Designing a second life: An action research project implementing an employment platform in Japan

In Japan, with rising longevity actively “designing a second life” is vital including the potential to work, which is key for those retiring from employment and women after child-rearing. This brings vitality to local communities, given demographic trends and the health and well-being benefits of appropriate employment. Yet, existing local labour market mechanisms do not serve well many such individuals. This paper provides insights into an ongoing action research programme to achieve social impact by developing a platform to support people’s second life related to employment. The initial focus is on a city in which to develop a prototype. The approach involves forming a consortium of local stakeholders, and then pursuing initiatives to develop the platform’s two sides: bringing potential employers onboard and attracting people in their second life. In the next phase, the aim is to develop a model to support other cities’ learning and adaptation. The initial priority in the focal city is to have a durable local impact by ‘going slow’ to establish the platform with local stakeholders, to then ‘go fast’ in increasing impact through matching: in practice, however, once established, accelerating impact locally is challenging. Nonetheless, the focal city provides a base for transfer of learning to other cities so as to increase impact on people’s second life and thereby contributing to achieving a sustainable society.