For a growing number of people, the current housing stock and other building [and transport] facilities are no longer fit for continued independent living and energy consumption. Gas and power prices are increasing vulnerability and exclusion. Investments in smart living solutions by construction and IT companies, home owners and households themselves are needed urgently to upgrade the current housing stock into appropriate smart living environments for ageing well.
The needs of remote monitoring, using mHealth applications and robotics, are also rapidly increasing, which also needs to be taken into account in planning age-friendly homes or environments. This is an exciting area for investments, especially after the pandemic situation, that would much benefit from a strong alignment between social entrepreneurs and innovation ecosystems.
IT IS TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER THIS INNOVATION COLLABORATIONS THAT SIRENE WILL WORK UPON.
Our goal
The main aim of SIRENE is to support the growth of social innovation ecosystems delivering eco-friendly and sustainable community-based services for SHAFE (Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments) implementation in Europe, by providing a workable framework for investment and the broad adoption of high-quality smart living solutions, combining the housing sector and ICT infrastructure. The desired impact of the SIRENE proposal is to improve the wellbeing and housing conditions of the European population by empowering social and private entrepreneurs.
SIRENE leverages on the networks and outcomes of the SHAFE Network and the COST Action19136 NET4Age-Friendly, the ECTP network and Homes4Life legacy, the Thematic Innovation Ecosystem on Housing and Health as well as the European Reference Framework on Smart Age-Friendly Housing, the Green Deal and previous H2020/HE ICT funded research and results.
SIRENE will connect stakeholders by having them working together towards a Social Innovation framework and supporting tools, claiming that this joint collaborative
and co-creative work will:
1.
Increase awareness of innovation actors on social innovation concepts, methods and the skills to leverage them.
2.
Make social entrepreneurs aware of potential business opportunities, funding and investment around SHAFE.
3.
Create alliances and synergies between different stakeholders within ecosystems and between ecosystems
4.
Ensure that business actors have access to social innovation and entrepreneurial knowledge.
5.
Unleash the potential of social innovation
ecosystems on SHAFE.
SHAFE
A new concept was created since 2017, based on the desire to implement Smart Healthy Age-Friendly Environments (SHAFE) across Europe, fostering happier and healthier people in all communities. SHAFE began as a Thematic Network, approved by the European Commission, to draw policy makers, organisations and citizens’ attention to the need of better alignment between health, social care, built environments and ICT, both in policy and funding.
SHAFE delivered a Joint Statement and a Framing Paper in December 2018 to the European Commission and Member States.
After this, SHAFE evolved to a European Stakeholders Network, which currently has over 170 partner organisations and is coordinated by Carina Dantas (SHINE) and Willeke van Staalduinen (AFE), currently framed as the SHAFE Foundation.
NET4Age-Friendly
The main aim of the COST Action 19136 – International Interdisciplinary Network on Health and Wellbeing in an Age-Friendly Digital World is to establish an international and interdisciplinary network of researchers from all sectors to foster awareness, and to support the creation and implementation of smart, healthy indoor and outdoor environments for present and future generations.
The main approach of NET4Age-Friendly is the establishment of new local or regional ecosystems or by expanding existing ones in each European COST country involved, to work on health and wellbeing in an age-friendly digital world. The ecosystems consist of citizens, public authorities, businesses/NGOs and research and is supported by 5 thematic Working Groups. The NET4 network currently counts with 530+ members from 51 countries around the world, including 40 European COST member countries.
