Abstracts

The purpose of this paper is to present and invite comment on a new initiative, the National Program of Innovation in Ageing for Regional Communities. The aims are to assist regional communities in addressing increases in the percentage of older people in their populations, moves towards enhancing the independence of older people and expectations of more care tobe delivered in the home and in the community. The outcomes will include: • the development and application of innovations and technologies which will be essential as enabling infrastructure for these changes, and • approaches for engaging the enterprising capacity of an active ageing population to achieve a range of individual, institutional, regional and national objectives through processes of learning and innovation. There are a number of direct policy and practice drivers for the project. They include: • How to support regional communities impacted by high increases in the numbers of senior aged Australians in their populations. There is a need to explore approaches to balancing infrastructure and service provision with opportunities to expand the required revenue streams. • How to enhance the health and well-being outcomes of seniors in ways that recognize their knowledge and expertise in practical and meaningful ways and to build a stronger sense of personal gain through community involvement. The focus will be on practical steps of experimentation, demonstrator projects, evaluating technology, development and implementation of standards, change management, and the development of rigorous financial cases for investment incorporating how benefits will be realised. [Abstract presented at 38th National Conference of the Australian Association of Gerontology