Thus, further research in this area

should focus on small improvements, rather

than new solutions. Finally, the taxonomy

found that there is no current technology

available for preventing falls, nor are there

any solutions envisaged in the near future.

The taxonomy illustrates that this ought

to be an immediate area of concern for

researchers, funders, industry and other

stakeholders.

The taxonomy contributes to the development

of a roadmap to support research into new

systems that could address these technology

gaps and thus significantly prolong personal

autonomy in the home and on the move, and

prolong active participation in society.

Page 12: BRAID Executive  Summary

12

BRAID Stakeholders

BRAID work package two identified and analysed the stakeholders that the BRAID project should

engage with in order to meet its objective of providing a holistic perspective on ICT and Ageing.

This deliverable identifies and analyses the needs of different groups that are interested in or

affected by ICT and Ageing in Europe, the US and Japan as well as other locations.

The BRAID document divides these stakeholders into four categories:

Primary Stakeholders

Private users of ICT for ageing solutions:

• Older people and impaired citizens

• Private care-givers - usually family members

or relatives

Secondary Stakeholders

Professional users of ICT for ageing solutions

with a business to consumer relationship

with primary stakeholders and a business

to business relationship with tertiary

stakeholders:

• Medical professionals, professional care

providers, care homes

• Other service providers (e.g. housing

associations)

• “Mobility” providers (e.g. tourism, public

transport, etc.)

Tertiary Stakeholders

Suppliers of ICT for ageing solutions

Research organisations: public and private

enterprises

• (Large) Enterprises with a business in tele-

medicine or tele-care

• Providers of the IT infrastructure: networks

and databases

• Small and medium-sized enterprises:

hardware and software and/or service

provision

Quaternary Stakeholders

Supporters of ICT for ageing solutions

Policy makers

Social (and private) insurance companies

Employers

Public administrations

Standardisation organisations

Civil society organisations

Media

Each of these stakeholder categories has specific needs and motivations which must be accounted

for in order to provide a holistic perspective that integrates their unique positionings.

Stakeholders Co-ordination Mechanisms

As part of its analytical work, the BRAID project undertook a comprehensive analysis of whether

stakeholder needs are being met by existing organisations aiming to support stakeholder co-

ordination. This responded to the European Commission’s concern about the lack of adequate

collaboration and co-operation among stakeholders in meeting the active ageing and e-inclusion

needs of older people.

Page 13: BRAID Executive  Summary

13

In order to improve stakeholder co-operation

in the ICT and Ageing sector, BRAID partners

identified, described, assessed and compared

the adequacy of 27 different multi-stakeholder

organisations such as an association,

forum, platform, network and international

conference.

The analysis found that an optimal stakeholder

co-ordination mechanism should have the

following six objectives:

1 Acting as a focal point

A focal point (Figure 4) is needed to foster

collaboration among stakeholders by

sharing information and good practices,

and promoting e-inclusion policies. A true

focal point must integrate a broad range of

stakeholder types on an international scale.

2 Supporting research

and development

An optimal stakeholder co-ordination

mechanism would need to successfully

support research and development and

the standardisation and interoperability of

devices.

3 Being inclusive, open and democratic

An optimal multi-stakeholder organisation

must be open to all stakeholders, including

interested individuals, and all should

have the opportunity to participate in

the decision-making practices of the

organisation.

4 Supporting development of the market

for assistive technologies and services

ICT solutions are not viable in the long term

unless a stable market platform is identified

and supported by a new stakeholder co-

ordination mechanism.

5 Aiming to be self-sustaining

A mechanism dependent on external

funding will represent another short-term

solution to the problem of fragmentation

across the ICT and Ageing sector.

6 Making use of the media

An optimal multi-stakeholder mechanism

must find innovative ways to grab

media attention in order to ensure the

organisation achieves maximum impacts.

This analysis concluded that the strengths

and weaknesses of the stakeholder co-

ordination mechanisms demonstrate

that some organisational types are

better for performing certain tasks

and for integrating different types of

stakeholders. Finally, a federated, multi-

dimensional organisation offers one

possibility for addressing the needs of all

different types of stakeholders.

Figure 4 Acting as a focal point

Page 14: BRAID Executive  Summary

14

Stakeholder Engagement

As described in the BRAID process, one of

the key objectives of BRAID is to address

stakeholder fragmentation and consolidate

ICT and Ageing research findings to provide

a holistic view of support for older people. To

do so, BRAID utilised a number of strategies

to engage with stakeholders in the ICT and

Ageing sector in order to solicit stakeholder

feedback about research activities and interim

findings and to communicate research results.

Dissemination strategies range from ‘passive’

to ‘active’. Passive strategies do not require

stakeholders to actively engage, and they can

remain passive recipients of BRAID information.

Active strategies require stakeholders to

commit their own time to actively engage

with BRAID information products or the BRAID

partners or other stakeholders.

BRAID has sought to engage stakeholders

as actively as possible through workshops,

conference participation and WIKI contribution.

However, the project has also recognised that

some stakeholders find passive engagement

with projects such as BRAID more suited to

their needs. Thus, BRAID utilised the following

more passive dissemination strategies:

Website & Wiki

The BRAID website is the public face of the

BRAID project. It provides open access to all

project publications. The BRAID Wiki allows

stakeholders to access, update and contribute

information relevant to ICT and Ageing.

http://wiki.braidproject.org

The Wiki will serve as a lasting source of

information for stakeholders interested in or

affected by ICT and Ageing.

Social media

BRAID stakeholders could also follow the

project via Twitter and LinkedIn, access

the BRAID virtual forum on the website or

subscribe to the project newsletter also via

the website. However, these methods proved

to be a less effective method to generate

stakeholder interest.

Nonetheless, BRAID has also devised a number

of communication activities designed to

encourage the active participation of a wide

range of stakeholders. These communication

activities comprised:

Workshops

The BRAID project has organised five different

workshops in various cities across Europe to

solicit stakeholder feedback on specific BRAID

research findings. The workshops provided an

opportunity to engage with experts from the

BRAID advisory board and local stakeholders

in each of the European regions where events

took place. In all, 262 stakeholders from 23

countries participated in these workshops.

BRAID conferences

BRAID hosted an international conference

in Melbourne, Australia in October 2011,

and a BRAID final dissemination event

with stakeholders as part of the IFA 2012

conference in Prague, Czech Republic. BRAID

was also discussed at a special session on

Collaborative Networks and Ageing in the

PRO-VE’11 conference in São Paulo, Brazil.

Page 15: BRAID Executive  Summary

15

The Vision

The BRAID vision was developed through five systematic and incremental steps:

1 Consolidating and discussing visionary ideas for the BRAID environment

2 Developing the first vision for BRAID

3 Testing and validating the elaborated vision

4 Building consensus through consultation and workshops

5 Documenting and finalising the BRAID vision.

The vision and the methodology used to develop it are comprehensively described in BRAID

deliverables D4.1 and D4.2.

Phase 1- D4.1 Phase 2 - D4.2

Figure 5 Generic steps in the vision-building process

The BRAID Vision

By 2020, European policy, practice and R&D will be directed towards the promotion of

healthy ageing and empowering all citizens (particularly those who fall into vulnerable

groups) to age with dignity. This enabling environment will be achieved by the pursuit

of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the area of ICT, complemented and

supported by societal, organisational, economic and regulatory development.

The vision is underpinned by a core ideology of ‘Building a strong, cohesive and inclusive European

platform that: embraces older people’s yearning to age well; values the broad range of capacities

and resources among older people; supports and enables older Europeans to age actively and live

independently; anticipates and responds flexibly to ageing-related needs and preferences; respects

older people’s decisions and lifestyle choices; protects those who are most vulnerable; promotes

older people’s inclusion in, and contribution to, different areas of community life.’

To ensure a strong and clear direction for the roadmap, the BRAID core vision has been instantiated

in each of the four life settings: independent living, health and care in life, occupation in life and

recreation in life.

Page 16: BRAID Executive  Summary

16

Independent Living

Independent living encompasses the day-to-

day activities of life including housekeeping,

shopping, cooking, personal care, mobility,

social interaction and human contact.

Independent living is characterised as

being dependent on a safe, secure and

suitable environment. A wide range of

assistive technologies has been identified

in this area including: assistive home-based

technologies, living status monitoring, agenda

manager, mobility aids (including driving),

companion robots and well-designed human-

machine interfaces that facilitate the use of

technologies in general.

The BRAID vision for

independent living

Older persons will be empowered to

live fulfilling and independent lives by

ensuring that mechanisms are in place

to facilitating access to relatives, carers

and the community, and to assist with

daily life activities. Developments will be

underpinned with supports for mobility,

transport, security and safety.

The BRAID vision for

health and care in life

As a part of the ‘ageing well’ paradigm,

health and care will become a high

priority strategy across Europe. The

emerging health care technologies and

services will be sensitive to the ethical

consequences and governed to ensure

protection of individual rights. Decision-

making systems at national and local

level, within public, commercial and not-

for-profit organisations, will consider the

needs of key stakeholders.

Health and Care in Life

Health and Care in life addresses how

technology can support and assist in health

promotion and care-related activities. In the

early versions of the vision this setting was

described as ‘healthy living’ (D4.1); the name

was changed following the stakeholder

engagement workshops. Feedback from

stakeholders was that the title should reflect

reality of people’s lives and the important

contribution of treatment and care in

physical and mental wellbeing. Consequently

the activities in this area encompass care

and cure-related interventions, in addition

to preventive interventions and health-

promoting behaviours. Examples include: self-

management and/or neglect (e.g. exercise and

nutrition), remote monitoring, engagement

with primary care workers (e.g. carers,

pharmacist), exercise assistant, prescription

reminder, and emergency assistance.

Page 17: BRAID Executive  Summary

17

The BRAID vision for

occupation in life

Due to the ageing population in Europe,

an opportunity and need will arise for

a new framework which will enable

and support those seniors who wish

to continue to participate in paid or

voluntary employment. This will require

cross-sectorial support. The result will

capitalise on the talents and expertise

of senior workers and facilitate value

creation through the use of ICT for the

benefit of the individual, the economy

and EU as a whole.

Occupation in Life

Occupation in life addresses how

technology can be used to capitalise on

and mobilise the expertise and experience

of older people. It highlights the role

technology can play in supporting and

enabling them to participate in professional

activities on a paid or voluntary basis.

Similar to the other life settings, occupation

in life reflects the diversity of older people

and will look very different for people

from different groups, depending on

the background work structure, sector,

individual goals, capabilities, flexibility,

opportunities, and functional ability.

Examples of activities and issues to be

considered in this area include: adaptation

of working conditions, mentoring, team

working, intergenerational collaboration

and leaving a legacy in terms of the transfer

of knowledge, experience and skills.

Recreation in Life

Recreation in life addresses how technology

can facilitate socialisation and participation of

older people in leisure activities. A wide range of

activities that can be supported by technology

are identified including: crafts and hobbies,

sports and physical activity, entertainment,

participation in cultural activities and playing

games, family interaction and socialising, travel

and leisure, political engagement, spiritual and

faith groups, lifelong learning and passing on

personal wisdom.

The BRAID vision for

recreation in life

Recreational activities across a wide

range of settings, including arts and

culture, physical activity, spiritual and

faith groups, travel and lifelong learning,

have been shown to enhance health and

wellbeing across the lifespan. Seniors will

be supported to become actively involved

in a range of recreational activities. The

development and use of new technology

solutions will be supported to improve

communication and reduce isolation and

loneliness experienced by older people.

Page 18: BRAID Executive  Summary

18

Future Proofing the Vision

To ensure that the BRAID vision is sensitive to

changes in environmental context, it has been

subjected to a rigorous analysis with respect

to the potential impact of the five drivers

for BRAID. The analysis considered whether

a driver could inhibit or support the vision.

The strength of the impact is depicted on a

spectrum that ranges from high to none (see

deliverable D.4.2, pp 27-30 ). For example,

with regards to technological drivers, increased

availability and speed of broadband access are

identified as likely to have high impact in terms

of supporting the BRAID vision across all four

life settings. By comparison, a societal driver

‘promoting lifelong learning’ is identified as

likely to have a high positive impact within the

occupation and recreation settings and lesser

impact in the other two areas.

Figure 6 BRAID key drivers

Page 19: BRAID Executive  Summary

19

The Roadmap

Towards a Strategic Research Agenda

The BRAID roadmap details a co-ordinated

plan of research actions focused on delivering

the BRAID vision.

From Fragmentation to Shared Roadmap

It is widely recognised that the conglomeration

of projects addressing e-inclusion in the EU,

particularly those funded under the FP6 and

FP7 programmes, has resulted in a fragmented

approach to the issue of ICT and Ageing.

Furthermore, this fragmentation is delaying

the achievement of greater social inclusion for

older people in Europe, as set out in the Riga

Declaration. The BRAID roadmap responds to

these deficits by providing a comprehensive

strategic research agenda for ICT and Ageing.

It is a vision-directed plan of action, grounded

and validated by stakeholders, and built on the

foundational work in BRAID’s baseline, trends

and drivers analyses. The roadmap is directed

towards the creation of an inclusive society

that supports and enables active ageing and

ageing well.

Occupation in Life

The BRAID Roadmap Approach

Traditional approaches to roadmap

development are based on on-going rounds

of consultation. What makes the BRAID

roadmap different from others is that it uses a

multi-step, systematic approach closely aligned

with the standard scientific method, making it

robust and sensitive to current and emerging

needs and trends:

• Characterise and consolidate the baseline

• Perceive trends and design scenarios

• Elaborate first vision statement

• Gap analysis

• Propose a plan of actions

• Verify the plan of actions

• Perform consultation and refinement

Research Actions

Centred on the core vision of harnessing and

fostering ageing well, the proposed BRAID

research actions are directed at enabling

and empowering independence, fostering

trans-sectorial support for personal health/

wellness, activating inclusive economic

participation, and animating active enjoyment

of life. The actions are divided into those that

directly drive ICT research and technology

development, and those which prompt

national and European policy responses.

The BRAID roadmap is described

in three reports

D6.21 provides a detail description of the

roadmap and the methodology used

to develop it,

D6.22 proposes a plan of strategic research

actions designed to achieve the

BRAID vision,

D6.3 describes a comprehensive guideline

for the roadmap implementation.

Page 20: BRAID Executive  Summary

20

IndependenceEstablish collaborative environments• Plan,organiseandsupportmanagementofformalcarenetworks• Plan,organiseandsupportinformalcarenetworks• Designanddeveloptoolsforcompositionofcollaborativecare

servicesExtend capabilities• Developmentofintelligenttoolsandservicesforpersonal

assistance in daily activities• Developmentofautomationsystemsandassistiverobots• Investigate,developandintegrateintelligenttoolsandservicesto

compensate diminishing cognitive capacitiesAssist mobility• Integrateandcustomizemethods,toolsandservicesfortrip

planning, navigation and localization• Developandcustomizedrivingandparkingassistance• Integrateandcustomizemethods,toolsandservicesfor

orientation in “complex environments”Monitor well-being• Design,developandintegratehome-centredintelligentsensor

network environments• Design,developandintegratehuman-centredintelligentsensor

network systems developmentBuild supportive environments• Designanddevelopmentofpreventionandcompanionshiptools

and services• Designanddevelopmentofinterventionservices• Alignindependentandsustainableliving

Assess impactsElicit needs of focus groups

Health and Care

Establish healthcare ecosystem• Plan,organizeandsupportmanagementofthehealthcare

ecosystem• Developfunctionalitiesforhealthcareassetsmanagementand

emergence of novel services• DevelopauditingandregulatorysupportfunctionalitiesDevelop health monitoring systems• Developandintegratehome-basedhealthconditionmonitoring

systems• Developwearable,portableandimplantablemulti-sensorsystems• Designanddevelopcontextawareintelligentdiagnosis

functionalitiesEstablish safe infrastructure• Designanddevelopsafeandadaptabletechnological

communication infrastructures• Designanddevelopidentification,authenticationandauditing

functionalitiesDesign integrated assistive services• Developintegratedservicesforthehealthcaringandintervention• Dynamicconfigurationofmulti-stakeholdersbasedservicesin

response to emergency conditionsDevelop intervention tools• Developintelligenttoolsandsystemsforhealthcareandassistance• Developintelligenttoolsandsystemsforrehabilitationand

disability compensation• IntroduceICTbasedinnovativetherapeuticapproaches

Raise ICT awareness and skills in health and careDevelop regulatory frameworkEstablish organizational and business models

OccupationBuild collaboration platforms and systems• Developadvancedfunctionalitiesandsystemsformanagementof

networks of senior professionals• Developmarketingandbrokeragesupporttoolsforcommunities

of senior professionals• Developtrustbuildingandriskmanagementsystemsfor

communities of senior professionals• Developaffections/emotionsmanagementsystemsfor

communities of senior professionalsLeverage legacy• Defineconceptualmodelsoftalentsanddevelopuser-centred

knowledge acquisition tools• Createrewardmechanisms(systemofincentives)toattractuser-

generated knowledge• Mechanismstopromoteinter-generationalinheritanceCreate adaptive solutions and services • Developself-adaptiveinterfacesystems• Developself-customizablecollaborationenvironmentsandservicesCreate a model framework• Developaconceptualbaseforbehaviouralandvaluesystem

modelling• Developdata-mining/machinelearningapproachesfor

behavioural patterns discoveryCreate trusted knowledge networks• Developeffectiveknowledgenetworkmanagementsystems• DevelopcollectiveproblemsolvingmethodsandtoolsWeave online and offline collaboration• Developconceptualmodelsforonlineandofflinecollaboration• Developtoolstosupportseamlesslyweavedonline/offline

collaboration

Guide career transitionImprove working practicesEnhance policy and legislation

RecreationBuild participatory communities• Plan,organizeandsupportmanagementofrecreational

participatory communities• Developtoolsandservicessupportingcommunityparticipation• Developmethodsandtoolstofosterinter-generational

interactions on a community basisBuild novel interfaces• Exploreaugmentedrealityandremotepresenceinterfaces• Developaffectivecomputinginterfaces• Developmethodstopromotepervasivenessandintegrationof

multi-modal interfacesBuild recreational platforms, solutions and services• Designanddevelopanopenrecreationalplatform• Customizeandintegraterecreationalservicesfocusedonthe

specific need of seniorsFind new recreational channels• Designanddevelopnewrecreationalformsexploringremote

and immersive participation• Noveltechnologyassistedrecreationservicesinoutdoorand

intelligent urban environmentsCreate and promote gaming• Designanddevelopself-adaptivenovel“serious”games• Designanddevelopcommunity-orientedgames

Train for digital lifestyleAssess recreation impactPromote studies in recreation

GeneralIdentify and promote standardsDevelop theoretical foundation for ICT and AgeingInfluence cross-thematic synergiesPromote participatory and inclusive design

Figure 7 Summary of roadmap actions

Training and awareness for new environments Study and promote ethical issuesDevelop and promote sustainable business models

Page 21: BRAID Executive  Summary

21

ScenariosIn relation to BRAID’s vision for the future,

selected scenarios have been used to

provide insight into how ageing in different

future life-setting possibilities might be

supported by innovative ICT applications. A

range of operational scenarios tell ‘stories’

illustrating aspects of these possible futures.

These narratives are set in a ‘continuum’

of possibilities, taking into consideration

trends and capabilities. In parallel with

these organically conceived futures, BRAID

has explored a set of strategic, disruptive

scenarios, which examined a set of major

‘discontinuities’ or adverse events. With the

probability and impact of such disruptions

being very difficult to predict, the team have

proposed a ‘monitoring and update’ approach

so that the roadmap can adapt its fitness for

purpose, in response to unforeseen events.

Implementation and the Physical EnvironmentThe BRAID roadmap also recognises that the

physical environment in the places that we

live, work, play, learn and socialise are major

determinants of healthy and active ageing,

and that our understanding of the interactions

between environment, ICT and Ageing is

currently very under-developed.

From an environmental perspective, BRAID

offers a ‘zone of interest’ model to examine

the impact of the roadmap across the

continuum dimensions of ‘active to passive

design’, ‘adaptation to new build’, and

environmental structure from ‘housing to

urban transport’. However, BRAID suggests

that ICT support in the context of emergency

responses to severe climatic events requires

separate investigation.

Collaborative Environments:

The creation and support of collaborative

networks and environments have emerged

as the primary technology and policy

development priority area identified by BRAID

stakeholders to foster ageing-well with ICT

support. Collaboration across sectors and

disciplines is seen as crucial in overcoming the

fragmented approach that has dominated

previous research and development initiatives

in ICT and Ageing.

As an example, the policy action Raise ICT

awareness and skills in health and care relates

to the health and care life setting. It advocates

that policy makers launch actions and develop

mechanisms to increase the potential of ICT

support for ‘healthy living environments’. It

also calls for a consensus on values, ethical

principles, rights, safety and privacy issues,

as well as a better understanding of the

consequences of a shift towards home-based

health services.

Furthermore, there is a need to move from

a situation characterised by fragmented or

decoupled services provided by single or

loosely coupled organisations, to integrated

care services that are the result of

collaboration among various stakeholders. The

development of high quality and sustainable

support services to ageing well requires a

stronger engagement and collaborative effort

among all relevant stakeholders, including

local communities, leading to the concept

of care ecosystems. These notions are well

represented in the actions proposed for all life-

settings:

Page 22: BRAID Executive  Summary

22

In Independent Living

The action Establish collaborative

environments calls for design and

development of novel and effective

collaborative environments, according to a

design-for-all perspective, combining social

networking and collaborative networks of care

provision to stakeholders to facilitate support,

companionship and community participation

with trust establishment. Collaborative

networks concepts are implicit in all other

actions, namely for the provision of integrated

care services.

In Health and Care in Life

The action Establish healthcare ecosystem aims

at defining new organisational and business

models, driven by affordability concerns, and

developing support tools for the establishment

of collaborative healthcare ecosystems

involving families, healthcare providers, social

security and regulatory authorities, forming

the backbone for the emergence of new

services for healthy living support, integrating

formal and informal care. Similarly, all the

other actions embed the need for collaborative

approaches in integrated service provision.

In Occupation in Life

The action Build collaboration platforms

and systems is focused on designing and

developing open ICT collaboration platforms,

support tools and systems aimed at facilitating

value creation. The action addresses the

specific needs of communities of senior

professionals, and promotes intergenerational

interaction and socialisation, which are

enhanced by affective computing, context

awareness, and trust establishment. A variety

of collaborative networks forms are implicit in

all other actions for this setting.

In Recreation in Life

The action Build participatory communities

is aimed at designing, developing and

implementing local and regional participatory

communities that combine online and offline

participation through social networking,

intergenerational interaction, volunteering,

and local government involvement, focusing

on participatory recreational life and

wellbeing. Similarly, the effective development

of sustainable solutions, as suggested in

the other actions for this setting, requires a

collaborative networks approach.

In the General Group

The action Promote participatory design is

focused on identifying suitable approaches

and promoting pilot experiments on the

involvement of older people in the processes

of co-designing systems for ICT and Ageing.

All other actions proposed in this group

can benefit from a collaborative networks

approach for their implementation.

Page 23: BRAID Executive  Summary

23

Synthesis: Weaving BRAID’s Future

From alignment to convergence

BRAID’s journey started with a goal of aligning

four existing roadmaps which had their

own origins, domains, stakeholder interests,

rationales and methodological frameworks.

Drawing them together into a single and

cohesive picture has involved framing a

taxonomy, applying a rigorous vision-directed

roadmapping methodology from baseline to

action plan, filtering it through a life-settings

organisational structure, and consolidating

it by alignment with trends, drivers and

insightful scenarios. However, BRAID is

more than the sum of the parts, and it must

be more than a lovely picture in a gallery.

It is illuminated and animated by the active

participation and contribution of the wisdom

of the stakeholders who have kept the process

grounded in the values, dignity, aspirations

and practical challenges of diverse older

people living in different local and regional

contexts throughout Europe. It is the quality

of stakeholder inputs and reflections through

the seminars and workshops that underpins

the legitimacy of the BRAID results, and that

can energise BRAID’s sustainable impact out to

2020 and beyond.

While much has happened since BRAID began,

the effects of current austerity highlights the

imperative for Europe to strengthen inclusivity

through smart and sustainable growth. The

Innovation Union, and its pilot Innovation

Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing

(EIP-AHA), is now in process, and BRAID has

a significant opportunity to contribute to its

development and success. To ease assimilation

into future projects and programmes, it is

worthwhile to:

• extract key underlying themes from

the breadth and complexity of BRAID’s

roadmap

• highlight how these themes might

interrelate through their operating

dynamics

• outline some considerations on the

implications for ICT and Ageing research

going forward.

Thematic Convergence

Through a process of correlation, discussion

and extraction, seven key thematic areas

are identified that span and underpin the

independence, health and care, occupational

and recreational life-settings that provide

structure to the BRAID roadmap. Figure 8

illustrates the relationships between the ICT

and policy research actions, the core recurring

themes, and characterising aspects of the

themes. The themes align well with building

the capacity and capability to deliver the EU

2020 vision.

Page 24: BRAID Executive  Summary

24

Sustainability

Economic and business models

The development of sustainable business models

is at the heart of ensuring active ageing ‘for

all’. BRAID recognises the challenges inherent

in the turbulent combination of harsh austerity

measures and a rapidly ageing population, but

argues that innovation is needed now more than

ever. BRAID advocates the development of novel

business models that integrate services based on

multi-stakeholder collaboration (care ecosystem).

Integral to these new business models must

be a focus on accountability, quality of service,

standards interoperability and sustainability of

the collaborative ecosystems, which include

robust stakeholder engagement mechanisms.

Regulation & Rights

Ethical and other social impacts

Privacy, ethical and data protection issues

emerged as a major priority for governance

within the arena of ICT and Ageing. Issues such

as safety, security, trust, dignity, discrimination,

dehumanisation and privacy were raised

repeatedly by the BRAID stakeholders at the

engagement workshops. In these discussions

the need to mitigate ethical, data protection and

privacy infringements was emphasised, as was

the need to harmonise privacy, ethical and data

protection issues with other goals.

ICT-Based Services

Extending capabilities

Given BRAID’s purpose and the potential of

ICT to compensate for changes in cognitive

abilities and to enable/support lifelong learning,

it is not surprising that capacity development

has emerged as a key recommendation.

Throughout the process, stakeholders at BRAID

meetings have emphasised that seniors are

complex social actors with specific capabilities,

who need to be contextualised in their local

settings.

Collaboration

Occupational participation

Not surprisingly, given BRAID’s focus on active

ageing, the BRAID stakeholders emphasised the

need for supports that would enable people

to remain in employment as they get older. It

should be noted that this recommendation is

not focused on ‘forcing’ people to remain in

paid employment. The recommendation relates

both to paid employment and volunteering,

and recognises the importance of employment

as a vehicle for social inclusion of older people

and building intergenerational solidarity. The

focus on support for occupational participation

reflects the fact that some older people are

withdrawing from employment because the

work environment is not supportive of their

changing capacity.

Figure 8 Aligning themes with EU 2020 strategy

Some of the aspects of the themes include:

Page 25: BRAID Executive  Summary

25

Strategic Convergence: connecting and collaborating

Researching, designing, developing, delivering,

maintaining, adapting and sustaining ICT-

based services to meet the needs of diverse

older people in differing local, national and

regional contexts throughout Europe requires

a strategic view of the interrelationships

between these themes and the operating

dynamics through which they interact.

The vertical axis of growth is animated by

the shared desirability and attraction of

an attainable vision of an inclusive Europe

providing the freedoms to all Europeans to

age well within a framework of active and

positive ageing. This forward axis needs to be

set on a firm foundation of economic security

and stability, social innovation and sustainable

business modelling.

Figure 9 Underpinning Themes and Aspects

Figure 11 Strategic Conversions

Page 26: BRAID Executive  Summary

26

Framing this axis are transformative personal,

social and environmental developments,

be they in greater awareness, increased

skills acquisition, or greater readiness for

organisational and/or cultural change.

Underpinning these horizontal forces is

a greater sense of the ethical and moral

principles guiding our own personal and

collective stakeholder values and attitudes to

the rights, dignity and respect of older people

and those who care for them. This requires

personal commitments and policy enactments

at both social and technical levels.

Between sustainability and inclusivity is the

central need for innovation, greater resource

efficiencies, convenience and smartness. ICT is

both out-folding in terms of reach, accessibility

and coverage, and in-folding in terms of

‘context awareness’, internal organisational

complexity and user attachment. Knowledge-

based services, based on awareness of

both situational and emotional context,

will empower autonomy, augment human

function and capabilities, and foster and

nourish our social and spiritual connectedness.

When considering the interconnectedness

of these themes, research endeavours going

forward must recognise that in bridging the

fragmentation of earlier approaches to ICT

and Ageing research, efforts must now be

directed at taking more unified, synthetic,

‘whole system’ and ‘person-centred’

approaches to studies and RTD developments.

‘Collaborative networks and environments’

are at the heart of the learning from the

BRAID investigation and it calls for new types

of consortia in new types of arrangements to

meet these re-framed challenges.

Implementation Convergence

BRAID’s future sphere of influence in terms of

domain and timeframe will be Horizon 2020,

the new EU flagship financial instrument

implementing the Innovation Union and

directed at enhancing the EU’s position in

science, strengthening industrial leadership

and competitiveness, and addressing major

concerns shared by all Europeans - including

the challenge of an ageing population. In

line with BRAID’s call for more federated

stakeholder engagement mechanisms, new

Innovation Partnerships represent Horizon

2020’s primary mechanism to tackle societal

challenges by helping to bridge the gap

between research and the market - creating

partnerships across sectors and stakeholders

at local, regional and member state levels -

to align the resources and energies towards

effective innovation networks.

The European Innovation Partnership for

Active and Healthy Ageing is now taking

shape with the headline goal of increasing by

two the average number of healthy life years

(HLYs) in the EU by 2020, through improving

health status and quality of life, supporting

sustainability and efficiency of health and

care systems, and enhancing competitiveness

of EU industry. Specific actions cross the

vertical pillars of care and cure, promotion and

prevention, and active and independent living,

with horizontal actions in the areas of age-

friendly buildings, cities and environments.

The themes and actions of BRAID’s ICT and

Ageing roadmap, particularly collaborative

networks and environments and business

modelling, align with, reinforce and accelerate

opportunities to build the new types of

stakeholder partnerships and ICT innovations

that can make a difference to the lives of older

people throughout Europe.

Page 27: BRAID Executive  Summary

27

The development of BRAID’s ICT and

Ageing roadmap has been enhanced

by the team’s opportunity to link

with researchers and stakeholders

undertaking the development of

the FuturAge Although focus and

methodology are different, there

is much alignment of vision and

principles. And while both have

differing implementation priorities,

BRAID acknowledges and reinforces

FuturAge’s call to strengthen European

ageing research infrastructure, build

research capacity, strengthen user

involvement and facilitate greater

knowledge exchange.

Sustainability

BRAID seeks to maintain and grow

the collaboration and engagement of

current and new stakeholders in ICT

and Ageing research in Europe and

internationally, as the research agenda

laid out in the roadmap evolves over

the timescale of Horizon 2020. The

BRAID website and Wiki, launched at

the BRAID conference in May 2012,

provide a low-cost mechanism to

maintain and update the roadmap

content; and a process to manage the

roadmap evolution is outlined in the

roadmap documentation.

Page 28: BRAID Executive  Summary

28

Acknowledgements

The BRAID partners wish to thank all those that directly or indirectly shaped the BRAID project.

Thank you to the European Commission for funding this project and to Project Officer Peter Wintlev-

Jensen for his support throughout this journey. Thanks also to the EC reviewers Cornel Klein, Rita

Puzmanova and Luíz Carriço for providing insightful comments and guidance.

BRAID could not have been possible without the positive engagement of various stakeholders and

experts from Europe and the rest of the world. It is impossible to acknowledge all here, but Professor

Alan Walker and his colleagues at FuturAge merit a mention.

We acknowledge David Wright and Kush Wadhwa for having the vision to conceive and lead the

development of the initial BRAID proposal. We thank Professor Ben Knapp at Virgina Tech, for

his leadership and contribution to BRAID during its first year, and for his continuous interest in

BRAID activities. We thank the international experts composing the Advisory Board for their tireless

commitment and wisdom: Aaron Quigley, Ad van Berlo, Andreas Kreiner, Antonio María del Cura, Ase

Kari Haugeto, Astrid Stuckelberger, Filippo Cavallo, Heidrun Mollenkopf, Ilenia Gheno, Janez Molvrh,

Jose Antonio Alvarez Bermejo, Lawrence Normie, Leandro Loss, Luca Odetti, Madeleine Starr, María

del Puerto Asensio, Misha Pavel, Monica Alexandru, Nan Bosler, Paolo Bonato, Pekka Ala-Siuru, Sergio

Sayago Barrantes, Shuji Hashimoto, Soledad Ballesteros and Vesna Dolnicar.

The BRAID project would not have been possible without the co-ordinated efforts of several institutions

and committed and tireless individuals; that is the nine partners:

• Hamideh Afsarmanesh and Miriam Ghijsen, Universiteit van Amsterdam

• Luis M. Camarinha-Matos, Filipa Ferada, Ana Inés Oliveira and João Rosas, Instituto de

Desenvolvimento de Novas Tecnologias - UNINOVA

• Emilio Mordini, Dimitris Dimitriou, Valeria Balestrieri, Holly Ashton and Emma Garnett, Centre for

Science, Society and Citizenship Rome.

• David Wright and Rachel Finn, Trilateral Research & Consulting LLP.

• Kush Wadhwa, Nancy Baker and Paul McCarthy, Global Security Intelligence (GSI) Ltd

• Liz Cummings and Paddy Nixon, University of Tasmania.

• Rodd Bond and Joanne Finnegan, Netwell Centre, Dundalk Institute of Technology

• Christian Wehrmann, Michael Huch and Maxie Lutze, VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik Gmbh.

• Karim Hadjri, Ben Knapp and Una Lynch, Queen’s University Belfast.

Thank you all.

The BRAID Project Team

Page 29: BRAID Executive  Summary

29

BRAID Deliverables

No. Deliverable Name Lead Partner

D1.1 Taxonomy GSI

D1.2 Taxonomy and Trends – interim report GSI

D1.3 Trends analysis – final report GSI

D2 Stakeholders analysis VDI

D3 Stakeholder co-ordination mechanisms TRI

D4.1 Interim report on the visioning approach UvA

D4.2 Consolidated vision of ICT and Ageing UvA

D5.1 Report on establishment of Advisory Board CSSC

D5.2 Report on Stakeholder Engagement CSSC

D5.21 Workshop (1) Barcelona CSSC

D5.22 Workshop (2) Pordenone CSSC

D5.23 Workshop (3) Copenhagen CSSC

D5.24 Workshop (4) Dublin CSSC

D5.25 Workshop (5) Budapest CSSC

D6.1 Interim roadmap Uninova

D6.21 Consolidated roadmap Uninova

D6.22 Strategic Research Agenda Uninova

D6.3 Guidelines for roadmap implementation Uninova

D7.1 Dissemination plan UT

D7.2 Establishment of BRAID project website UT

D7.3 Establishment of BRAID community portal UT

D7.4 Interim report on dissemination activities UT

D7.5 Conference report and proceedings UT

D7.6 Final report on dissemination activities UT

D7.7 Report on recommendations for international cooperation UT

D8.1 Interim report QUB

D8.2 Executive summary of the project QUB

All published reports are available at: http://www.braidproject.org/?q=publications

Page 30: BRAID Executive  Summary

30

Bibliography

Afsarmanesh, H., S. Msanjila and L.M. Camarinha-Matos, “Technological research plan for active

ageing”, Information Systems Frontiers, [forthcoming, Available online since 18 Feb 2011].

Age Platform Europe, AGE messages to the First Annual Convention of the European

Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, 17 October 2011. http://www.age-platform.eu/en

Camarinha-Matos, L.M. and H. Afsarmanesh, “Collaborative Networks in Active Ageing – A

Roadmap Contribution to Demographic Sustainability”, Production Planning & Control, Vol. 23, No.

4, 2012, pp. 279–298.

Camarinha-Matos, L. M. and H. Afsarmanesh, “Active Aging with Collaborative Networks”, IEEE

Technology and Society Magazine, Vol. 30, No. 4, 2011, pp. 12-25.

Camarinha-Matos, L. M., and H. Afsarmanesh, “Collaborative Ecosystems in Ageing Support”,

Proceedings of PRO-VE’11, 17-19 Oct 2011, S. Paulo, Brazil, Adaptation and Value Creating

Collaborative Networks, IFIP AICT Series 362/2011, Springer, 2011, pp. 177-188.

European Commission, Europe 2020: A strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth,

Brussels, 3 March 2010.

European Commission, A Digital Agenda for Europe, COM (2010)245 final/2, Brussels, 26 August

2010.

EuroStat, Healthy Life Years Statistics, 2011. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_

explained/index.php/Healthy_life_years_statistics

EuroStat, Fertility Statistics, 2011.

http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Fertility_statistics

Finn, R.L., and D. Wright, “Mechanisms for Stakeholder Co-ordination in ICT and Ageing”, Journal

of Information Communication and Ethics in Society, Vol. 9 No. 4, 2011, pp. 265-286.

FuturAge (2011) The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map http://futurage.group.

shef.ac.uk/road-map.html

Page 31: BRAID Executive  Summary

To my humble view, the BRAID’s

project is truly unique, a

breakthrough and very important

contribution to the world wide

emerging Aging Industry

Email to BRAID team from Shoshan Shacham, 71 years old

Page 32: BRAID Executive  Summary

BRAID Project

School of Planning, Architecture

and Civil Engineering

Queen’s University Belfast

Northern Ireland, BT9 5AG, UK

www.braidproject.eu

desig

ned

by elem

ent d

esign

042 9327943