Welcome to the era of Ageing Intelligence® Introducing the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing
Director’s briefing Bombarded by the explosion of statistics on demographic trends we tend to regard the phenomenon of an ageing society as a net, which after a certain age threshold, everyone is inevitably entangled. Typically a youthful dogmatism considers the old as a receptacle. Voracious consumers of energy, time, resources, and services. Others. But they aren’t taking into account the real economy: older adults not only as “receivers”, but also transmitters of lifestyles, of spending power, of an interpretation of reality, of present and future desires. The McKinsey Global Institute concludes that the over-60 population, one of the few drivers of global economic growth, is well-placed to generate at least half of the expansion in all urban consumption between 2015 and 2030*. Not to mention the economic and physical assistance they provide. In today’s economic system, always teetering on the brink of recession, this is an economy, that spawns billions of man-hours every year (or better yet, womanhours), although nobody bothers to count.
* McKinsey Global Institute
At the National Innovation Centre for Ageing we want to make that economy count. To allow brands and organisations to understand how and why to serve a population off their market radar. We are here to show that people who, because of crystallised cultural stereotypes, we categorise in a single pot are actually a river of fluid lava, burning and alive, made of unreplaceable lapilli, so different from each other, so unique in their own way. We are here to listen to their voice and ideas too often forgotten and turn them into a value for society as a whole. We are here to explore how an ageing workforce can represent not a challenge for companies and people, but an opportunity for both and for the Country. We are here to connect generations and allow them to contribute to each other’s well-being and happiness. Together. We are here to seek meaning in process innovation and emerging technologies and apply them ethically and sustainably to our lives, regardless of age. We are here to add intelligence to society. We named it Ageing Intelligence®.
Join us.
Create the future of A ® Intelligence with us
Ageing
About Us We are the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing – a world leading organisation supported by an initial investment from UK Government and Newcastle University – to help co-develop and bring to market products and services which create a world in which we all live better, for longer. We bring together cross-competence professionals and researchers, commercialisation experts, scientists, innovators and technologists working closely together with the public in a seamless way, exchanging their intelligence and backgrounds. Our sister organisation VOICE® - Valuing Our Intellectual Capital & Experience - is an international network of thousands of “innovation ready citizens”. Through their engagement we want to inspire new thinking, build connections and empower people. Together with VOICE® we have developed a novel approach - named Ageing Intelligence® - leveraging the experience, skills and expertise of older adults, alongside people of all ages and backgrounds, together with their stakeholders, while harnessing big data. Our role as a Global Observatory allows us to be uniquely positioned to help enterprises to capitalise their returnon-society and return-on-business in the longevity economies, generating new thinking and actions.
harnessing the business opportunities related to the longevity economies through human experience, ethics, data, collaboration, emerging technologies & innovative business models.
Our mission Adding intelligence to ageing and longevity.
Manifesto If there’s one thing the world needs today, it’s intelligence. However, while intelligence is necessary, it’s not sufficient to solve the many complex issues affecting humanity. Intelligence is everywhere – driven by human genius and hunger for progress, evolving and advancing as we push the boundaries of what is possible. Daily new discoveries and inventions demonstrate the extraordinary brilliance of people to create tools and solutions unimaginable only a few years earlier. Intelligence is in data - from research, from a myriad of initiatives and projects, current, past and future. But Intelligence is also in human experience, shared knowledge and wisdom. And it’s found in emotions– there are deep insights in what people and their loved ones communicate, feel, want and need. Crucial yet disparate and largely imperceptible fragments of knowledge, collected over the phases of our lifetime. Imagine - if we integrated these different sources of intelligence – and had the power to harness people’s lived experience, amplify greater understanding of people’s aspirations and desires, and merge the strengths and capabilities of different generations and cultures? We aim to combine these valuable assets and knowledge across humans and leverage artificial intelligence and big data, with deliberation, ethics and technical ingenuity. We call it Ageing Intelligence®.
Introducing Ageing Intelligence® Our Ageing Intelligence® is a world first - a novel, branded approach to business that helps organisations identify and capitalise on opportunities in longevity economies. It is a comprehensive data-driven approach leveraging a combination of human knowledge and experience, data analysis, and real-world applied testing and research.
Business ori focus & cons approac
Ageing Intelligence® Experience Design: Human-centric principles and processes that drive alignment, focus on innovation, and quickly deliver value to individuals, organisations and markets.
Customised methodology & proprietary assets
Placing the citizen, the consumers, the older adult and their stakeholders at the centre of all our work, we innovate through evidence synthesis, deep market and trend analysis, horizon scanning, and consumer insights gathered by our proprietary methodological approach. We are uniquely positioned as a Global Observatory to provide evidence and design services that deliver competitive advantage to the global clients who partner with us.
iented sultancy ch
Ageing in Translation: Collecting and synthesizing behavioral and market data, analysing trends and generating and amplifying insights from NICA-led projects involving citizens, research, and business.
Data platform & value-added services (available from 2021)
Ageing Intelligence® Insight Data platform: Harnessing, integrating and analysing research, data, knowledge and best-practices world-wide.
The market we serve
Maybe you would like to understand more about the dyna
We could have told you about the global longevity sector (spending by or on behalf of the 2 Billion people over50) will grow from circa $20 Trillion today to over $30 Trillion by 2025. Or that this sector today is under-digitized, at about 5% digital adoption vs. 10%-15% for under 50s, and as high as 25% for the youngest. Or that improved user experience and increased familiarity with digital among the over-50s will result in their tech-enabled spending (what we define as Age-Tech) growing from around $1 Trillion to + $2 Trillion by 2025. Or even that tech giants such as Amazon and Apple dominate Age-Tech, but venturebacked start-ups already represent around $10 Billion in Age-Tech revenue*. We could have add many other numbers like the ones above. However we’d rather do things differently.
* The above figures are abstracts from 2018-2020 several studies (EU, AARP, 4Gen, Milken Institute, ILC, Longevity Forum etc.) elaboration by NICA.
amics behind the opportunities of the longevity economies
• Firstly, letting you realise that these predictions are going to change again and again. Furthermore, unprecedented events like COVID-19 will make them even more unpredictable. • Secondly, we all are going to age. We are all part of this narrative. So is there really an “ageing demographic” here? Is there an industry more impacted than the others? Are the challenges and opportunities related to older adults only for older adults? What about the other generations related one way or the other with them? We think we are part of a global phenomena that has to be interpreted through life dynamics to be really understood and tackled. So we’d rather give you a range of tools to understand and action this in more detail instead of just adding more statistics. We hope you’ll find it helpful.
Humans +
+ Machines
Ageing Intelligence® Experience Design At the National Innovation Centre for Ageing we are aware that while no one owns an entire ecosystem, everyone would enjoy the entire picture. We map human experience interactions across themes and industries, translating insights into practical solutions, in real contexts and real scenarios. We have augmented our processes applying a customised version of the IBM Enterprise Design Thinking* methodology, helping to quickly drive alignment, focus on innovation, and deliver greater value to individuals, organisations and markets.
∞
VOICE’s ten years of experience of co-designing and co-developing with older adults and their stakeholders allows us to be experts in focusing on the needs, the wants, the aspirations of the individual – and always real individuals, not abstract personas.
A focus on human experience Design thinking to understand and respond to people’s unmet needs.
Shaping the possible
Multidisciplinary teams
Understand the present and envision the future in a continuous cycle of observing, reflecting, and making.
Collaborate across disciplines and organisations to move faster and work smarter.
*IBM Enterprise Design Thinking is a registered trade mark of IBM.
We have a different i about ageing, workp and (digital) learning
idea place
Ageing Intelligence® Learning:har transitions
In partnership with
We partnered with Lifeed to perfect a digital platform that allows companies to harness the potential learning from employees in their life transitions. By bringing together complementary skills, expertise and intelligence, Lifeed has been able to bring to market a new product that helps create a culture of care within an organisation. The Lifeed programmes unlock the skills that are nurtured through caregiving such as stress management, patience, and selfconfidence, and applies them to the workplace. This has particular importance in light of COVID-19, with workforces facing increased stress while working remotely and it being more important than ever for businesses to ensure employees feel cared for and valued. The Life Based Learning method activates these skills. It improves key skills by up to 35%, lowers stress levels (90% of participants feel “stronger”) and unlocks hidden talents. People feel like they can bring their whole selves to work and it increases their motivation and engagement. Read more about our partnership with Lifeed
rnessing the power of life What skills would you like to harness with us today? Explore our digital portfolio:
Ageing for innovators / an intro to ageing for all A free online course where you can learn about the ageing population and its impact: The best starting point to understand more about the challenges and the opportunities of the Longevity Economy where you can learn about trajectories of global longevity, inequalities of ageing, opportunities of an ageing society.
Care / for employers and employees We learn through caring. Family caregiving - whether it’s for older adults, ill or dependent relatives – is a training ground for soft skills. This course explores how this experience helps us grow, manage stress and handle complexity more effectively. It harnesses skills developed through the caring experience and applies them at work.
Transitions / for employers and employees along COVID-19 During time of crisis, fatigue, fears and emotions can suppress our ability to think clearly and creatively. Crisis, such as the global COVID-19 pandemic creates a life transition. It forces us to rethink personal, social and organisational aspects of our lives. This course supports companies and employees through change management and problem solving, using crisis to train a wide range of transferrable soft skills and improve well-being.
Dementia Care / for family carers and healthcare professionals A truly engaging course, created with academic experts, clinicians and people with lived experience of dementia, who feature in the videos, which offers a range of activities to suit all abilities. During the course participants gain an insight into how the brain works, the impact of different dementias, and discover techniques that can help to improve communication, and explore the effects of unmet needs on behaviour.
Empowering generat together
tions thriving
VOICE: harnessing human experience - meet our team of 8000+ co-designers VOICE is a unique organisation - a diverse, thriving international network of thousands of citizens, embedded in NICA. 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. We have 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.
VOICE identifies the unmet needs, priorities and aspirations of the public related to healthy ageing and longevity economies. VOICE members work in partnership with businesses to de-risk innovation, utilising the immense knowledge and experience of the public through the journey from good idea to a commercially available product or service. Lynne Corner COO of NICA and Director of VOICE
Do you want to explore how to develop a VOICE chapter in your Region?
: enabling ongoing conv The ageing population is not an easily defined market, or simple user group. It’s an incredibly diverse human, global audience with widely varying needs, habits, technical abilities, and more. There is no straightforward path to designing solutions here - no single persona, no unified set of requirements or channel. Instead, there are hundreds, if not thousands of variables to consider, each with a network of dependencies and potential impact on the others. And the ‘others’: it is the entire society at scale. We are all connected. When people of all ages, all backgrounds come together, to openly share ideas, insights and experiences – they generate together immense knowledge that is lost if they simply co-exist. With VOICE X we aim to facilitate, encourage and promote these encounters and harness this knowledge - we believe this to be the most powerful form of energy for the progress of our society, for cross life opportunity and wellbeing and for all sectors of industry.
What are people’s wishes? And what are those of the generations with whom they share life?
Go to video
versations between generations
Making it happen
Making it happen/Developing Ped Our Vision
We will explore how:
Mobility is key to succesful economies and to citizen health • GITA can help mitigate lonliness both actively - eg. taking people shopping -and passively and wellbeing. We explored who, in the space of innovation representing a social attractor to other citizens on mobility, is driving disruptive conversation, asking simply through its amazing form and function. where extreme innovation, based on data, sustainability, technology, meets empathy, human needs and return on • GITA, despite not having any interaction function society? After all, plenty of devices are already available typical of robots in this era – (GITA doesn’t to this audience. And we also know that acceptance isn’t talk, but emits cute feedback sounds! )- can automatic - it must be earned by truly addressing core generate a sense of empathy, companionship human needs, not just coming up with the next ‘big thing’. and mutual care by encouraging people to For these reasons, we have focused on the most efficient, “take her for a ride” and thus stimulate healthy enjoyable and least polluting means of mobility: walking! behaviour. • COVID19 suggested some scenarios dictated by social distancing, such as allowing a shopping The Project trip in a supermarket led by an attendant to be Piaggio Fast Forward (PFF) is a spin-off company of returned to its rightful owner at the exit. Piaggio - the inventor of the Vespa, one of the world’s most iconic mass transit vehicles - dedicated to support a sustainable mobility ecology with healthy lifestyles and social connectivity available to all, regardless of age or abilities. PFF has recently launched GITA on the market - a knee-high robot that holds her owner’s things and follows them while they walk throughout their day. With PFF we are testing if lightweight machines like GITA will be part of the future our urban landscape and if and how they will be accepted by older adults.
destrianism
Making it happen/Co-designing a Our vision
The project
The decision by the UK Government to support - in collaboration with Newcastle University - the establishment of our Centre also coincided with the decision to build our premises from scratch. In other words, we found ourselves in the enviable and unique position of being able to influence upstream what our own “home” should have been like. This allowed us to implement one of the pillars of our strategic approach: involving the same age groups that we serve. This allowed us to co-design with various groups of stakeholders ranging in age from 20-60+ along a three year period what a building aiming to “harness intelligence from older adults” (and give life to the concept we call Ageing Intelligence®) should be like. What would excellence look like? A building capable of welcoming, stimulating, involving, promoting older people? What basic principles, what living philosophy, but also what spaces, what materials, what lights, what signs? The outcome, once in the lifetime, is now considered to be a landmark building for the city and the wider region.
The design is based to promote collaborative working and integration between commercial ventures and market-leading translational researchers and innovation professionals, accommodating ease of navigation for people who may have visual impairments, disabilities or impaired mobility and areas designed to be dementiafriendly. Private product testing rooms and larger exhibition spaces all promote active collaboration and applied research in a high quality but comfortable environment. The TED Talk style Theatre epitomises this considerate design, featuring bespoke seating with USB charging points. The tiered seating fully caters for all abilities, with wide aisles that allow the seat bases to be permanently fixed in the down position. The main work areas are designed with just as much collaboration and consideration in mind, offering a variety of settings that give people a choice of where to work. Spaces outside the formal working areas provide a variety of small and large areas to gather to for social, informal meetings, inlcuding a café open to the public. The building encourages collaboration and inclusivity but also communicates best practice. We use the building to demonstrate a process for design as well as solutions, as well as being a great place to work and visit.
an ageing intelligent building
Making it happen/Leading a revo Read more about this project
Our vision We have focused our attention on scouting innovative virtuous models built on logic, process, and technology, to not so much reinvent the wheel but adapt it more for the needs of the care sector. Delivery of service of course is key, but even more crucial is the sustainability of the service for the economy, society, citizens, and operators alike. In our journey in search of innovation we explore and stimulate hybrid business models, public-private partnerships, and interactions between business and volunteering to maximise opportunities for our future older adults. Flexibility, adaptability, and agility are key characteristics we will need in a stressful world and it is here that we need to unite technology and data with humanity to shape a new breed of service. By stimulating and promoting the partnership with onHand and Newcastle Building Society, we have created a novel approach to the betterment of care provision that merges volunteering with business.
The Project The onHand app links volunteers with those seeking help, for example, with shopping, picking up prescriptions, and even companionship calls - with help available to either those making the request or someone they know. Volunteers pick up tasks through the app via their mobile. Back in January
2020 we invited the onHand team to visit Newcastle discussing the idea of bringing their service to the North East involving the members of VOICE as testers and validators. What attracted us about the onHand solution was its outstanding mobile-first application, a well deployed and designed app following industrial standards and features, not easy quality to find in charity-like type of solutions (including an embedded DBS check to validate volunteers’ profiles and a fintech-like dashboard to monitor every single mission to mention just a couple of the features). What we challenged onHand about – besides validating the market response in a region very different from London - was their original business model. Together with the 2020 Entrepreneur for Good Award winner and onHand founder Sanjay Lobo, and team we discussed about alternatives to a fee-per-user based model exploring corporate sustainability models. As a Hub of Innovation, while in discussion for other opportunities with the Newcastle Building Society – we decided to connect the two organisations to see if they were interested in exploring together a CSRbased model to bring the service to Newcastle, involving NBS employees to also serve as volunteers. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the decisions, and under our orchestration the Newcastle Building Society endorsed OnHand as a featured service for the community and their employees.
olution in volunteering By mid-year we launched the operations for the pilot phase in Newcastle, involving public organisations such as Newcastle City Council to observe the outcomes in order to take advantage of a support network that potentially (and partially) could ensure the City is at the forefront of volunteering support to citizens, allowing them to focus other services on those with different needs. “The volunteers have been fantastic and lots got done. I sat outside whilst they were here, it was lovely to have some company and chat. I’ve been completely isolated for most of the last few months, so it really cheered my spirits.” Julie – participant in the Newcastle pilot
Making it happen/Changing the u Our vision
If you found walking distances challenging, without the right seating, at the right places, you quickly found yourself excluded from many public places which could lead to isolation and loneliness. This follows what Joe Oldman, Age UK’s policy manager for housing and transport, said: “Accessible public transport, level pavements, places to sit, the removal of trip hazards, good street lighting and public toilets are all vital components to encouraging older people to stay engaged with their local community.” In other words, it is clear that the quality of the environment outside the home has a huge bearing on an older person’s quality of life: paying attention to the built environment can make the difference between someone participating in life, or being isolated at home.
The project
Under the auspices of a project launched by Newcastle University and Design Network North to showcase the value of a design process, and led by Jonathan Butters of Butters Innovation, we co-designed the entire process of developing a brand new kind of urban device involving our community: from defining the area of intervention, to the production of the finished object. We started by organising a programme of consumer-led workshops to establish the goal of
the design project. These meetings included VOICE® members who were given the brief and ask to decide on a product that would be valuable to the public. After much debate, the participants decided that the project would focus on public seating - more specifically a bench that would be suitable for all ages. The rationale for the project came from VOICE® members, some of whom are retired designers and architects. The observations we collected pointed out how benches for the public realm did not suit their requirements and had not been designed with their needs in mind, often being designed to deter ‘rough sleeping’ or with a primary soft security objective. It was decided therefore, that re-thinking the design and purpose of a public bench could have significant benefits. The following requirements were identified: it should be easy to get in and out of, comfortable (warm and dry), a good social space, suitable for all generations, easy to clean and maintain, and a safe space.
You can find the outcome of our work around Newcastle or for sale online as the “Vitality Bench”.
urban landscape The success of the project highlights the possibilities involved in inclusive design for all products. If we can create such fundamental social impact through redesigning something as traditional as public seating, imagine what could be achieved if we applied this approach to all new products and services.
Building a global ne
Ageing well, for longer is a global challeng societal opportunity if we get it right. The U Innovation Centre for Ageing is actively en businesses and public sector partners acr Global by design, collaborative by instinct in locations including the USA, Nordic and Australia and China. Patrick Bonnett CDO of NICA
etwork together
ge – and a major UK’s National ngaged with ross the world. t, we are working d Baltics, Taiwan,
We are restlessly out there, conn We are continually developing partnerships with strategic organisations where mutual interaction, ethical principles, vision and market approach are shared and beneficial to both the actors. This is an ongoing process, leveraging NICA’s position as the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing, and the commercialisation of products and services related to healthy ageing. Together with VOICE we are currently working to crystallize these interactions and develop active VOICE citizen chapters in the USA, Singapore,
Existing NICA Regional Hub
NICA Regional Hub opening 2021
Taiwan, China, Australia and the Nordic Baltics this represents a gateway to allow our clients and partners to access and understand global markets from a privileged path and engage diverse cultural and personal background. Ageing is not one-size-fit-all process and local socio-economic factors are key elements to be considered in designing a more equal and inclusive society as well as a healthier and engaged community for longer.
Existing VOICE Chapter
VOICE Chapter opening 2021
necting the world for you
Meet (some of) our partners Instead of just asking the question: “How do we grow our presence and engagement?” we also ask: “Who already has content, expertise, and networks and how can we collaborate and partner together?” So we have established a strategy of partnership based on our strategic objectives where mutual interaction, ethical principles, vision and market approach are shared and beneficial to both the actors. This is an ongoing process.
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP
Come to work with u home of Ageing Intel
us in the ® lligence
Introducing the Home of Ageing In The Catalyst has become the first commercial office building in the North East of the UK to be awarded the certification of “Outstanding” by BREEAM under the current assessment criteria, a rating reserved for only the top 1% of new UK non-domestic buildings. NICA’s clients, partners and members are welcome to work together here on the future of collaboration and interaction.
Ageing Intelligence Experience Design Lab/ First Floor
Drive Simulator & Mobility Lab/ Third Floor
TED-Like Theatre (170 seats)/ Ground Floor
NICA Headquarters & hot desking for collaboration partners/ Third Floor
Prototyping Ground floo
ntelligence®
g space/ or
Co-location space for commercial businesses/ Fourth floor
Ageing Intelligence Insights Centre/ First Floor
Ageing Intelligence Cognitive Lab/ First Floor
Workshop & interactive meeting spaces/ Ground/First Floor
Take advantage to be located in o Innovation Centres in UK NICA differentiates from ‘usual business’ for Universities but leverages significant expertise and capability from existing funding and infrastructure in Newcastle University, which has over twenty years of world-leading expertise on addressing healthy ageing. Our clients and partners can benefit from close partnerships and extensive collaborations with regional, national and international infrastructure and assets and have the opportunity to co-locate alongside like minded businesses operating in a diverse range of markets.
Our TED-like theatre, 170 seat and 4K broadcasting features
one of the fastest-growing
The Catalyst is located in the brand new area of the Helix, 10 minutes walk from Newcastle’s vibrant downtown
Lobby & public cafeteria
Reach us
The Catalyst | 3 Science Square | Newcastle Helix | Newcastle upon Tyne | NE4 5TG
Join us bringing intelligence to ageing & longevity
www.uknica.co.uk | info@uknica.co.uk | The Catalyst | 3 Science Square | Newcastle Helix | Newcastle upon Tyne | NE4 5TG