Executive Synopsis


Healthy Ageing (AHA), concluding with a debate on how the EIP can support industry market take-up and older people. The session opened with a short address by incoming AALA President Mike Biddle, who welcomed the joining up of the innovation pathway the EIP brings and noted the opportunity its focus on AHA brings AAL. Former EC Director Frans de Brune


echoed that calling for AAL JP to be more than just another research programme and that the link with EIP does that for it. Mario Ali, Director General of the


Peter Saraga and Mario Ali speaking at the Plenary sessions


said, but we must speed up the supply and these solutions must be financially viable with an emphasis on enabling people to stay in the home for longer. To do this we must look at social innovation to fight isolation and find better support for carers. She concluded by calling on European mayors to join forces in looking at active and healthy ageing and help bridge the gaps between authorities and the citizen. Lambert van Nisterroij, MEP,


concluded the keynote addresses of the first plenary session by looking forward to active and healthy ageing programmes from a European Parliament perspective. He began by heralding the AAL JP as a wonderful, bottom-up formula that brings research to the market. This is exactly what is needed, he said, but we have to speed up the process. He also highlighted the opportunities that the “silver economy” presents business, while we must also consider how technology can help us save money in healthcare. We must work together, he concluded. We have the knowledge and skill in Europe, so if we put it all together, then we will be successful and the European Parliament will support AAL.


The SME and AAL Peter Saraga, a member of the Forum Programme Committee introduced the session in which the delegates were given a glimpse of how SMEs work within the AAL programme by emphasising the need for projects to bring real products to market. Matteo Santoro of the GP Group in


Italy opened by outlining the importance of companies developing a clear


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business model for their innovation, from the start. But, he warned, IT solutions in this market require investment from the user and so it is always a question of who pays – the authorities, the service provider, the end user. A business model will define this. Saskia Vermeulen of ShareCare,


based in the Netherlands, explained the different ways she has worked to get her innovation to the market, from creating informal care groups to keeping people up to date with the latest news and developments. But she, too, highlighted the need for investment and explained how ShareCare had changed course and found a clearer route to market through partnership with a large company called Simac. Never be afraid to be innovative, she said, but always be prepared to change your plans. Dr Axel Steinhage of SensFloor,


based in Germany, explained how he had found government support to be a lifeline for his innovation, sensors on the floor that monitor movement in the home and can detect falls. His innovation came with the idea of producing the mats in rolls and he has now taken the product to market. Javier Ramirez spoke for CPMTI


of Spain and the Siesta project, introducing the concept of “prosumers”, a combination of producers and consumers. Key to his success was that his design of ambient solutions through mobile devices was successful because it focused on real people.


Session Two The Plennary Session of day two of the


AAL Forum focused on the European Innovation Partnership on Active and


Ministry for Education, Universities and Research called for politicians to realise the importance of ICT for AHA and highlighted the opportunity this brings to business and AAL. He reiterated the will of the Italian Government to support this initiative by increasing coordination between the regions and encouraging cooperation between member states and the public and private sectors. Growth, he said, would follow if we work together on common objectives and AHA is our fundamental priority. It fell upon Constantijn van Oranje-


Nassau, Member of Cabinet of Neelie Kroes and head of Policy, Strategy and Objectives of the EIP-AHA to explain in detail the overall aims and objectives of EIP as an attempt to break through the innovation paradox – develop markets, identify barriers and how to break them down, and look at ways of bottom-up commercialisation – in other words, how to turn good ideas into business. He reiterated the core message of the Forum that it was critical to approach the challenges of our ageing population with a programme like this and by doing so we would create the triple win of opportunity, sustainability and benefit to the citizen. He also explained how the EIP had been set up through a series of steering committees, workshops and consultation with stakeholders. This has led to five themes and actions for the EIP and the next stages will now take the programme to full implementation. He concluded by emphasising the importance of groups like the Joint Programme of AAL in ensuring the EIP works. We need commitment, he said, and this promising new approach to creating innovation will work. Maria Uccellatore, Italian AAL JP


representative followed this presentation of EIP by emphasising that our ageing population is a challenge for all society, young and old, but that we should look at ageing in a more positive way and work for a better future by not just looking for profit, but the right profit for the social good. She pledged active support for EIP-AHA by Italy and


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