Bringing Innovation Towards Efficient Policy-making in ICT-enabled Service Provision for Senior Citizens

Abstract

Societal challenges related to a recent phenomenon - population ageing, calls for national governments for new guidelines and understanding of how to help senior citizens through innovative solutions to enhance their everyday lives. Current research is the baseline study to analyse the existing context and circumstances and decide which direction Estonia should take with its policy-making when establishing the Welfare Strategy for 2023-2030. The empirical data was collected in Estonia through two knowledge panel meetings that brought together experts who represented Quadruple Helix (QH) regional innovation actors involved in providing ICT services. Adopting a multi-criteria approach, cognitive mapping as an important instrument was used during panel meetings to facilitate the decision making of the experts. Based on the study results, this paper discusses various innovative ICT solutions to bring together ageing population needs and market capacity. Various context factors and clusters were identified, supporting the strategy's planning and future related activities.