Region Dalarna organised its 4th stakeholders meeting on August 25, 2020. After a welcome word by Birgitta Sacrédeus, member of the Regional Council and the European Committee of Regions, and by Nils-Åke Norman, Project Manager at Region Dalarna, stakeholders were invited to follow SILVER SMEs’ online seminar on Senior Tourism and Accessibility on September 2, 2020. While this event was planned to be held in Dalarna, it had to be transformed into a virtual event due to the COVID-19 context.
Dalarna, a sense of innovation
During this 4th stakeholders’ meeting, some of the speakers planned for SILVER SMEs’ online seminar had the opportunity to introduce their businesses and innovations to participants.
Lotta Magnusson, Director of Strategic Development, presented the Gamification project, an initiative working on an app enabling to virtually visit region Dalarna. The app aims at enabling people with specific accessibility needs, including older adults, to visit places that are not fully adapted.
Anna Torsgården and Ann-Louise Larsson, Project Managers, also presented Dalarna Science Park, an innovation hub which supports since 1987 new businesses and helps innovators to develop their ideas and projects. Such an incubator can be of great support for new businesses, including from the Silver Economy sector, to help them in meeting interesting contacts, finding funds etc.
How about co-construction for seniors?
Per Adriansson also attended the meeting and reported on SILVER SMEs’ seminar on dependent older adults (February 2020 – Cork), where he presented Byggdialog Dalarna, of which he is the Chairman.
Byggdialog Dalarna is a non-profit association with more than 100 members (municipalities, companies within the construction and real estate industry, banks and fire protection companies) aiming at improving the housing offer for older adults in the region. Byggdialog makes public authorities, care departments, researchers and seniors living in retirement houses collaborate to assess the design and equipment of seniors’ residences. Together, they for instance look at the space in the rooms, equipment of kitchenettes, digital equipment available, and at the sustainability and energy efficiency of buildings. The final objective is to reflect on how to improve new residences for seniors.
Byggdialog’s initiative was welcomed by Interreg Europe as an interesting example of public-private partnership and of quadruple-helix governance (business, academia, public sector and civil society) that improves older adults’ quality of life in the region. This approach is also seen as easily transferable to other regions and subject areas by using a similar co-development process. A description of this good practice is now available in Interreg Europe’s Policy Learning Platform and can be consulted by policymakers from all Europe.
