eInclusion & eAccessibility Projects

The main goal of the ICT+Ageing study is to identify and understand the market barriers which currently hinder uptake of ICT for independent living and active ageing in Europe. The study seeks to contribute towards policy action which will effectively tackle existing barriers, thereby helping to unleash ICT's potential to contribute to Europe's capacity for dealing with the demographic challenge.

The study focuses on three application areas of ICT for active ageing: Independent living (ageing well at home), Employment (Active ageing at work) and Social Participation (Ageing well in the community). A horizontal topic of core interest are the ethical issues arising from the use of ICT for purposes related to active ageing.

The study looks into the situation in 14 EU Member States plus USA and Japan with regard to market structures, recent and emerging developments, and policy response. It will identify and analyse good practice and show how Europe can learn from the experience in individual countries.

On the basis of the analysis, recommendations for action are to be developed in order to remove barriers for uptake and to foster market development. The results of the study will also guide the way towards further research needs in this area.

Project Outline June 2008

The SeniorWatch II study is aimed at assessing and measuring changes in the ICT market for older people, which occurred since 2002 when the first SeniorWatch study was conducted, and follow up the developments. It will capture the evolution of key existing indicators, to identify progress/failures and repeat some measurements. It will identify and measure, where necessary, new indicators to best capture evolutions or dynamics in the Information Society for older people in terms of inclusion. For this purpose an assessment of the availability and capabilities of existing indicators (i.e. Eurostat, OECD, European Commission’s and IPTS databases) will be carried out. The study should also look at the potentials to introduce new indicators if necessary to capture dynamics that are not highlighted by existing sets of indicators. The study is carried out together with the Work Reserach Centre, Dublin and the international market research and survey organisation IPSOS, Hamburg, Paris et al.

eAccessbility is commonly understood as a means to ensure that Information and Communication Technology products and services meet the requirements of people with disabilities. Accessible ICTs will improve the quality of life of people with disabilities significantly. At the same time, the lack of equal opportunities to access ICT can lead to exclusion. In the recent Communication on eAccessibility, the European Commission (CEC) presents approaches to ensure the availability of accessible ICT-based devices and services throughout the European Union. Three key approaches for EU-level policy intervention are highlighted:

• the application of accessibility requirements in public procurement (utilising freedoms given to Member States in transposing the Public Procurement Directive),
• the introduction of a product and service certification scheme and
• making better use of existing legislation e.g. in telecommunications and employment.

The approach outlined in the Communication is to be reviewed within two years, and new measures and - if deemed necessary - new legislation then to be proposed. MeAC is expected to provide both qualitative and quantitative evidence to support this policy decision making.
The study will

• identify, throughout the EU and elsewhere, legislative and other policy measures and actions by industry and other actor groupings that have or potentially can have a significant positive impact on eAccessibility and that support the Community eAccessibility strategy;
• assess to what extent ICT products and services available in Europe take into account eAccessibility requirements and Design for All principles, to what extent the opportunities offered by assistive technologies are being capitalised on and to assess the impact on costs of accessible and assistive ICT products and services;
• measure a change over time by assessing the eAccessibility situation in Europe at two points in time and in this way to measure progress, quantifying the impact of the three approaches specified in the Communication;
• identify cases of policy good practice by assessing the implementation of successful measures and drawing up recommendations for EU policy development in the eAccessibility domain.

In methodological regard, the study will in addition rely upon a policy survey, comprehensive literature anaylsis and on field studies in the EU Member States, USA, Canada and Australia.

In addressing "eInclusion and eAccessibility" issues, this study will provide scientific support to a key policy objective of the European Union - that of ensuring that every citizen has the opportunity to participate in and benefit from the Information Society. Main target groups will be older and disabled people as well as other at-risk groups.
A key goal is to establish a comprehensive empirical knowledge base to support all aspects of the policy-making process in relation to eAccessibility and eInclusion, thereby focusing on three topical areas:

• eAccessibility issues emerging from the eEurope 2005 action plan and roadmap, the inclusive electronic communication legal framework, the public procurement and other relevant policy frameworks
• eAccess to employment, re-skilling for older and disabled citizens
• eAccess to online public services (such as eGovernment, eLearning and eHealth)

A particular focus of the project will also be the inclusion of chronically ill and disabled persons into the Information Society, e.g. via eHealth services.
The research will also identify "best practice" examples of policy and research on these eAccessibility and eInclusion topics, and make recommendations for innovative, practicable policy strategies and implementation measures.
Over 30 months, partners located in 8 old and new Member States and from Switzerland will cooperate on these issues. In addition, all other European Union Member States and Candidate Countries will be covered by national correspondents.

The European Commission, Directorate General Information Society and Media (DG INFSO), has issued a framework contract for the analysis of impacts yielded by RTD projects funded under its Fifth Framework Programme in the field of Information Society Technologies. The WING project (Watching IST Innovation and Knowledge) will provide a systematic, structured and coherent process of data collection and analysis of the impact of completed IST RTD projects in a number of thematic domains.
A first set of domains is to be investigated during 2006. This will include the eInclusion domain which will be analysed by empirica.
Starting from a generic research methodology ensuring the comparability of results over all the domains to be assessed under the framework contract, the study will in a first step refine this methodology to meet the more specific needs of the eInclusion domain. In this context a multi-method approach will be pursued including

• a quantitative project survey targeted at the participants of 42 FP5 projects to be included in the analysis
• qualitative expert interviews
• a domain analysis describing the eInclusion domain and how it fits within the market and the socio-economic system as well as the identification of key stakeholders, and
• a stakeholder analysis to identify participation patterns among and the coverage of key market/socio-economic players, as well as to gain an expert-based domain insight and assessment of the role of EU research in the field.

All information gathered will be analysed and synthesised into a comprehensive domain report drawing conclusions on the main contribution of the domain to the research and innovation system in Europe.

The Joint Report on Social Inclusion, based on an analysis of the 2003/2005 National Action Plans on poverty and social exclusion, identified the impact of the rapid growth of the so called Knowledge Based Society (KBS) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as one of the important structural changes that is impacting on poverty and social exclusion, sometimes positively and sometimes negatively. Against this background, the study will identify the risks and opportunities these developments bring with respect to the European social model and outline key elements of a more strategic and integrated policy response, particularly in the context of developing National Action Plans to promote social inclusion. For this purpose, policy measures and programmes that are successful in helping to avoid the new risks of exclusion arising in this context will be identified and assessed. This will be augmented by a synthesis of the already extensive literature outlining the most pertinent risks and opportunities associated with the emergence of the KBS. In methodological regard, the study will rely upon desk research including a secondary analysis of survey data available from other research contexts and on field studies in selected countries.

Population ageing will have significant socio-economic implications that will challenge the European model of social welfare and protection. The concerns are justified, but at the same time demographic change could be seen as a positive opportunity for the European economy. The opportunity lies in innovative technological responses to the challenges of an ageing population. Against this background, the study will identify the opportunities created by the rapid progress in ICTs with respect to meeting the challenges of the ageing EU population. In particular it will explore whether industry provides products and services which meet the specific requirements of elderly users. Further its will identify policy measures and programmes that have proven to be successful in exploiting the opportunities and avoiding the risks posed by Information Society developments. This will enable the study team to outline key elements of required policy responses (in the form of new policy approaches and adaptations of existing policies) which are needed in order to minimise the risks and maximise the benefits of technological development for older people. In methodological regard work will rely upon literature analyses, secondary analyses of representative survey data and expert interviews.

Technology-based services which allow older people to live independently are widely recognised as opportunities for citizens and the ageing society in general. Government policies to support older citizens in living independently in the community have acted as an incentive for developments in assistive technology and the smart home arena, and they have encouraged investments in telecare services. The goal of this study is to gauge the demand for so called Independent Living Systems (ILS) in Europe’s ageing society. In particular, the study will analyse what ILS-policies exist in the EU and whether there is consensus among the EU member states regarding the objectives, functions and future of ILS. Further, it will focus on the question what can be learned from ‘proven practices’ in this field and what success and failure factors can be deducted from pilots and initiatives that have already taken place. This will enable the development of scenarios outlining future developments in the ILS domain including an evidence-based assessment of related market opportunities and policy implications. In methodological regard, the study will rely upon desk research including a secondary analysis of survey data available from other research contexts, state of the art scenario building techniques and on field studies.

The SeniorWatch study aimed at better understanding the market dynamics of Information Society Technology (IST) products and services relevant for older (and older disabled) people. Various research methods were applied:

• a European-wide survey of some 10.000 citizens aged 50 years and over· a Europe-wide survey of 500 decision makers in organisations providing home care
• case studies illuminating best practice with regard to IST applications with relevance for older people
• country reports analysing the influence of national policy environments on IST uptake with particular reference to older people
• technology watch activities illustrating technology trends relevant for the target group in question.

A particular focus of the study were the interest, experience and expectations of older people with respect to eHealth services and applications. For comprehensive empirical data, visit the web site of the project.