Spanish Government awards SeniorLab with the Princess Cristina Prize 2010 to “Quality and Best Practices”

The prize values Citilab as a citizen’s laboratory and the work of ValueCreation at SeniorLab. The project aims to overcome the digital gap older citizens suffer, include elders in the co-design of innovative solutions for their well being and create new professional profiles and jobs for citizens over 55 years. The project was also finalist at the Innovation Prize 2010 of the German Chamber of Commerce in Spain.

The prize values Citilab as a citizen’s laboratory and the work of ValueCreation at SeniorLab. The project aims to overcome the digital gap older citizens suffer, include elders in the co-design of innovative solutions for their well being and create new professional profiles and jobs for citizens over 55 years. The project was also finalist at the Innovation Prize 2010 of the German Chamber of Commerce in Spain.

The Spanish Agency for Senior Citizens and Social Affairs (IMSERSO) has awarded Citilab-Cornellá with the Princess Crisitina Prize 2010 for Quality and Best Practices, an award that recognizes since 2006 social and technical research in finding solutions for the elderly and dependent IN SPAIN AND Latin America.

Two years after SeniorLab’s creation, a project developed jointly by Citilab and Value Creation, what was once only a hypothesis has become a reality: to show that after the retirement, senior citizens cannot only learn how to use technology in a meaningful way for them, but that older people are able to innovate. The jury considered specially the use of digital environments and social integration via the production of technological innovations based on the co-design with seniors and the creation of new professional profiles oriented towards a generation of users that incorporates for the first time in history into a new segment of the labour market, that is still to be explored.

Active seniors, healthy societies

The award comes when in Spain the debate on the future of pensions is fueled by recession,as well as the possibility of expanding work life. SeniorLab began its work in 2008 based on the premise that if the retired population continued to develop interesting activities in a productive manner, state of mind and overall health of this population segment would rise and thus, relieve some of the pressure on the pension system.

According to a study done by the SeniorLab project, innovation is the natural source of employment for people over 55 years, according to various panels done with experts and companies, as well as with senior citizens. According to the same study, if only half of the adult Spanish population would like to continue working after retirement, this would mean would mean that an “army” of 2.4 million people would be willing to work in their area after retirement. And it would be nearly five million who would like to work in some other activity.

However, in Spain there is little willingness to work beyond retirement age. Only 8.4% of those over 65 years in active, 66% of whom are independent: ie, most feel compelled to remain active. The opposite of what happens in Sweden, where 71% of the population wants to remain active or in Germany, where the figure stands at 51%, 30% of which is imagined to continue working in their area and 60% can imagine a professional to other areas. 

Three tangible outcomes

After two years of experience, SeniorLab has achieved impressive results in social integration:  71% of SeniorrLabers report significant increases in their self-esteem;  51% improved social relationships. A 42% rise in ICT qualifications has been measured, while 87% of our seniors experience a healthy change of habits towards independence and health.

Innovation and co-design are another outcome of the project. Our technically advanced technology seniors have co-designed several ITC platforms, that are looking now for a way into the market: ConnectAlzheimer, 55 +, Network of Care). They regularly  test environments together with technology companies focused on niche products.

Finally, employment has also grown out of the SeniorLab experience: the project has created three new digital profiles and three new jobs. As a byproduct of the SeniorLab methodology, a new specific methodology for unemployed over 50 was developed in order to allow their insertion in the digital labor market.  Thus SeniorLab is opening alternatives to early retirement. n total, we generated 3 jobs per unit of older and new innovative methodology for integration of unemployed older than 50 years in addition to numerous possibilities and options open to early retirement. This award is the best incentive to keep on working on innovation with senior citizens.

Citilab

Citilab is a centre for social and digital innovation located in Cornellá de Llobregat, a town nearby Barcelona

Meet is a center for social innovation and digital, Cornella de Llobregat, Barcelona. It is aimed to create and disseminate the impact of digital culture in creativity, design and innovation.

Citilab combines various centers in one: it is a centre for citizen innovation, a centre for research, innovation and design, it is a training centre and an incubator for entrepreneurial and social initiatives Citilab model is a mixed model that combines a training center, an innovation research center and an incubator for social entrepreneurship and social. Since its launching in November 2007, Citilab has evolved towards a digital hub for citizen innovation.

ValueCreation

ValueCreation is a spin off of Citilab, associated too to the Madrid Scientifc Park. It is specialized in organizing innovation as well as in usability projects .ValueCreation was born in 2008 and counts on the innovation and research power of the Madrid Scientific Park, as well as on the Parks talent network ValueCreation has worked in its two years of experience among other clients with Mercedes-Benz, KPMG,  the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Aviva Insurance.

Press contact:

Jordi Carrasco – 680 966 715 – [email protected]

Marisa Martín García – 600 58 64 64 – [email protected]