Co-producing Telecare platforms for health and social care: Lessons for Business Models and Implementation from the OLDES project

The challenge of producing sustainable and scalable telecare products and services goes way beyond the mere design and implementation of devices or services. Mainstreaming telecare is a major goal of governments across Europe yet it remains somehow beyond the reach of governments to promote widespread progress. This is explicitly recognised in the current TSB Assisted Living Innovation call which focuses on business models and social and behavioural factors. This is an indication that the future development of the AT/Telecare market is increasingly a case of understanding and co-ordinating a complex network of organisations and social actors. The OLDES project is a recently completed Ambient Assisted Living project, part of the Framework 6 funded in 2006/7 (1) which aimed to create a platform for the delivery of tele-accompany services and tele-medicine devices to the homes of isolated older people. This paper will reflect on the achievements of the project in the light of a co-productive approach to defining business models and implementation strategies.