Good practice:

FIK initiative-a private interdisciplinary scientific/technological development initiative

FIK is a private interdisciplinary scientific/technological development initiative in the field of ageing and disability launched in 2007. Its goal is to obtain patentable results that allow the profitability of the enterprise to be optimised and which lead to products and/or services that maximise the personal freedom, independence, health and quality of life of the elderly and disabled whilst simultaneously generating an economic framework.
Its goals are:
- To transfer the products developed within the scope of FIK to the market in the form of patents (sale or licence) or start-ups.
- To alleviate the effects of the progressive ageing of developed societies and to prevent dependency situations.
- To promote technology from a market perspective and with social responsibility towards the elderly and those people with some form of disability.

FIK is backed by 26 investment partners who have placed their trust in this ambitious project. These include:
-Financial bodies
-Industrial groups
-Social and health institutions
-Mass media
-Family investment funds
-Public institutions
-A TECNALIA Knowledge Partner
FIK initiative established the ecosystem´s conditions to boost the development of new solutions focus on silver economy. It helped 35 research projects, 25 patents and + 200 scientific articles about silver economy. As the main results, the knowledge obtained was translated to real products through two SME which created several medical devices in Ageing sector.

FIK is made up by 26 investment partners and has a budget of approximately 50 million euros over a 10-year period (2007-2017) in the context of ageing and disability.

Patentable technologies, devices and solutions mainly in the area of rehabilitation technologies and telecare systems.
Furthermore, FIKs contributed to the creation of 2 companies (example of translation), such as Textia (the VARSTIFF© textile technology) and FESIA (the FES-a devices fitted with technology based on functional electrical stimulation).

The researchers have learnt that it is very important to orientate the research activity to the wealth creation through the generation of industrial property

This GP is a good example of how to boost the development of a private initiative which impact into the business ecosystem mainly focus in the silver economy. Indeed, this research program teaches science and technology to support and complement regional policies of the ecosystem in join great projects: biomedical engineering, neurosciences, gerontology, etc. that generates important opportunities for economic growth.
It is a new form of business collaboration that seeks exploitable results, that is, patents, based on investment in research. These patents will reach the market through existing companies or generate new technology-based companies. It is therefore a mechanism of economic ecosystem regeneration.