Thematic Study: Demographic Change and Knowledge Development

Transcription

1 Annual Conference Vienna, 1 July 2014 Thematic Study: Demographic Change and Knowledge Development Roos Galjaard, Bureau PAU

2 Demographic Change and Knowledge Development Contents Demographic Change (DC) Themes and Subthemes in CENTRAL EUROPE General Trends in Demographic Change Conclusions from the Study Recommendations from the Study 16 projects with 180 partners, 75 pilots and almost 30 cooperation networks

3 Dem. Change Theme and Subthemes in CE Demographic Change and Knowledge Development Relevance of transnational cooperation for 16 projects supported by the CENTRAL EUROPE Programme dealing with the consequences of an ageing society and population decline. 180 partners, 75 pilots and almost 30 cooperation networks. Knowledge Development is considered a cross-cutting theme, relating to human capital in order to ensure economic competitiveness, the connection of the educational system to the leading edge of technology and business practices, and availability of complementary knowledge from different actors

4 Dem. Change Theme and Subthemes in CE Subtheme 1 Making shrinking regions more attractive by adapting services to actual needs, thereby increasing social inclusion and reducing brain drain Adapting services for younger generations Attracting and retaining competences for regional growth Increasing attractiveness of shrinking cities and regions Improving accessibility of (scarcely populated) areas Matching local skills with business needs

5 Dem. Change Theme and Subthemes in CE Subtheme 2 Improving the inclusion of elderly and disadvantaged groups to help minimize the negative impact of demographic change Improving access of vulnerable groups to the labour market Adapting housing stock for elderly and vulnerable groups Testing care solutions and telemedicine tools for the elderly Making use of skills and competences of the 60+ generation Supporting active ageing and improving life for the elderly

6 General Trends Population change in Central Europe (%) Source: ADAPT2DC 2013

7 General Trends Old-age-dependency ratio in central Europe in 2011 Source: ADAPT2DC 2013

8 General Trends Net-migration in Europe Source: EPSON 2013

9 General Trends Main trends & challenges Decreasing accessibility to public services and a strong rise in the costs to provide and maintain these services; Changes in the supply of services (fewer services and poorer access to them) and the demand for services (a decrease due to decreasing population size); An ageing population and a reduction in the younger working age group: older workers continue to work for a longer period and make better use of the existing potentials of an ageing society; Brain-drain of young and well-educated people in some regions; Challenge to maintain high-quality education systems; move into knowledge-based economies the importance of human capital becomes even more significant than ever.

10 General Trends Main trends & challenges Challenges to maintain the liveability of areas and the quality of life for inhabitants (social inclusion, active ageing); Social capital and active citizenship; Governance of shrinkage: deindustrialisation, de-investment and the loss of functions.

11 Conclusions Conclusions CE Programme contributes significantly to making shrinking regions more attractive (matching local skills with business needs, retaining competences for regional growth and adapting services to youngsters including improving access to labour market); Improving access to labour market for older people, improving quality of life, care and telemedicine tools are well covered; Improving accessibility of areas and adapting housing stock for the elderly are less numerous; Focus on making use of skills and competences of the 60+;

12 Conclusions Conclusions Almost all projects contribute to knowledge development to safeguard human capital for innovation; CE programme is relevant for experimenting, testing and finding new ways of maintaining the quality of life; The transnational cooperation in the projects allows for enhancing European integration and can be a catalyst for implementing change; Triple and quadruple helix cooperation are well embedded; A wide range of relevant topics in relation to demographic change and knowledge development and great potential for future actions in relation to Europe 2020 goals.

13 Recommendations DC in the new Programme period Possibilities tackling DC as a horizontal topic in: Innovation, e.g. social innovation and public services applications, product and service development, promotion of business investment in innovation and research etc., silver economy; Sustainable transport concepts, tackling the challenges posed by population decline and ageing; Public infrastructure and housing, adapted to an ageing population or less inhabitants; Increasing attractiveness of shrinking places through protecting or promoting cultural and natural heritage.

14 Recommendations Recommendations on programme level Include the regions now underrepresented; Focus on project pilots rather than identifying good practices; Structure the processes of exchange; Stimulate cooperation with other programmes and link with S3; Focus on mobility and accessibility issues related to DC; Foster the silver economy incl. life long learning; Continue knowledge development & transfer (different actors); Facilitate more projects adapting the housing stock; Include social capital and active citizenship in the projects; Facilitate projects on governance innovation and increased cooperation;

15 Recommendations Recommendations on project level Raise awareness about consequences of DC before implementing solutions; Integrated approach, with tailor made solutions; Include policymakers at an early stage to get policy uptake; Capitalise good practices and pay also attention to the failures; Build on successful DC projects; Increasingly include SME s (e.g. hubs of innovation, entrepreneurship); Involve more active-ageing experts; Create innovative solutions and out-of-the-box thinking; Evaluation and quality control activity.

16 Thank you Questions? Full report can be downloaded through: Thank you and I wish you a fruitful conference!