For organizations with the mission of helping older adults age successfully in their homes. Membership by Invitation only.
Overview
Over the last few years, a number of technology products have come to market that have the potential to help older adults remain independent for longer, and reduce the stresses on caregivers that help them. And we expect more such products over the coming years (see example topics for some of the issues targeted by such products).
However, many older adults and their families are not yet aware of the potential of these products, and the specific situations in which they are useful. And, when they are aware they often struggle to learn which products will be most appropriate for their specific situation, and how best to use them.
The numerous organizations that make up the aging services ecosystem, and focus on helping older adults as they age, currently offer all sorts of valuable help, and in some cases, those organizations also offer an extremely important sense of community. However, these organizations rarely have the expertise to help the older adults they care for identify useful products, decide when they are appropriate, and learn how and when to use them.
Tech-enhanced Life and its community of Longevity Explorers have spent years exploring the intersection of aging and technology, and evaluating new product categories as they emerge — and we do have that expertise.
We want to empower aging services organizations to help their members take full advantage of the emerging technologies that can enable them to have better quality of life as they age. Without requiring the organization to add staff, or develop new internal expertise.
The Tech for Aging Network is an initiative to do that.
Value Propositions:
- For Older Adults, Family Members, and Caregivers: Insights into tech that can help an older adult stay independent for longer, and help caregivers do “more with less”.
- For Aging Services Organizations: A richer program for current members, and an attractor for new members.
What is the “Tech for Better Aging Network”?
The Tech for Better Aging Network is a network of aging services organizations that exist to help older adults who are their members age better.
The Goals:
By joining the Tech for Better Aging Network, an organization is immediately able to offer its members access to an “education / learning / sharing program“, described in more detail below.
This educational / sharing / learning program focuses on helping older adults and their families learn about important new products and services that can help them stay independent longer — and learn how and when to use them.
- This education / learning / sharing program does not require the organization to add staff or develop new internal expertise.
- Aspects of the program will be tailored specifically to an individual organization, and only be available for members of that organization. Other parts of the program will be available to the public, but members will get access at heavily discounted rates (perhaps free).
- Member organizations will have the right if they wish to display the “Tech for Better Aging Network” logomark in their marketing material to denote the fact that they are part of this thought-leading initiative, and that the organization offers its members access to educational insights into how to use technology to improve their life and stay independent longer.
- The first stage of the education / sharing / learning program will be developed and executed entirely by Tech-enhanced Life. However, we plan to build a second stage of the program, and hope the member organizations will help craft how we should focus that second stage to be of greatest value to members. We hope member organizations will contribute ideas, and what they see as the needs of their members. Then Tech-enhanced Life will leverage its expertise to develop the second stage of the educational program. Member organizations should think of this as an opportunity but not an obligation.
Membership of the Tech for Better Aging Network is by invitation only.
Education / Sharing / Learning: Tech for Better Aging
This educational / sharing / learning program focuses on helping older adults and their families learn about important new products and services that can help them stay independent longer — and learn how and when to use them.
It will draw on research that has already been done by Tech-enhanced Life and the Longevity Explorer community. As new products and services emerge, the research will be updated.
Richer Interactions & Different Learning Styles
While older adults and their families can do their own research on the Tech-enhanced Life website regarding our findings on technology and better aging and useful products, not all people are willing to do that sort of independent online research, and some learning styles are better suited to other ways of learning.
And we have ideas about how to offer a richer, more interactive set of learnings than just “reading comparative reviews”.
The Tech for Better Aging Program will include a variety of different educational offerings, and will be designed for those who want something more than just “go to the website and read for yourself”.
- It will include a series of lectures, and opportunities to interact directly with experts and ask questions.
- As the program develops, it will likely also include opportunities for peer learning and exchange of ideas, such as we have been using since 2014 in our successful Longevity Explorer circles.
Stage 1: Technologies for Aging in Place Seminar Series
As a first step, we have created a seminar series on “Technologies for Aging in Place”.
We are piloting this seminar series with the individuals in the Tech-enhanced Life community, and will be refining it based on their inputs.
This is an example of the type of content an organization could offer to its members as part of joining the Tech for Better Aging Network. And we plan to build on this initial offering as we go forward.
Express Interest
If you represent an organization that serves older adults, and would like to learn more, please contact us to express interest.
We plan to build the Tech for Better Aging Network in stages.
In the first stage, we plan to invite a handful of organizations to become members, with the idea they will also have the opportunity to help set directions for the network — and for the educational content if they wish.
While we will eventually open up the network to additional organizations, this will be at some point in the future, and we are not sure as yet when that will be.
Example Topics
Here are examples of the types of topics that will be included in the education / sharing / learning program (see our Seminar Series).
- Which Medical Alert?
- The Right Tools to Minimize Isolation & Loneliness
- Tech to Help Avoid Medication Adherence Problems
- Smart Home Features for Better / Safer Life
And more …