Enhancing the independence of older people and people with disabilities

• Author: Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (European Commission)
• Pages: 26-27

SOCIAL INNOVATION: INSPIRATIONAL PRACTICES

SUPPORTING PEOPLE THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES

26

© Regional Centre for Social Policy in Krokow, 2019

Raincoat designed for people in wheelchairs

Problem addressed

The ageing population poses a range of personal and policy

challenges across the EU. By 2050, one third of citizens in

Malopolska, Poland, will be over the age of 65, and one tenth

will be over the age of 80. People with pronounced disabilities

make up almost 12% of the population of Malopolska – a

proportion that is set to grow as the population gets older.

Many of these people will require home-based care and

residential care systems may lack the capacity to meet

growing demands for appropriate assistance.

Innovative solution

The Malopolska Incubator for Social Innovation was set up

to implement innovative, bottom-up solutions to address

the needs of older people, people with disabilities and their

caregivers. Established in Krakow by the Regional Centre for

Social Policy, the Incubator provided citizens with grants (up

to EUR 20 000) for developing, testing and implementing

projects to address the needs of dependent people.

Ideas for innovative products and services were developed

by elderly people or people with disabilities themselves.

All innovators went through a counselling process with an

innovation advisor who provided them with guidance on

how their idea could be transformed into a real innovation.

Ideas were then submitted to the Regional Centre for

Social Policy and assessed. Selected ideas were tested by

300 older people and people with disabilities. Innovators

were guided through all stages of the development

including the needs assessment, concretisation of the

idea, technical and organisational support, networking and

legal and f‌inancial advice.

Examples of innovations that were developed include a model

for a self-service shop for people with visual impairments,

a raincoat for people in a wheelchair to ensure thermal

comfort and high functional utility (thus strengthening the

independence of people with reduced mobility), and a voice

navigation application, Teleasystent, which allows people

with visual impairments to get around public utility buildings

more easily.

Enhancing the independence of older

people and people with disabilities

Malopolska Incubator for Social Innovation

Poland