Care providers are being invited to apply for grants of £75,000 as part of the Technology for our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation (TAPPI) project, led by the Housing Learning and Improvement Network, and the TEC Services Association.
The purpose of the grants is to enable care providers to test mainstream and specialist technologies with older people, gathering their feedback to determine what works best for them and why.
Providers of social housing, supported living services, grouped living schemes and step-down dwellings that support reablement are all eligible to apply for the funding, with each demonstrator site to share findings throughout the project to report on people’s views, barriers and what worked well. They will also report on how easy they found it to embed the TAPPI principles: adaptable, co-produced, cost-effective, choice-led, interoperable, inclusive, outcome-focused, person-centred, preventative and quality-focused.
Four organisations will be awarded the grants to test out technologies.
“I am really excited about TAPPI and embedding the principles identified in last year’s Inquiry into practice,” said Jeremy Porteus, CEO of the Housing Learning and Improvement Network. “With co-production at the heart of TAPPI, we’re keen to work with older people to find out what technology-enabled care and housing solutions support them best. The results will offer vital information on how technology can be better applied in homes for our ageing population.”
Susan Kay, CEO of the Dunhill Medical Trust, added: ““We view enabling technology as a vital element of supporting people to remain as independent as possible in their own homes and communities as they age, so this programme is much broader than simply evaluating the impact of the digital upgrade of a scheme’s alarm systems, for example. We’re looking for practical, holistic solutions that enable people to choose and control the support they want so they can do the things they love, in the communities they call home.”
The grants are funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust. For further details and to apply before 16 May 2022, please visit the Dunhill Medical Trust website here.
