ACE: Accelerating the home care innovation ecosystem of the future in the north sea region

The EU is undergoing a demographic shift: 20.8% of the population is aged 65 or older. In the North Sea Region, this percentage is even higher and is expected to continue rising. So far, there has been limited exchange among stakeholders regarding innovations and best practices.

Objective

To shape the future of home care, it is essential to place various parties at the heart of the project: home care providers, innovators (companies), end users, researchers, and public organisations. In other words, the entire ecosystem must be represented within the consortium.

This is the goal of ACE, which employs a unique approach that not only seeks to accelerate innovation but also promotes transnational knowledge exchange across the North Sea Region.

Outcomes

The ACE project supports the home care ecosystem in the North Sea Region by encouraging innovations that enable care users to live independently at home for longer. These innovations may include wearables, e-health solutions, smart home technologies, and more.

ACE has established a (digital) community of over 350 stakeholders and aims to scale up more than 30 innovations to a higher Technology Readiness Level (TRL). These innovations will better align with the needs of the target group and suggest adaptations for the daily practices of over 150 home care providers in the region.

Co-funded by the Interreg North Sea Programme from 2023 to 2026, ACE invites older adults, care providers, and solution developers to join the project and become pioneers in this rapidly evolving care system.