Nr 2 • February 2011

Voluntary commissionsFood issues

One million Euros for a second call

”Ageing well” as a part of the society Steering Committee member reflects about ageing in Lorraine, France

Swedish elderly care service – Increasingly specialized

Growing service production

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European collaboration in four different ways around the needs of an ageing population

Seven European regions have joined their forces, in terms of seeing an ageing population as an opportunity to regional economic development. CREATOR mini-programme provides unique opportunities to search for new possibilities by learning from each other and finding solutions together.

Projects in cooperationWithin four years CREATOR will imple-ment six or up to eight projects with at least three cooperative participants/organisations from three participating regions.

Needs of an ageing populationProjects shall concern the possibilities emerging from the needs of an ageing population, for instance innovations, products and services or be related to an increasing cooperation between the private and public sector in produ-cing well being services.

Policy strategiesFinal results will include recommenda-tions and guidelines to design policy responses to demographic change.

Cooperating regions:Västerbotten Sweden, Häme Finland,Wielkopolska Poland, Lorraine France,Brescia Italy, Asturias Spain, North Hungary, Hungary

www.creator7.eu

Nr 2 • June 2010Text and layout: Mariann HolmbergPublisher: CREATOR Interreg IVC mini-programme, by the County Administrative Board of Västerbotten

The CREATOR mini-program has been made possible by the INTERREG IVC Co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund

Programme manager corner

The demographic challenge has never as apparent and the importance of the CREATOR programme never greater.

Therefore, it is with great pride I say that we approved four excellent projects in November of last year. All of which intend to turn this challenge into an opportunity. After a careful evaluation process we are confident that our choice of projects is the right one. The projects range widely from dealing with ICT and smart homes to food and nutrition. You can read about all the approved projects on page 10.

The Steering Committee which approved all projects met in Umeå, Västerbotten in November and exemplified the core of the INTERREG programme when they together agreed upon which projects to approve. I look forward to seeing this kind of cooperation between the project partici-pants as well.

Since our last newsletter our first call has closed and our second just opened up. Ahead of us is an intense period filled with project ideas and project seeking partners. The intention is to make the pool of projects as diverse as possible, and I think we can do it.

Finally, I want to welcome all participants to CREATOR and to prospective participants I say: Take a chance!

With hopes of successful projects,

Mats-Rune BergströmProgramme managerCREATOR mini-programme

One million Euros for a second callCREATOR still keeps about 1 million Euros to be used in a Second Call. You are welcome to apply for fundings for projects about the needs of an ageing population.Even for the second call the topics are open. The list of initial ideas is still publis-hed on the website.

If you would like to apply for a project within CREATOR, try to figure out what topic you would be interested in. Try to find a subject not similar to already app-lied projects.

Three cooperating regionsAs soon as you have an idea, please con-

tact the LP of CREATOR or your regional coordinator. You will get help to find other participants in the cooperating regions.

Don’t hesitate to ask if there is so-mething curious and don’t wait too long.

For information: www.creator7.eu, info@creator7.eu

2nd call for proposals is open!The deadline for the submission of project proposals is May 9th at 24.00 CET. Submission of proposals to this call must be made both by electronic means and a paper copy postal stamped by May 9th.Decisions regarding approval of applications will be made by CREATOR Steering Committee in June 2011 and the projects can start their activities in July 2011.

Important datesMay 9thApplication deadline and closure of the first call

June 16thDecision day of projects

July 2011Start of approved projects

You will need time to process your own idea into a common idea with at least two other participants.

On the website you will find continuous updated information and a guide about how to apply.

Meet Susanna Lantz, assistant project manager of CREATOR. A young person meeting the needs of the ageing population in Väs-terbotten and Europe.

Being a graduate of political science, wor-king in a European Union environment feels like a privilege.

I get to experience the fun (but someti-mes also the challenges) of working inter-

nationally. Culture clashes and language difficulties are routine but they are over-shadowed by the interregional agreements and progress we are making. Cooperating in this way is, in my opinion, what IN-TERREG is all about.

As the assistant project manager, I hand-le the daily management of the programme including regional coordination, reporting. I am also available as a contact person for the projects and their lead participants.

Right now, I look forward to seeing the progress of the approved projects and how their results will, little by little, transform elderly care throughout Europe. Their innovative projects are certainly ambitious and I am sure they will be successful, de-spite the occasional culture clash.

Cultural clashes and language difficulties – getting routine in the interregional work

Susanna Lantz, born in Umeå, the northern part of Sweden. Through CREATOR she is able to combine the silence and the Euro-pean mixture of languages and cultures.

What do you think about the future of being a senior in Lorraine? What is the reality?

Firstly, it is difficult to talk about older pe-ople as a homogeneous group. The situa-tion of older people differs considerably from one context to another (urban, rural and former industrial areas) and depending

on their socio-economic group.In the future, I hope that it will be easier

to access services and obtain housing that is tailored to their needs and income.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for our ”elderly people” to find accommoda-tion, whether they are looking for a be-spoke retirement flat, a nursing home or traditional rest home.

Having said that, the local authorities are still very keen to take charge of and monitor the situation of the senior popula-tion.

How would you like the young generation to think about their future in Lorraine?

The demographic situation in Lorraine, compared with the rest of France, is quite worrying. There is a demographic balance in the region due to the number of births because net migration is negative.

Although we train and help our young people to gain employment, it has to be said that they do not always end up wor-king in Lorraine.

I would like local young people who wish to stay in the region to be able to do so and to make their lives and build their futures here.

How could CREATOR contribute to a positive development in Lorraine?

The local operators who are taking part in the mini-Creator programme (including universities, local authorities, community associations and the Regional Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer) ac-count for quite a wide and varied range of project developers in Lorraine. They all want to learn from the practices of the oth-er European participants, while developing their own activities. In this sense, they can only offer a positive contribution to the de-velopment of Lorraine.

Regional representative in focus

”Ageing well” as a part of the society

Josiane MADELAINE, Deputy Vice-Chairman for Decentralised Cooperation and International Relations, at the regional council of Lorraine.

”We need to continue to

maintain the ethos of living well together”

Mrs Josiane MADELAINE reflects about ageing in Lorraine, France

Moreover, I have high expectations of some projects, particularly BIOLIFE (the consortium has opted to work on changing agri-food habits and needs as a way of ge-nerating innovation for regional SME), as I feel that this project is particularly attrac-tive and innovative.

What are your personal expectations as a future senior?I feel that there are two important factors involved in ”ageing well”:

Keep in touch with all the generations. Don’t cut yourself off and don’t solely fo-cus on specific ageing-related problems, particularly physical deterioration.

For as long as possible people need to

look towards the outside world and be in-volved in their families, community orga-nisations, unions and public life.

Having facilities, services and activi-ties delivered, as a minimum requirement, by the public authorities (the state or local authorities). There must be support for pe-ople who are growing old and we must en-sure that society (public spaces and servi-ces) is able to welcome all the generations / potential disabilities.

For the present time, ”ageing well” works as a concept because there is a lot of goodwill and good initiatives in the volun-tary sector. We need to continue to main-tain the ethos of ”living well together”.

What is the best about living in Lorraine? Lorraine and the neighbouring regions (particularly the cross-border regions) of-fer lots of leisure opportunities. There are all kinds of activities on offer (sports, cul-tural, intellectual, open air etc). There is a wide and diverse range for all groups and all ages.

In any case, Lorraine offers people at retirement age the option of remaining ac-tive and getting involved.

”Ageing well” as a part of the society

Lorraine is situated in the north-eastern corner of France, borde-ring Luxemburg, Belgium and Germany. The region has a surface area of 23 547 square kilometres and inhabits 2,3 million people. And on average, the region has 99.2 inhabitants per square kilometres. 25 percent of the population is younger than 20 years old, but due to an increased life expectancy and a drop in birth rates the figure is likely to change.The two biggest cities in the region are Nancy and Metz which both have a population around 330 000. The region has 75 000 students located at 4 universities, 8 University Institutes of Tech-nology, 16 engineering schools and 120 Laboratories.Lorraine is one of the most diversified economies in France and has a working population of 1 100 000 people divided into the service sector (60 percent), industry sector (20 percent), trade (13 percent), construction (6 percent) and agriculture (1 percent). These contribute to the regional GDP of € 24 606 per capita. Recently the region has opened itself to other fields of activity such as automotive, electronics or plastics industries.

LORRAINE in CREATORDemographic challenges have a huge importance for Lorraine (ageing population, demographic imbalances, weak net migra-tory rate). Lorraine is one of the first five regions for which the ageing will be the most marked in France. The region is going to accuse an acceleration of the ageing and especially the strong decrease on behalf of the young people.Participating in Creator, the Lorraine Region wishes to improve regional policies in relation with demographic challenges and learn more from new models and strategies developed by partner regions. Lorraine is in capacity of sharing interesting

experiences such as tools dedicated to demographic challenges

target groups like a financial tool encouraging the development of new services and creation of SME, or the use of ICT in new services to people.

Facts about Lorraine – a region having three borders

In spite of this panorama from half part of the Saxnäsgården retirement home, many of the residents choose to rent apartments on the other side. For the seniors this view is normal, something they have seen daily during their lifetime and they appreciate more the view of a petrol station and buses arriving and leaving.

Saxnäsgården is situated in a small village 100 km away from the regional center of Vilhelmina. Sorroundings are high moun-tains and the area is sparesely populated.

Swedish elderly care service– increasingly specialized

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Saxnäs

– Ten years ago, we could take our residents on a trip in the mountains in the spring sunshi-ne. Now it’s not possible because of the high grade of the resi-dents’ sickness.

Sten-Ove Westerlund, responsible for ope-rations at the resident in Saxnäs, describes how the qualifications to get room in a spe-cial housing have strengthened. For as long as possible seniors should be taken care of in their own homes.

– It is only when you absolutely can not manage to live at home with support as you get qualified to get a property where there is staff all days and nights, says Sten-Ove Westerlund

The municipality has an objective eva-luation based on national criteria, whether a person can fit in a special housing.

High grade of sicknessThe coordinators of CREATOR have as-ked to address questions to any of the re-sidents, but Sten-Ove Westerlund says that for health reasons it is not possible.

– Most are heavily demented and would be anxious of meeting several strangers.

Elderly Accommodation at Saxnäsgår-den has 25 apartments with one room, sleeping area and kitchen. The environ-ment is as homelike as possible and it is intended that a relative will also be able to

stay in the apartments. But only 15 apartments are leased, alt-

hough many are waiting and eager to move into elderly housing. The municipality has reasons of cost, determined not to use more apartments.

Every day activitiesSten-Ove Westerlund also says that the ac-tivities of the elderly have been cut down.

– Now there are the independent chur-ches coming here and for Biblical readings and for singing with the elderly.

But Sten-Ove also tells that staff are trying to do everyday things like baking. The municipality has also recognized that there may be an economic benefit in keep-ing the elderly in activity; it in turn lowers the cost of care. So now there are plans for daily activities paid by the municipality.

A fee depending on the pensionSaxnäs retirement home is operated by the municipality and all staff are local employ-ees. The residents pay rent for the apart-ment, food and extra services in the form of nursing. But no one should have to deny an offer of living in the special housing because they can not afford. Fees vary de-pending on the size of pension.

Saxnäsgården nursing home is adjacent to the resort Saxnäs. The food for the resi-dent is cooked on site and is being rolled easily between the two houses. Sten-Ove Westerlund says that caterers have varied over the years, but at the latest tender the hotel had the lowest prices.

– We are so pleased that the food is pre-pared so close and the hotel also have a high quality.

Participants in the CREATOR-project asked many questions and commented afterwards the home like atmosphere and that the scent gave the interpretation of se-niors being well cared for.

8 participants, coming from 6 European regions, flew through Europe at the end of January to attend BIOLIFE kick-off meeting in Metz. The BIOLIFE working group was wel-comed by Sophie Torlotting, of regional council of Lorraine.

The group benefitted from a superb working environment in Saint Clement ab-

bey, to prepare the project and to lay down the objectives for the next 2 years.

In the morning, each partner made a presentation of them selves and their parti-cipant structure. After that BIOLIFE gro-up worked at first on project framework, after that on reporting and rules, project provisional timetable. Participants have been trained by a project manager on a de-dicated collaborative.

In the afternoon, the group worked on

the project itself, the aims and how each participant and region should contribute to the aim of BIOLIFE and in the general ob-jectives of CREATOR

BIOLIFE project intends to identify – through interregional cooperation – new innovation opportunities on senior food market.

The initial richness of the project comes from the diversity of the partnership• 3 universities• 2 innovation bodies • 1 consumption national agency • 2 business support organizations • experiences from 6 CREATOR regions where the senior practices are very vari-ous.

A common understandingAfter a long day of, team building work was definitively achieved when Jean-Mi-chel Barbier, deputy director from lead participant AGRIA, invited the whole staff to have a typical diner in a restaurant on the Mosel bank.

Participants flown back home on the next day with a common understanding of the work to be done in order to achieve BIOLIFE objectives on the following 24 months.

Take-off for two years of European collaborationApproved projects within CREATOR mini-programme starts their col-laboration work by having kick-off meetings. After nearly one year of preparation, with many telephone conferences, the work now chan-ges to real project work. Two years together against a common goal.

First project having Kick-off was BIOLIFE. Mr Fancois Issler has written a short report from their meeting.

Francois Issler from Innopark, Lorraine, respon-sible for the ma-nagement of the project introduced the participants of BIOLIFE.

Stefania Amorosi and Martina Baccova, represented JTS.

The first Steering committee-meeting in Umeå, Västerbotten, was held in a free spirit. Representatives for all regions were very engaged in the discussions and crucial decisions were made after a short brake.

Timo Saviniemi, Häme, Josiane Madelaine, Lorraine, Birgitta Heijer, chairman, Västerbotten, and Ron Mahieu, Västerbotten.

Victor M. González Marroquin, Asturias and Istvan Nagy, regio-nal coordinator and here representing the SC-member of North Hungary.

Timo Saviniemi, Matti Lipsanen, members of the SC-group, Häme and Arto Saarinen, regional coordinator of Häme.

The Steering committee members of CREATOR met for the first time in Västerbot-ten the 18th of November. From the top: Joanna Waligóra, Wielkopolska, Birgitta Heijer, chairman, Västerbotten, Dario Pironi, Brescia, Matti Lipsanen, Häme, Istvan Nagy, representing the SC-member of North Hungary, Timo Saviniemi, Häme, Josiane Madelaine, Lorraine, Victor M. González Marroquin, Asturias and Ron Mahieu, Västerbotten. Next meeting will be held in Häme in June, a decision meeting of the second call.

Four happy project participants. Agneta Hörnell and Åse Tieva at Umeå university will be a part of the project called BIOLIFE. Camilla Thunell and Birgitta Brännvall will lead the RECO project from Västerbotten.

2 million Euros for projects about an ageing populationThe first SC-meeting the 18th of November, held in Västerbotten – Sweden, decided to approve four out of seven submitted applications. About 2 million Euros will be shared between the projects and its participants.

– I feel very pleased about these projects, says Mats-Rune Bergström, the program-me leader of CREATOR.

One of the approved projects consist all seven regions and the others six of the se-ven regions taking part in the programme.

Several intial ideasThe process of the first call started already in the 1st of April 2010. During the spring many initial project ideas were designed and after that groups of participants were formed around common ideas.

In June potential participants met for a seminar in Lorraine and after that the real project application time started. The 23rd of September the First call was closed and the decision process started.

Start of two years of workUntil the 31st of December the approved projects solved some questions in the app-

lication and they all started their work the 1st of January 2011.

The lead-participants met for a seminar of managing, financing and communica-tion in Saxnäs, a sparsely populated high mountain area in Sweden. Connected to

the lead-participant seminar the working group of CREATOR also met to discuss the coming second call.

The participant seminar and the wor-king-group meeting became an opportu-nity for getting to know each other.

Make the work visibleDuring the following two years CREA-TOR will have four common work-shops, to closely follow the progress, to keep the projects aware of each other and to make the work visible for politicians and regio-nal administrators.

SILHOUETTE project will support an active and social lifestyle of seniors around the concept of health safety, novel communication and out of home support.

One of the key issues concerning healthy well-being of elderly citizens is ensuring their activity in the society. This is most often connected with eliminating barriers for the mobility of seniors, ensuring their health safety and providing them with me-ans to communicate with the rest of the community.

The project will analyse practices exis-ting in seven regions to define a portfolio of ICT solutions supporting activity of the elderly.

Pilot experimentationSILHOUETTE will select solutions to un-dergo pilot experimentation with the parti-cipation of senior groups.

Practical demonstrations will take place in all regions.

The project will also create recommen-dations on creating regional open plat-forms for ICT solutions for active seniors. This will lead to establishing business know-how in the regions and thus make

contribution to regional economic deve-lopment.

All regions representedSILHOUETTE will be executed in three phases: analysis of best practices and po-licies, joint pilot experimentation and joint action plan development.

SILHOUETTE project consists of par-ticipants from seven regions: Wielkopol-ska, Västerbotten, Häme, North Hungary, Brescia, Lorraine and Asturias.

Leader of the project: Michal Kosie-dowski, Poznan Supercomputing and Net-working Center, kat@man.poznan.pl, +48 61 858 21 61

Senior mobility by ICT home support

Electronical solutions to eliminate barriers for the mobility, ensuring health safety and providing means to communicate with the rest of the community.

BIOLIFE project will tackle chal-lenges in relation to needs of the ageing population regarding food.

A nutritious daily diet is one factor that may assist 65+ to maintain optimal levels of health and preventing diseases. BIOLI-FE distinguish these needs in some items: food safety, food intake, nutrition, packa-

ging, food delivery, eating and home ser-vice.

Needs of ageing consumersBy meeting the needs of ageing consu-mers and by specifying innovation opp-ortunities and methodologies the aim is to increase the networking and economical activity in Europe.

BIOLIFE will survey, exchange and

extend good practices regarding food and food intake for the ageing population. During a period of two years BIOLIFE will identify challenges out of what has already been done in the field of food for elderly and start tackling some of the iden-tified challenges. The project ambition is to improve the efficiency of the innovation process by bringing knowledge into the food industry.

Four steps of development:• Study of behaviors and experiences of the elderly• Study of “food” corresponding to the needs, behaviors and expectations• Methodologies to approach these seg-ments• Transfer these methodologies towards organizations supporting companies and food related companies themselves

Eight partners out of six regions are cooperating in BIOLIFE. Each partner is having specific competence and is repre-senting different kind of organizations as universities and development centers.

Leader of the project: Florence Brehe-lin, AGRIA Lorraine, florence.brehelin@iaa-lorraine.fr, +33 3 83 44 08 79

Through enhanced cooperation between public authorities and other organisations RECO pro-ject will find out best practices regarding the service to elderly people.The cooperating regions will analyse the current situation, exchange ideas and ex-periences on how to tackle the increasing number of seniors and how to take advan-tage of their expectations and demands. There is a need for cost effective methods to manage the increased demands on el-derly care.

For example, well known is that activiti-es prevents or prolongs need for resources demanding elderly care. There is a need to stay ahead and take steps to solve the si-tuation.

Ability to stay at homeRECO will look for methods that facilitate and enhance the ability for elderly people to stay at home as long as possible.

The project will as a start lean on earlier

research showing four cornerstones for promoting healthy age-ing: healthy eating habits, social interaction and sup-port, meaningfulness and phy-sical activity.

Importance of voluntary commissions

Forecasts about the future tell about the importance of voluntary commis-sions as a complement to the welfare sys-tem. There fore this field needs to gain a higher status in the society.

RECO shall during the project period actively seek for collaborations between public authorities and other organisations in order to create value and health promo-ting activities for the ageing population.

RECO will contribute to increase the number of people having voluntary com-missions within the elderly care sector. This will also lead to a higher grade of un-derstanding on how to work with quality of life and health promotion in relation to the

needs of the ageing population.RECO project consists of participants

from: Västerbotten, Lorraine, Häme, Wielkopolska, Brescia, North Hungary and Asturias.

Leader of the project: Birgitta Bränn-vall, Umeå municipality Västerbotten, bir-gitta.brannvall@umea.se, +46 90 16 40 20

Through enhanced cooperation between public authorities and other organisations RECO pro-ject will find out best practices regarding the service to elderly people.The cooperating regions will analyse the current situation, exchange ideas and ex-periences on how to tackle the increasing number of seniors and how to take advan-tage of their expectations and demands. There is a need for cost effective methods to manage the increased demands on el-derly care.

For example, well known is that activiti-es prevents or prolongs need for resources demanding elderly care. There is a need to stay ahead and take steps to solve the si-tuation.

Ability to stay at homeRECO will look for methods that facilitate and enhance the ability for elderly people to stay at home as long as possible.

The project will as a start lean on ear-lier research showing four cornerstones for promoting healthy ageing: healthy eating

Food intake for an optimal level of senior health

Voluntary commission for a retained senior health

Voluntary commission for a retained senior health

Voluntary comissions

gain a higher status in the

society.

By developing a multi-producer model, EFFECT project, brings out a better customer orienta-tion in wellbeing service for el-derly people. This will stimulate regional business opportunities to increase out of the needs of an ageing population.Development of a service production mo-del increases the efficiency in the service production process. This allows better allocation of service resources and mini-mises lack of efficiency in public service selection.

A part of an efficient service sector is to offer what people require and what they need. A multi-producer model will also make the municipalities more aware of what kind of services the citizens want.

Best practice and experiencesThe aim of EFFECT is to create a tool kit by collecting models of best practices and experiences from the wellbeing area

Customer orientation for service production

By developing a multi-producer model, EFFECT project, brings out a better customer orienta-tion in wellbeing service for el-derly people. This will stimulate regional business opportunities to increase out of the needs of an ageing population.

Development of a service production mo-del increases the efficiency in the service

production process. This allows better allocation of service resources and mini-mises lack of efficiency in public service selection.

A part of an efficient service sector is to offer what people require and what they need. A multi-producer model will also make the municipalities more aware of what kind of services the citizens want.

Best practice and experiencesThe aim of EFFECT is to create a tool kit by collecting models of best practices

and experiences from the wellbeing area of each region. A starting position is the knowledge of regional differences in tack-ling the service production now.

EFFECT project consists of participants from: Häme, Västerbotten, Lorraine, Bres-cia, and Asturias.

Leader of the project is: Marjo Niemi-nen, Häme Development Centre Ltd, mar-jo.nieminen@kehittamiskeskus.fi, +358 50 375 00 40

Knowledge for different regions for stimulating regional business opportunities.http://www.flickr.com/photos/kateure1309/4575614375/sizes/z/in/photostream/ Foto: CC-license, Kanu 101

Customer orientation for service production

The CREATOR mini-program has been made possible by the INTERREG IVC Co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund

Seven European regions have joined their forces, in terms of see-ing an ageing population as an opportunity to regional economic development. CREATOR mini-programme provides unique opportu-nities to search for new possibilities by learning from each other and finding solutions together.