These are experimental spaces where – together with end users – new care concepts, services, processes and products are created and tested 'in real life'. The Knowledge Platform for Innovation in Elderly Care (KIO) was responsible for the scientific follow-up of these living labs. KIO's assignment consisted of four tasks.
Four tasks
- A first task was to provide substantive support for the various care and assistance processes by offering scientific knowledge to the living labs. This knowledge helped to overcome the barriers to the implementation of the innovations and to ensure that the living labs could contribute to the social objectives for the complex group of elderly people.
- A second task was to develop a set of measuring instruments with core indicators to estimate the social and economic impact of the innovations. The indicator set works as a signal function to optimize innovations in care for the elderly.
- A third task was to disseminate the acquired scientific knowledge to the actors in the elderly (care) practice, policy makers and the (international) scientific community.
- Finally, KIO formulated policy recommendations based on the results of the care living labs.
Evaluation research method
To map the impact of innovations on the elderly, informal caregivers, care providers and care organizations, a social scientific evaluation research method of complex interventions was carried out. The existing social and scientific debate on the elderly was taken into account.
Interuniversity and colleges consortium
Kennisplatform Innovatie Ouderenzorg (KIO) is an interuniversity and university college consortium that researches innovations in elderly care in Flanders. The consortium consists of OPIH-VUB, GERO-VUB, CESO-KUL, iCher, Artevelde University College, ETRO-VUB and Howest.
Financing by IWT
The consortium was funded by the Agency for Innovation by Science and Technology (IWT) for 3 years.
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