Innovative transnational governance for the regional coordination of innovation driven key players related to ambient intelligence technologies for independent living of Elderly 

Worldwide, the proportion of people aged 60 and over is growing faster than any other age group: this demographic change represents a challenge that needs to be met at transnational level, having a strong impact in the social and health services and in the labour market. The change of economic position of older people within the knowledge economy demands an innovative policy approach strengthening creative interaction among key player involved in the innovation development without anymore a fragmented division of competencies and an integration among policies are needed as well as major support to research and innovation infrastructures. SEE_INNOVA partnership considers AGEING as part of an overall strategy of mutually reinforced INNOVATION policies and regional competitiveness and it focus on the opportunities to help older people to live independently for longer in their own homes by increasing their autonomy and mobility; assisting them in carrying out their daily activities and improving their access to age-friendly ICTs. Despite the potential of independent living, its benefits and technical maturity is still limited because policymakers find difficulties in coordinating their policies and research programme and in defining an efficient integrated and multidisciplinary mechanism for a better connection of key innovation actors. Thus SEE_INNOVA aims to develop an innovative multidisciplinary governance approach at transnational level for the regional coordination of innovation driven key players in the field of independent living of Elderly, starting from the real needs of end-users, with a social innovation approach. In fact it follows the new approach of QUADRUPLE HELIX, which starts from the triple helix concept extending the partnership to the social innovation methodology. For this reason SEE_INNOVA partnership is multi-sectorial: it is composed by public authorities, business support actors, research and technology actors but including also representatives of elderly people as final users of ICT related to ambient intelligence technologies. This multi-level construction of the project is devoted to reach an innovative policy approach strengthening creative interaction among all the key players involved in the innovation development without fragmented division of competencies and an integration among policies. In particular, SEE_INNOVA foresees to realize: -Innovation Cross foresight study, which is a strategic document aimed to highlight opportunities for cross-regional working and stimulate technological innovation basing on social innovation where the end-user has an active and primary role in the drafting of a new product/service to become itself a promoter of innovation orienting research, business and policy and to allow the translation of researches into concrete ICT developed by business that could be effectively used and accepted by elderly; - SEE_INNOVA Joint Action Plan, to provide an instrument that enables regional decision-makers to implement an efficient multidisciplinary and integrated policy to independent living, based on local strategic partnership concept characterized by the application of social innovation approach involving end users' needs representatives in the policy definition process; -Flash of Genius Initiative, Innov.Voucher and Innov.Fair to raise awareness on relevant understanding, common approaches and experiences on independent living for elderly, increasing knowledge about the strategic role of innovation, with special attention to policy decision makers to take effective actions to explicitly place elderly needs and ambient intelligence technologies on their agenda and in their policy statements and to encourage young entrepreneurship stimulating the creativity of young people and their skills by concrete cooperation actions and visible results to fill the gap among what the research thinks, what the business produces and what elderly buys.