Project: A social network for citizen empowerment and care support in local communities

Acronym	SOCIALCARE (Reference Number: aal-2014-1-181)
Duration	01/05/2015 - 01/01/2018
Project Topic	In the current economic climate with cutbacks in care and social wellbeing, we are witness of a social innovation process where citizens and older people are taking control of their own community and neighborhood and support each other to provide for wellbeing and care services. This social innovation process we call transition towns. They are grassroot community projects that seek to build resilience in response to different societal challenges. The main thought is that citizens themselves know better what their problems are and can find more efficient solutions at local level than the public government. When older people are becoming frailer and are in need of care they can receive extensive support from these communities. Volunteers, neighbors and family members help older people at local level to live longer independently at home. At the same time, older people (65+) are often the most active contributors to their community as they see the imminent need for a more sustainable care and wellbeing system. This project aims to support and promote these social innovation processes of citizen empowerment by bringing innovative technological solutions together and providing for a toolkit with best practices and blue prints for implementation. The project will test and pilot the social and technological solutions in two pilot countries, adapting them to country specific situations and areas. The result will be a set of guidelines, best practices and technological tools for a sustainable social care network by empowered citizens in local communities that supports older people.
Network	AAL 2
Call	Call 2014 – Care for the future

Project partner

Number	Name	Role	Country
	Atos Worldline Spain		Spain
	Eerste Verdieping Internet Communities		Netherlands
	ISOIN Ingeniería y Soluciones Informáticas		Spain
	Johanniter Austria		Austria
	Johanniter International		Belgium
	Johanniter International		Belgium
	LIFEtool gemeinnuetzige GmbH		Austria
	National Foundation for the Elderly		Netherlands
	University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria		Austria