Innovation: Bielefelder Model

Germany

AAI Domains:

• Independent, healthy and secure living (independent living, access to health care services, physical safety)

• Participation in society (voluntary activities)

The Bielefelder Model started in 1996 in the city of Bielefeld in North Rhine-Westphalia as a partnership between a housing association, Bielefelder Gemeinnützige Wohnungsbaugesellschaft (BGW), and a voluntary organisation providing outpatient and social care services in the community, Verein Alt und Jung e.V with the support of the local municipality and a range of other social organisations.

The aim of the model is to enable older people to live independently in an accessible, purpose built housing environment with access to social care support as and when they need it without having to find a lump sum to pay for social care. The model now operates across 14 housing projects in 12 districts in the city of Bielefeld and provides support to approximately 450 households containing older people who are in need, or close to being in need, of low level social support in order to live independently.

The purpose built housing projects are for people of all ages and are designed to promote a sense of community that revolves around a residential café that offers communal meals and is the social hub of the development. Older people in need of social support can choose from several providers of social care services and there is scope for those without the means to purchase all of the support they need to have it supplemented by voluntary activity. All residents, including those with mild dementia, are encouraged to participate in social activities including story times and reading for young and old people. The Bielefeld municipality provides a favourable framework for this model of provision by co-financing community services and supporting community-oriented city planning.

The Bielefelder Model’s key innovation is the provision of ‘joined up’ housing and professional social support provision supplemented by voluntary activity from the neighbouring community through co-operative partnerships across sectors lead by BGW and Verein Alt und Jung e.V. The project manager in each development plays a key role in coordinating volunteers, who can number up to 200 in some places, and the overall management of the site.

A key feature of the model is the appropriate scale which is large enough to be economically viable and small enough to be socially inclusive in terms of being regarded as a real neighbourhood community. The model has been adopted and adapted in different locations across Germany as it provides a comprehensive range of services in a local area that meets the needs of older people and the wider community within the framework of existing social provision.

In terms of active ageing, the Bielefelder Model is a social innovation that supports independent living for older people in an appropriate housing context. This provides improved physical safety for older people through accessible housing reducing the risk of falls. It also provides innovative access to around the clock social care support that enables older people to live independently in their own home safe in the knowledge that assistance is close at hand in the event of emergency and for many activities of daily life.

The model mobilises voluntary activity as an integral part of the provision of social support contributing to stronger social connections within and across generations. The Bielefelder Model has numerous aspects that can make a positive contribution to active ageing and improved quality of life for older people and the wider community.