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CenSE-researchers: Bart Henssen, Karen Brabant, Dries Couckuyt, and Maarten Loomans. Also from Odisee, Robin Decoster from the research center ZInn (Healthcare cluster) is involved as well.
Duration: May 2023 - March 2026
Funding: Interreg Vlaanderen-Nederland
Partners:
Flanders: LiCalab/Thomas More Kempen (province of Antwerp), Zorglab Aalst (province of East Flanders), Happy Aging (provinces of Flemish Brabant & Limburg), and Eerstelijnszone Brugge in collaboration with POM-West Flanders (province of West Flanders).
Netherlands: Care Innovation Center (province of North Brabant), Zuyd University of Applied Sciences/EIZT (province of Limburg), Cooperative Slimmer Leven in collaboration with Brainport Development (province of North Brabant), and HZ University of Applied Sciences (province of Zeeland).
About the project
Innovation as a possible response to growing societal care questions and needs
The questions and needs regarding care in Dutch and Flemish society are becoming increasingly numerous, diverse, and complex. Societal and demographic developments such as aging, the rise of complex long-term care and support trajectories, higher expectations and demands from care users, etc., play an important role in this and are noticeable on both sides of the border. In addition, the growing shortage of personnel in the broad 'care and welfare' sector is one of the major challenges in the labor market. The organization, accessibility, and affordability of the healthcare system are under pressure. Successful development and implementation of healthcare innovations can provide possible answers to the many challenges the sector faces.
Complex innovation trajectories in a fragmented and difficult-to-access market
We observe that innovation trajectories in the healthcare and welfare sector often encounter difficulties or are developed, implemented, and scaled on a limited scale. Many innovative ideas never effectively reach the market. Innovators/developers sometimes have little connection with the sector and/or often encounter various obstacles in the sector (fragmented market, complex protocols and regulations, etc.). The market introduction of many technological innovations also fails because they are insufficiently aligned with the needs and behaviors of end-users or do not sufficiently fit into the existing services, processes, structures, or business models of healthcare and welfare organizations.
The contribution of care living labs as catalysts and bridge builders
In this context, the added value of care living labs must be situated, where healthcare innovations face a difficult market introduction. Innovation comes at a cost, so an adequate and efficient innovation strategy is not a luxury. To ensure that an innovation lands well in healthcare practice, it is important to have a good understanding of the healthcare landscape, know which parties and actors play a role, and understand their interests, wishes, and needs. Care living labs can play an important role in this and establish better connections between technology, society, and the economy by bridging the technological development of products and services on the one hand, and the needs, preferences, and requirements of healthcare end-users on the other hand. A care living lab guides developers of healthcare innovations, particularly to create and test new or improved healthcare concepts, services, processes, and products together with end-users in practice. The end-user (a patient, a client, a citizen, a healthcare professional, etc.) is not only central in evaluating these trajectories but also in the development, elaboration, and adjustment of healthcare innovations.
Role of Odisee University of Applied Sciences
Odisee University of Applied Sciences will undertake the impact assessment and evaluation from two of its research centers, ZorgInnovatie (ZInn) and Center for Sustainable Entrepreneurship (CenSE). The final objective of our work package is threefold. First and foremost, the work package aims to map the effectiveness and impact of innovation trajectories. The intention is not only to test this evidence-based impact forecast of innovation trajectories in the evaluation but also to actively integrate and consider it during the selection and evaluation procedure. In addition, this work package also aims to further research and document the effects of the care living lab services and the overall CrossCare 2.0 program. We aim to map the cross-border impact of the overall project as an innovation accelerator, for participating parties, stakeholders, end-users, and society as a whole).
More information on CrossCare 2.0 can be found here.
