AAL

Basic Information

Description

The Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme (AAL JP) is a funding activity running from 2008 to 2013, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life of older people and strengthening the industrial base in Europe through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
The programme is financed by the European Commission and the 22 Countries that constitute the member states of this Joint Programme: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The AAL JP manages an overall budget of 700 Mil to co-financing Research & Development projects aiming to deliver concrete solutions for independent living or ageing well of elderly people using ICT. This funding activity is implemented by the AAL Association and the funding authorities of its member countries.

Every year a call for proposal is being launched for research and development projects in the field of ICT for Active and Healthy Ageing. Through the funding of new projects, the AAL JP aims to reinforce the European market for Ambient Assisted Living products and services. So far 131 projects were funded with the financial support of the first four calls for proposals

The overall objective of the AAL Joint Programme (AAL JP) is to enhance the quality of life of elderly people and strengthen the industrial base in Europe through the applied RT&D to the use of Information and Communication Technologies (hereinafter ICT).

The specific aims of AAL JP are to:

1. Foster the emergence of innovative ICT-based products, services and systems for ageing well at home, in the community, and at work, thus increasing the quality of life, autonomy, participation in social life, skills and employability of elderly people, and reducing the costs of health and social care.
2. Create a critical mass of research, development and innovation at EU level in technologies and services for ageing well in the information society, including the establishment of a favourable environment for participation by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
3. Improve conditions for industrial exploitation by providing a coherent European framework for developing common approaches and facilitating the localisation and adaptation of common solutions which are compatible with varying social preferences and regulatory aspects at national or regional level across Europe.

Main research priorities of the network

-From health to wellbeing. A shift away from an exclusive focus on health and pensions to a more holistic focus on wellbeing; -From consumers/patients to participants/active citizens, recognising elderly people as capable and valuable resources, not as passive consumers or simply as burdens; - From invention to innovation, moving beyond gadgets and gizmos, and seeing how new products and services can reflect elderly people’s interests and respond to their needs. These include sustained, community-based training and support given that technological invention alone is not innovation; - From technological to social innovation, including developing and supporting intermediaries who can empower elderly people by educating them about ICT and the benefits it can bring; - From a focus on products and tools to a focus on purpose, outcomes and services; -