Consultation on community-based social innovations for healthy ageing (CBSI)
From 17 to 18 October 2017, 18 experts and researchers were convened to participate in a consultation on community-based social innovations (CBSIs) for healthy ageing.
The research on CBSIs had as its starting point the key question of how older people can become a resource for themselves and their peers. This research also explored links these people had with local health and care systems.
WKC’s research project on CBSIs started in 2014. The consultation this past October is a key milestone in the second phase of the research, which was implemented by RAND Europe with the support of local partners in several countries.
The goals of the consultation were to review preliminary findings from a systematic review conducted on CBSIs in middle- and high-income countries in order to establish a proposed typology for CBSIs and to articulate CBSIs within the health and social systems of the respective countries.
The participants, who represented the diversity of the countries in which the research has been conducted, also reviewed the findings of 10 case studies conducted in Chile, China, India, Iran, Lebanon, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
After two days of rich debate and knowledge exchange, the participants identified key parameters for scaling up and sustainability as well as mechanisms and systems that are needed to assess the impact of CBSIs on healthy ageing.
The consultation also provided space conducive for knowledge sharing about the particular lessons that can be gathered from each specific CBSI. Ideas around virtual networks and platforms of knowledge exchange were also discussed to ensure the dissemination of knowledge within CBSIs and beyond.
The concluding session highlighted the importance of research on CBSIs and perspectives on how this research can be used by policymakers to realize SDGs in the observed communities and support a UHC agenda.
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