19 July, 2022

 

The Hincks Team are excited to start a new Horizon Europe - European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) project called Senior EcoNect.

 

At the online kick-off meeting on 19/07/2022, the partners and colleagues met and worked through a full agenda to plan for the next 2 years and beyond. The project aims to connect different aspects of the silver economy with a specific focus on integrated and inclusive policy development to maximise the benefits of the silver economy for all. Represented by the Head of the Hincks Centre, Dr Helen McGuirk and Senior Researcher Dr Sarah Davis, the Hincks Centre will lead on the fourth project work package to deliver a report on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats within and across the partner regions and will produce a strategy document to accelerate progress in leveraging the silver economy potential.

 

 

“Silver Economy” designates the economy of the older population or the sum of all economic activities and the whole range of products and services that serve the needs of people aged 50 and over. The project consortium will work together to produce important policy outputs culminating in the publication of a Joint Action Plan and including regional SWOT analyses, Stakeholder mapping and strategy development.

 

 

The silver economy is by nature very fragmented because it is:

• a transversal sector covering a range of areas (health, nutrition, sport, tourism housing, among others) each with high innovation potential;
• it includes many types of stakeholders and organisations that don’t often meet or connect but could strongly benefit from each sharing perspectives, and
• there is a “deficit of Europe” (lack of homogeneity in Europe) in the silver economy with regulations and reimbursement systems that differ from country to country resulting in a fragmentation and inefficiencies across of the sector.

 

 

The overall objective of Senior Eco-Nect project is to prepare a joint action plan to support the emergence and the development of European ecosystems dedicated to silver and ageing economy as well as ensuring the inclusivity and interconnectivity between all the key innovation stakeholders of the sector and cross-sectors. The silver economy integrates solutions targeted at older people that need tailored support to grow and to experiment with the target group using a citizen-centred approach.

Five specific objectives of Senior Eco-Nect comprise:

1. Support the emergence, growth, efficiency, and interconnection of at least 4 European ecosystems dedicated to the silver economy.
2. Unlock the full potential of the silver economy sector by integrating key transversal areas targeting the ageing population beyond the scope of health and care.
3. Ensure inclusiveness and interconnectivity between the key innovation players from across the quadruple helix around the sector of silver economy at the local, regional, national, and European level and beyond.
4. Increase the efficiency and innovation potential of silver economy innovators and projects by addressing key challenges and exploiting the opportunities offered by silver economy
5. Encouraging synergies and complementarities between Senior Eco-Nect Joint Action Plan and the innovation programmes of public authorities

This ambitious project will run for 2 years from July 2022 to June 2024 and the aim is to develop cross-European knowledge, links, and policy to target integrated strategy development at EC level.

 

 

Six partners representing innovation ecosystems and sectoral networks will join forces and strategies toward the strengthening of European innovation ecosystem in silver economy. The project is led by: Eurasanté in France, with partners from Munster Technological University in Ireland, Slovenian Innovation Hub in Slovenia, Cluster Saude de Galicia in Spain, the European Platform for Sports and Innovation, and the European Network for Accessible Tourism. Their effort will be supported by the engagement of 32 associated partners representing key innovation ecosystems members of the quadruple helix (industry, academia, public authorities, and civil society across Europe).

 

 

 

Senior Eco-Nect is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Horizon Europe. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.