INNOVCARE Project 2nd Annual Forum “Care-led innovation: The case of elderly care in France and Japan”

The increase in human longevity and the ageing of the population constitute a major challenge for our societies. One of the key issues concerns the care of elderly people who are facing a loss of autonomy. In this field, if the contribution of technologies (such as robotics, artificial intelligence, information and communication technologies) is recognized as an answer, it is also marked by certain limits, partly revealed by the Covid-19 crisis. Our hypothesis is that this is a structural problem linked to the partial disconnection between social needs and technological responses, in connection with the dominant paradigm of innovation. The objective of the project is to develop an alternative concept of care-driven innovation.

Through a multidisciplinary Franco-Japanese collaboration, we analyze policies and practices that make well-being the ultimate criterion for innovation. After the first Annual Forum in December 2021, during which we discussed the content of the work packages of the project, we will, this year, focus on two major topics: 1) the use of robotics and “gerontechnologies” for eldercare; 2) the analysis of heterogenous needs and care in the context of promotion of autonomy. We will also further discuss the research agenda of INNOVCARE, in welcoming INNOVCARE members and other eminent specialists of these questions.

Programme