Innovation: Tampere age-friendly city and Kotitori care reform

Finland

AAI Domains:

• Independent, healthy and secure living (independent living, improving access to health and social care services)

• Participation in society (political participation)

Meeting the challenges of an ageing society will require social change and innovation on a variety of levels ranging from individuals and families through neighbourhoods and municipalities to national government and the operation of multi-national corporations. The World Health Organisation’s Age-Friendly World initiative highlights and supports municipalities around the world to adapt to the challenges of ageing and the Finnish city of Tampere is part of this global network and movement.

Tampere is the largest inland city in any Nordic country with a population of over 220,000 in the municipality and over 360,000 people in the greater metropolitan area. Tampere has adopted a mayoral system and with the Tampere Senior initiative has a strategic programme covering the 2012–20 period. The main aims are to develop innovative solutions to better meet the needs of the increasing number of older people through enabling them to feel safe, live independent in their own homes and changing social attitudes about older people and ageing.

An important element of the strategy is to involve people of all ages, especially older people who have an elder council as a link to the municipality, in strengthening civil society and developing solutions as well as taking decisions. The initiative is a partnership between the municipality, universities, companies and third sector organisations and an important outcome is the development of evidence on active ageing in one virtual place.

Enabling older people now to live independently has involved the development of a new model of social care. The Kotitori (Home Market) system has the municipality as the major purchaser of social care services reaching a service level agreement and annual contract with the Kotitori which acts as a social care service integrator that manages and develops a network of service providers from the municipality, private and third sector providers.

The Kotitori provides information on housing, home care service, mobility, financial benefits, sports and leisure activities. Older people and their families can then select the mix of care providers that meet their needs within an agreed budget from the municipality that can be supplemented in the Home Market if they wish.

The system appears to offer easier access to social care services, better control of costs with improved productivity and higher satisfaction in care quality due to increased competition within a managed and regulated framework. There is less work for the city with lower transaction costs and more privately funded services thus building a better mixed economy of social care provision.

In relation to active ageing, the social innovations in Tampere are relevant to political participation through the elder council and the emphasis on involvement and participation that runs through the initiative. The Kotitori reform of social care appears to offer improved access to health and social care services and the whole approach to active and healthy ageing is to enable independent living for older people.

Websites

Tampere Senior

Kotitori – Tampereen kaupunki