Work for tomorrow: Innovating for an ageing workforce
Across the world, older workers make up a growing proportion of the workforce – across the G20, 1 in 3 workers is aged 50 and over, and this is set to increase to 4 in 10 by 2040.
This is going to fundamentally affect not only older workers themselves, but the way in which we plan the future of work for young and old alike.
Harnessing the potential of workers, regardless of age, will be crucial in the post-pandemic recovery and could deliver a significant longevity dividend to economies across the world. But too often, barriers like poor health, caring responsibilities or ageism in the workplace shut older workers out of the job market.
With an ageing workforce, we need to rethink the way we work, learn and live. We cannot afford to leave anyone behind.
That’s why we launched Work for tomorrow, an international innovation competition, supported by the Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources, to identify and reward the most promising innovations responding to the opportunities and challenges of an ageing workforce.
At our awards ceremony in Newcastle, the Sheriff of Newcastle announced Labora Tech – a Brazilian start-up that matches workers of all ages to jobs and helps them reskill – as the winners of Work for tomorrow.
The judging panel has gave a second Community award to Brave Start – a community-based platform that helps adults in the UK to try out and start new careers.
The challenges
Work for tomorrow is seeking to identify and award the most promising innovations responding to four key challenge areas:
- Maintaining good physical and mental health
- Building knowledge, skills, and competence
- Addressing discrimination and supporting diversity in the workplace
- Adapting the workplace for flexibility
This consultation paper takes a deep-dive into the challenge areas, what is already happening in this area and where there is space for innovation.
Our winners
During our awards ceremony at the National Innovation Centre for Ageing, the Newcastle Sheriff announced Labora Tech, a Brazilian start-up that matches workers of all ages to jobs and helps them reskill, as the winner of the international Work for tomorrow competition.
Sérgio Serapiao, Co-Founder and CEO of Labora Tech, commented:
“I am delighted and honoured to win this competition. The competition has shown the quality and power of initiatives all over the world. I am sure we can contribute a lot to codesign the future of work.”
“I truly believe Labora has developed a social technology that can reach a global scale, and make a positive impact to millions of people and thousands of companies, redefining how we work of tomorrow. This award reinforces that we are on the right track.”
The judging panel has also given a second “Community Award” to Brave Starts, a community-based platform that helps adults in the UK to try out and start new careers. Praised for its simplicity and potential to start a social movement, Brave Starts offers a programme to help people who are unsure about starting a new career understand what they want and what they might need to get there, link up with professionals already in that area, and build the right skills to make the leap.
Lucy Standing, Founder of Brave Starts, commented:
“This has been the best news we’ve had this year. Learning about what others are doing in this space is really useful – it’s helping us build our network and has already given us ideas for collaboration and inspiration. We’re really grateful ILC and IRC4HR have taken the time to provide this platform and opportunity.”
Our finalists
Ahead of our awards ceremony, our judging panel narrowed our shortlist down to five finalists:
- Ageing Workforce Ready, an Australian prevention-focused programme to support people’s mental wellbeing at work
- Brave Starts CIC, a UK community-based platform to help people start or try out a new career
- Labora Tech, a Brazilian data-driven job-matching and reskilling platform for workers of all ages
- Maturious, an Australian platform that maps and verifies skills of older workers by capturing and assessing their acquired capabilities in each role over their working career
- Startup School for Seniors, a British online learning programme to help people start their own businesses
The shortlist
After receiving almost 50 applications from organisations across the world, our international judging panel, alongside a public vote, whittled these down to our shortlist of 11:
- Ageing Workforce Ready, an Australian programme to support people’s mental wellbeing at work
- Labora Tech, a Brazilian job-matching and reskilling platform for older workers
- Brave Starts CIC, a UK platform to help people start or try out a new career
- Renaissance Academy, an Irish membership-based lifelong learning academy
- Please Ignore Us, an American podcast that highlights the value of older workers through storytelling and matches them to new jobs
- 55/Redefined, a UK organisation offering age unconscious bias training to combat age bias in recruitment
- Maturious, an Australian platform that maps and verifies the JOB DNA of older workers by capturing and assessing the depth and breadth of their acquired capabilities in each role over their working career
- Empowerment Passport, an online tool developed in the UK to help people identify their needs or potential adjustments that could help them at work
- Layertech Labs, a Philippine programme helping women in rural settings to learn digital skills
- Tradecraft Tools Limited, a British mobile app to support older entrepreneurs to start and run their own business
- Startup School for Seniors, an online course supporting over 50s to turn a business idea into reality
View the videos of our shortlist here.
You can take a look at all entries here.
Want to be put in touch with someone? Get in touch with LilyParsey@ilcuk.org.uk.
Meet our judges
Anthony Ariganello, President and CEO of the Chartered Professionals of Human Resources (CPHR) of BC, and the Yukon, and CPHR Canada
Mr. Ariganello is currently the President and CEO of the Chartered Professionals of Human Resources (CPHR) of BC, and the Yukon, and CPHR Canada. Prior to this, he was the President and CEO of CGA (Certified General Accountant’s) Canada. Mr. Ariganello was a key leader in the merger of the 3 accounting bodies into CPA.
Prior to CGA Canada, Mr. Ariganello was also the President of Avon Canada, the world’s largest direct seller. Holding the ICD director designation, Mr. Ariganello serves as Chair of the Audit Council for Local Government supporting the Auditor General for Local Government for the province of B.C.
Mr. Ariganello has significant experience in people management having led large organizations, like Avon ( + 1000 personnel), with full operations responsibility including H.R., pursuing re-structuring plans, mergers, and ensuring the human capital aspect of all these exercises was always front and center, a priority.
Sheila Callaham, Executive Director and Board Chair, Age Equity Alliance
Sheila Callaham is the Executive Director and Board Chair of Age Equity Alliance, a 501(c)(3) partnering with businesses, organizations, and communities to create workplace age equity through awareness-building, consultation, training, and education. Sheila is a longtime communication and global inclusion and diversity subject matter expert with more than 30 years of experience across private and public sectors in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. She believes employers who proactively build diverse, multigenerational teams are not only the most inclusive, but they are also in the best position to succeed in the future of work. Sheila is a regular contributor for Forbes in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion channel.
Rachele Focardi, Expert and Public Speaker on Future of Work
Rachele Focardi is a global thought-leader and world-renowned public speaker on Multigenerational Workforce Dynamics, Future of Work, Employer Branding and Talent Strategy. Born and raised in Italy, she spent her professional life between Europe, U.S.A. and Asia.
Since 2003, Rachele has spearheaded the Employer Branding movement globally, advocating that organizations and governments incorporate an Employer Branding Strategy into their workforce planning. Over the years she has advised hundreds of Fortune 500 companies, Asian organizations, NGOs and Government Agencies.
Today, Rachele’s passion is to help organizations adapt to the needs of the new generations and make Generational Diversity a key item on their Diversity & Inclusion Agenda by developing initiatives, programs and content that provide the opportunity for employees across all age groups to learn about each other and from each other, collaborate efficiently, and together drive change.
Rachele is also is committed to helping Governments, Organizations and Education Systems undergoing transformation meet the needs of the future workforce. She is the author “Reframing Generational Stereotypes” published by McGraw Hill in December 2020, Chair of the Multigenerational Workforce Committee for the ASEAN Human Development Organization and Founder of XYZ@Work. Previously Chief Strategy Officer for Universum and Anchor for CFN-CNBC, Rachele is also a member or MENSA.
Fanny Krivoy, Founder/ Creative Director, Analogous
Fanny is on a mission to use design to bring equity and inclusion to life day-to-day through brand creation, experience design, and changing how people work.
Her clients include Inter-American Development Bank, The City of New York, 98point6, JWT/Mirum, Shaker Museum Mount Lebanon, National Immigration Forum, Museum of the City of New York, Fisher Price, Próspera, among many others.
On the volunteer front, she is an active board member at amazing.community - a nonprofit extending the work horizon for women 45+ helping them prepare for the workplace of the future, and for organizations to create inclusive environments for them.
Fanny is a Professor at Pratt Institute and the creator of Project Inclusion, a Podcast series exploring leadership and the multiple dimensions of inclusion. She studied design at Instituto de Diseño in Caracas, Venezuela, and graduated with honors from the University of the Arts London.
You can find her as a speaker, guest lecturer/ judging/ published in Latin America, the United Kingdom and the United States.
George MacGinnis, Challenge Director, Healthy Ageing, UK Research and Innovation
George MacGinnis leads the £98 million Healthy Ageing research and innovation challenge, part of the UK Government’s Ageing Society Grand Challenge mission to ensure that people can enjoy at least 5 extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035, while narrowing the gap between the experience of the richest and poorest. He has a varied background in health and care innovation including recent work on the future capacity needs for a reformed health and social care system in the Republic of Ireland, a review of the impact on the NHS of Small Business Research Initiative in Healthcare, a landscape review of the MedTech sector for the Academic Health Science Networks and leading the user group for a global industry alliance to enable a consumer-friendly market for digital wellness and health products and services through standards and accreditation.
Bob Morton, President, World Federation of People Management Associations
Bob is a senior international HR professional with extensive experience in Human Resources, Leadership and Organizational Development. Bob has lived in the UK, USA, Switzerland and Germany and worked on HR and organizational change projects across the world.
Bob is President of the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA). He is also Chair of CIPD Enterprises Ltd Board (The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) in the UK and is a Companion of the CIPD. He is past President of the European Association of People Management (EAPM) and is currently Secretary General of EAPM.
After a career in senior international HR roles with Ciba-Geigy, Ciba Specialty Chemicals and latterly BASF, he is now CEO of ODHRM Consultants Ltd specializing in OD, HRM and Organizational Capability building. He works with clients in Europe, Asia and the Americas including amongst others, Petronas, BASF, Solenis and Tata Motors.
Nic Palmarini, Director, National Innovation Centre for Ageing
Bio to be uploaded shortly.
Mehbs Remtulla, Founder and CEO, What's neXT?!
Mehbs has been a pharmacist, a pharmaceutical executive and founder of one of the top healthcare communications agencies in Canada. He sold his agency to Euro RSCG Worldwide, part of the Paris-based global communications network, HAVAS.
A serial entrepreneur, Mehbs’ current social venture, What’s neXT?! (in development), is a community based, holistic and curated ecosystem, aimed at connecting late career Transitioners to opportunities for flexible work, giving back and life-long learning.
What’s neXT?!'s goal is to help Transitioners develop and execute a customized Longevity RoadMap so they may lead engaged and purposeful lives into their ‘third act’
David Sinclair, Director, ILC
David has worked in policy and research on ageing and demographic change for 20 years. He holds honorary positions at UCL and Newcastle University He has presented on longevity and demographic change across the world (from Seoul to Singapore and Sydney to Stormont). David won the Pensions-Net-Work Award for “The most informative speaker 2006-2016”. He is frequently quoted on ageing issues in the national media.
David has a particular interest in older consumers, active ageing, financial services, adult vaccination, and the role of technology in an ageing society. He has a strong knowledge of UK and global ageing society issues, from healthcare to pensions and from housing to transport. He has published reports on a range of topics from transport to technology and health to consumption.
He has worked as an “expert” for the pan-European Age Platform for 15 years. David is the former Vice-Chair of the Government’s Consumer Expert Group for Digital Switchover. For ten years he chaired a London based charity (Open Age) which enables older people to sustain their physical and mental fitness, maintain active lifestyles and develop new and stimulating interests.
Shruti Singh, Ageing and Employment Policies Lead, OECD
Biography to be uploaded shortly.
Jodi Starkman, Executive Director, Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR)
Jodi Starkman is the Executive Director of IRC4HR®, a 94-year-old nonprofit foundation that funds practical, applied research about the implications of technology and digital disruption on work, people, and organizations.
Jodi believes these same disruptive forces also bring incredible opportunities for people and organizations to grow and thrive. And that each of us – individually and collectively – has an opportunity, if not an obligation, to help co-create that future. With these guiding principles, Jodi leads IRC4HR® to find research partners, and fund “make-a-difference” projects, that share the goal of an inclusive economy in which every member of society achieves prosperity and wellbeing.
Dr Kelly Tremblay, Neuroscientist and Audiologist
Dr. Kelly Tremblay is a neuroscientist and audiologist who specializes in healthy aging. She recently co-authored the WHO’s new guidelines for integrated care for older people, and promotes healthy aging by supporting the needs of people looking to live, learn and earn longer. As the Founder of Lend an Ear, Inc. coaching and consulting, Dr. Tremblay expands work and health horizons by offering solutions that combine psychology and technology.
Caroline Waters OBE, Deputy Chair, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Currently Deputy Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Vice President of Carers UK, Trustee of the RSPCA and Founder and CEO of CW Consulting Box, Caroline Waters was also Director of People and Policy at BT and has a distinguished record on equality, inclusion, and human resources. She has been the driving force of many diversity-focused groups where she has routinely set the agenda and demonstrated real thought leadership.
Seen as one of the most influential senior leaders and practitioners in the original movement to create new ways of working and a leader of the nascent flexible working agenda in the 1990s Caroline works with a wide range of stakeholders and clients to build new ever more inclusive approaches to people, space and productivity.
Past events
Work for tomorrow awards ceremony
Date: Tuesday, 22 March 2022
Time: 3.00pm – 5.00pm GMT (followed by drinks reception)
Location: The Catalyst, National Innovation Centre for Ageing, Newcastle (and virtual)
At our awards ceremony, we announced the winners of the Work for tomorrow competition and hosted a reception to celebrate the brightest ideas responding to the future of an ageing workforce.
Work for tomorrow – Innovation pitching sessions
Date: Tuesday, 15 February 2022
Times: 2.00pm – 3.30pm GMT and 8.00pm – 9.30pm GMT
At these live pitching sessions. our shortlist, including innovators from Australia to Brazil, the US, UK, Ireland and the Philippines, will pitch their solutions before our international judging panel.
Future of Ageing 2021: Reimagining ageing in a changing world
Date: Thursday 2 December 2021
Time: 9:00am – 5:00pm GMT
At our seventh annual conference, Employment Minister Mims Davies MP announced the shortlist of the Work for tomorrow competition. One of our pre-conference workshops also considered how the workplace needs to adapt to an ageing and increasingly diverse workforce.
Innovating for an ageing workforce – Innovator Drop-In Sessions
Date: Wednesday 4 August 2021
Time: Various
Join us for an informal drop-in session to think through ideas of how to innovate for an ageing workforce – from supporting better mental and physical health through our working lives, to rethinking flexibility from the start to the end of our careers, and supporting diversity at work.
Challenge workshop: Work for tomorrow – Innovating for an ageing workforce
Date: Thursday 24 June 2021
Time: 2.00pm – 4.00pm BST (3.00pm – 5.00pm CEST, 9.00am – 11.00am EDT)
This interactive workshop unpicked some of the challenges and opportunities of an ageing workforce; how these trends intersect with changes in technology and AI; what we’ve learnt from COVID-19; and what the potential for innovation is in this space to ensure our workplaces and policies adapt in line with the changes happening around us.
The workshop was chaired by: George MacGinnis, Challenge Director, Healthy Ageing, UK Research and Innovation
Speakers and facilitators included:
- Ashton Applewhite, Author and Activist
- David Blane, Imperial College London
- Sheila Callahan, Age Equity Alliance and Forbes
- Prof Vybarr Cregan-Reid, Author
- Alex Hirst, Hoxby
- Alex Hoskyn, Chatty Café
- Lily Parsey, ILC UK
- Mehbs Remtulla, What’s neXT?!
- Yvonne Sonsino, Mercer
- Patrick Thomson, Centre for Ageing Better
- David Sinclair, Director, ILC UK
- Brian Beach, ILC UK
- Kerry Walker, Head of HR, Retirement Retail, Legal and General
Future of Ageing: Together for tomorrow
Date: Thursday 3 December 2020
Time: 9.30am – 5.30pm GMT
As part of our sixth annual Future of Ageing conference, we launched our consultation paper on the challenges and changes ahead for an ageing workforce, that will form the basis of our international innovations competition.
Webinar: The new long life – A framework for flourishing in a changing world
Date: Thursday 20 August 2020
Time: 3.00pm – 5.00pm BST
During this webinar, we launched our new international programme of work in collaboration with IRC4HR, to support changing working lives and identify solutions to the challenges faced by older workers.
Blogs
25/10/2021
How do we support learning across the life-course?
Much has been written over the past few months about how COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the employment of younger and older workers alike. While Government has recognised the importance of developing skills across the life-course, there are significant gaps in the opportunities we have to learn when we reach our mid-20’s, let alone our mid-40s.
20/09/2021
The intersection of age, gender and promotion
We have known for some time that an intersectionality effect occurs with age and gender. By taking an evidence-based research approach to diversity, equity and inclusion, Mercer’s most recent study entitled ‘When Women Thrive – let’s get real about equality’ has uncovered key data points that help us to understand the extent of these effects, and we share some of the key findings in this article.
13/07/2021
Unprecedented disruption in the world of work: A catalyst for innovation?
Guest blog by: George MacGinnis, UKRI
We are now living through a period of unprecedented disruption in the world of work. That is a great environment for innovation, and the four themes for this competition highlight how work for tomorrow can make a real difference.
27/05/2021
In a tough job market, age-bias in recruitment fails older workers and means employers miss out on talent
Guest blog by: Patrick Thomson, Centre for Ageing Better
The job market is going through dramatic changes with the impact of COVID-19, new technology and Brexit. The way that we find and move work is more important than ever, and yet all too many people face barriers and bias in recruitment because of their age. Ageing Better’s Good Recruitment for Older Workers (GROW) project has used new and innovative research methods to explore this topic further.
03/02/2021
How do we adapt the workplace of the future to an ageing workforce?
Blog by: Lily Parsey, ILC
To maximise a potential “longevity dividend”, employers and governments need to wake up to the reality of an ageing workforce and make sure our jobs, our workplaces, our working patterns adapt in line with these changes.
02/12/2020
Unlocking the potential of a diverse and multigenerational workforce critical for the UK’s economic recovery
Guest blog by: Natasha Oppenheim, No Desire to Retire
There have been a number of recent media reports of older workers – frustrated by the lack of response to their numerous job applications, but equally determined not to be defeated – resorting to some creative approaches to get themselves an interview with prospective employers…
23/06/2020
The new long life
Guest blog by: Prof Andrew Scott, London Business School
Demographers have long warned that the world is going through a transition towards an ageing society. Declines in the birth rate, more people living into old age combined with increases in lifespan mean that for the first time ever there are now more people globally aged over 65 than under 5. That longer future requires rethinking how we structure the life course and behaving differently around education, health, work, careers, relationships and community…
News
22/03/21
Brazilian start-up calling to “retire the CV” wins international future of work award
The International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC) has today announced the winners of Work for tomorrow, an international competition looking for the best innovations responding to longer working lives.
14/03/21
Think tank announces finalists of innovation competition responding to longer working lives
The International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC) has today announced the finalists of Work for tomorrow, an international innovation competition looking at how employers can innovate to support longer working lives.
02/12/21
Employment Minister announces shortlist for innovation competition
Minister for Employment, Mims Davies MP, has today announced the shortlist of the Work for tomorrow competition. Launched by the International Longevity Centre-UK (ILC) and supported by the Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources, Work for tomorrow is looking to identify and award the most promising innovations responding to an ageing workforce.
22/11/21
Longer lives significantly contributing to European economies, new reports find
A series of reports published by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) today highlights the economic opportunities of longer lives across Europe. According to the reports, older people’s contributions across the European region are significant, and growing.
30/09/21
HGV driver crisis highlights the need for all industries to adapt to demographic change
The average age of HGV drivers in the UK is 53. With just 1 in 50 lorry drivers aged under 25, and many drivers soon to retire, Brexit and COVID have only acted as accelerators of a long-overdue problem. The reality is that there is an ill health crisis in the sector with too little work done to address the causes of physical and mental health challenges associated with a sedentary and sometimes lonely job.
20/05/2021
International innovation competition seeking bright new ideas responding to an ageing workforce
The International Longevity Centre UK (ILC), supported by the Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR), has today launched an international competition to identify and award the most promising innovations responding to an ageing workforce across four key challenge areas.
13/05/2021
Ditching ageist and ableist stereotypes at work could pay dividends, new report argues
A new report launched by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC) today highlights how pervasive ageism and ableism in the workplace are still locking far too many people out of work as they age, costing not only individuals but employers and the economy.
05/05/2021
How has COVID disproportionately impacted older workers?
New ONS figures out show the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on older workers. Between December 2020 and February 2021, employment rates of 50-64 year-olds have continued to fall from 72.6 to 71.1%, and from 11.5 to 10.4% for those aged 65+ despite an increase in the population aged 50 years and over in this period.
22/04/2021
ILC responds to EU Green Paper on Ageing
Across the G20, older people make up a significant, and growing, share of the workforce – with one in three workers aged 50 or above. But this proportion could be greater if older workers were equipped with the skills they needed to adapt to an ever-changing workplace.
26/01/2021
ILC-UK response to new Labour Market Statistics
Responding to the new Labour Market Statistics out today, David Sinclair, Director of the International Longevity Centre – UK (ILC), said: “Without further urgent support from Government, a huge number of people aged over 50 will find early retirement forced on them.”
13/10/2021
Older workers key to post-pandemic recovery
ILC has launched a new report – ‘Health equals wealth: The global longevity dividend’, this week ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers’ and Central Bankers’ meeting, which unveils the significant, and growing, economic impact of older workers across the G20.
19/08/2020
Responding to an ageing workforce key in post-pandemic recovery
Across the world, older workers make up a growing proportion of the workforce – according to research by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC), in the UK alone, the share of the workforce aged 50 and over rose from 26% in 2004 to 32% in 2018 and is projected to rise to 37% by 2040. This trend is mirrored all across the G20.
Videos
18/08/2022
Work for tomorrow competition: Innovating for an ageing workforce
29/11/2021
How can we make work more age-friendly?
Future of Ageing 2021: How can we make work more age-friendly? – YouTube
17/09/2021
Delivering prevention in the workplace
17/09/2021
Age equity in the workplace
20/08/2021
Adapting to the new normal
12/08/2021
Maintaining physical activity in the workplace
05/08/2021
Ageism and ableism in the workplace
14/07/2021
Ageing workforces aren’t new but we need new solutions
17/06/2021
Intergenerational workforces
08/06/2021
How can employers support longer working lives?
Lucy Standing of Brave Starts presents how employers can support longer working lives in the context of Work for tomorrow
20/05/2021
What is our competition looking for?
ILC UK Director David Sinclair outlines Work for tomorrow
30/04/2021
What are we looking for?
Work for tomorrow judge Mehbs Remtulla gives his thoughts on what our competition is looking for
FAQ
What is Work for tomorrow?
Work for tomorrow is an international innovation competition, led by ILC and supported by the Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR), seeking to identify and reward the most promising innovations responding to an ageing workforce.
What are we looking for?
We’re looking for innovations, from products to services to policy solutions that respond to an ageing workforce across four key challenge areas:
- Maintaining good physical and mental health in the workplace
- From solutions that help us stay in the workplace if we have an existing condition to solutions that ensure our workplaces promote good health throughout our working lives
- Building knowledge, skills and competence
- How can we ensure we have the right skills to equip us for longer and changing working lives?
- How do we foster lifelong learning and intergenerational knowledge transfer?
- Addressing discrimination and supporting diversity
- From recruitment to the workplace, we know ageism is a barrier to opportunity – how can this be tackled?
- In an increasingly diverse working world, how can we foster more inclusive working environments where every voice is heard?
- Adapting the workplace for flexibility
- From solutions that help people juggle caring responsibilities or parental/ grandparental leave throughout their working lives to solutions that support transitions, from working to learning, to retraining to retirement – how can we promote greater flexibility in the workplace?
We’re not just looking for solutions that help older workers but solutions that respond to the reality of longer working lives for young and old alike.
At what stage of development should solutions be?
We’re looking for anything from an existing service/ product or policy to a well-thought-out idea, including how the solution would be implemented and what impact it might have.
We want the competition to be an accelerator that could help an idea get off the ground, help someone pilot a solution or gain greater recognition of an existing product/ practice that could be adopted elsewhere.
What’s the prize?
Work for tomorrow offers exciting opportunities for applicants, including:
- Receiving recognition and raising the profile of your solution with organisations and individuals who may be interested in adopting, developing, or helping to sell or invest in your solution.
- Getting a platform in front of our international networks across industries, policymakers, and investors at our engagement events.
- Gaining a free delegate pass to ILC’s 7th Annual Future of Ageing conference, bringing together more than 200 leading experts across policy, industry, and the third sector.
- Working with us to develop a tailored support package for your solution, including targeted PR support, expert mentoring, and piloting of your solution.
- Receiving marketing support to help your solution thrive.
- Receiving letters of support for future grant funding or investment pitches you may pursue.
What about prize money?
As we’re a charity, we can’t offer a large cash prize, but instead we will use our networks to platform your solutions, get you in front of potential investors, thought leaders and policymakers in the area to help your solution grow, gain recognition and move on to the next stage.
We will work with our shortlist, finalists and winners to build bespoke support packages to raise their profile through targeted media work, events, online and offline engagement and maybe even build links with organisations who could pilot solutions.
The winner of our 2018/19 “Innovating for Ageing” awards (run with Just Group), Alex Hoskyn, Founder of the Chatty Café Scheme said the award acted as a catalyst for the scheme to fully kick off.
The scheme that encourages subscribing cafes to designate a Chatter & Natter table where customers can sit if they are happy to talk to other customers now has about 1,000 participating cafes signed up, including the cafes of Costa Coffee and Sainsburys, with a further 25 cafes in Gibraltar, two in Australia and one in Florida. During the pandemic, Alex has continued her work online, which since earned her an OBE for her work in tackling loneliness.
The runner-up, medical technology company Walk with Path has since received EU funding to start medical trials of their solution helping people to walk, maintain balance and prevent falls.
How will applications be judged?
We have an international judging panel of 13 judges from across 3 continents that will judge all submissions, according to the below criteria:
- Need for innovation
- Originality
- Impact
- Design and implementation
- Scalability
Check out our judges on the judges tab.
What’s the timeline?
Applications closed on 31 October. The shortlist will be announced at ILC’s seventh annual Future of Ageing conference in London on 2 December. The shortlist will be invited to pitch their solutions before the judging panel to determine the finalists. The final winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in 2022.
What about IP?
You own your own solutions. ILC or IRC4HR take no ownership of any of the solutions entered into the competition. As the aim of the competition is to platform and share good practice, we may share innovations in our networks, including via the conference programme website, social media, our newsletter and mailing list. If you are concerned about IP, we recommend you speak to an adviser.
Can you help?
We want to hear from you if you:
- Want to share key challenges you have identified that face an ageing workforce
- Would like to write a blog or do a video on one of these issues
- Have a bright idea or existing product/ service that addresses one or more of the challenges associated with an ageing workforce
If you want to get involved in our programme, please email: LilyParsey@ilcuk.org.uk.