Sanctuary Supported Living contributes to technology in housing report

A new report has called for technology and digital infrastructure that supports future care needs to be built into all new housing.

The report by the Technology for our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation (TAPPI) sets out ten practical principles to build technology into housing in a way that improves life for our ageing population.

Sanctuary Supported Living’s Sara Keetley recently contributed to the  TAPPI Inquiry led by the Housing LIN (Learning and Improvement Network) in which the Panel heard from over 30 experts and people with a lived experience.  The Panel’s ‘Big Insights’ identified both the success factors and barriers to integrating technology into housing and care. In the forthcoming second phase of its work, the Panel will develop a framework for technology and digital infrastructure in housing.

Chaired by the former Director of the National Innovation Centre for Ageing, Professor Roy Sandbach OBE, the Panel also includes senior figures from housing, care, academia, the tech industry and design. The Inquiry, funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, is aimed at ensuring that technology is used effectively to ensure older and disabled people can live independently in high quality homes.

The Panel adopted 10 TAPPI principles agreeing that all new housing should be:

• Adaptable – able to adapt to changing user needs and technological advances
• Co-produced – involving people to co-create solutions to inform how they want to live their lives
• Cost-effective – offer value for money and benefit both to individuals but also to workforces in local housing and care economies
• Choice-led – enabling access to more options that meet individual needs and wishes
• Interoperable – ability to integrate and work across systems and platforms to meet individuals’ diverse needs and aspirations
• Inclusive – reduce digital, health, income inequalities to enable active involvement in home, local community or networks
• Outcome-focussed – improve health & wellbeing to improve quality of life or maintain independence
• Person-centred - Putting the person first to give control over own environment, care and support needs etc
• Preventative – focused on prevention rather than reactive models
• Quality-focussed – in designing products, systems and services to ensure ‘fit for purpose’.

The report makes a number of recommendations that would see widespread use of technology in new housing design and construction – as well as tech-enabling and adapting existing housing.

In the second phase, the panel will look to pilot the principles, bringing together existing standards and frameworks as well as ensuring industry commitment to TAPPI principles.

Sara Keetley, Sanctuary Supported Living’s Operations Director said; “I am delighted to have asked to contribute to the TAPPI project and look forward to putting the principles into action in a way which positively benefits the older generation and people living with disabilities.”

A copy of the full TAPPi Inquiry report is available here.