OSIRIS

The ageing population – a major challenge for the Baltic Sea region

The governments of the Baltic Sea countries are currently facing the worldwide challenge of meeting the needs of ageing populations, particularly age-friendly housing, transportation, leisure, healthcare and social welfare services. In addition, increased life expectancy deepens concerns about the adequate supply of essential services. By strengthening all economic activities relevant to the needs of older adults, OSIRIS will address the region’s societal challenges.

International cooperation supporting the Silver Economy

The project aims to support the development of the Silver Economy, the part of the economy that concerns older citizens. OSIRIS wants to improve the capacity of innovation actors to apply smart specialization approaches for tackling the challenges brought about by the ageing of the region’s population. OSIRIS seeks to boost market uptake and scaling of user-driven technology innovations that accommodate age-specific needs and preferences and demonstrate a significant impact on the quality of life of the ageing population. Representing business, public sector and academic actors (triple helix) from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Denmark, Russia and Finland, the OSIRIS transnational partnership unites expertise, resources, and knowledge in order to share practices and learning on how to apply the smart specialization approach for exploiting Silver Economy opportunities in the Baltic Sea Region.

Working methods

In each participating country, OSIRIS partners designed and piloted an innovation ecosystem model – Smart Silver Lab. This model connects researchers, product developers, financers and user organisations into a network. It enables all innovation actors to screen and accelerate the uptake of innovative products and services which enable older adults to continue living a comfortable, independent and active life.