Call for transport ideas to support healthy and joyful living for the UK’s rapidly ageing population

A call for innovative transport-focused proposals has been launched as part of a new Transport Pathfinder Innovation Programme, which aims to support healthy and joyful living for the UK’s rapidly ageing population, using the transformative potential of good design.

Design Age Institute is looking for ideas with the potential to change the narrative on ageing, requiring not only a strong idea but also demonstrable success of implementation.

Inspirational, transformative, life-enhancing ideas and prototypes that can be developed, funded, or supported as part of the Transport Innovation Pathfinder Programme are invited to submit.

The Transport callout welcomes applications from projects focused on moving things and moving people i.e. trains, buses, taxis, planes, boats and cars, as well as systems like roads, tracks and airports, and the ways we navigate them, using a bus schedule or an app, for example.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate how they address one or more of the following factors impacting access to transport in later life. The factors are based on research from the Intelligent Mobility Design Centre at the Royal College of Art.

Factors include: physical exclusion, poor design of vehicles and infrastructure; digital and information exclusion, difficulty understanding and actioning information; cost and payment exclusion, payment methods and people’s personal circumstances; service exclusion, issues with availability, administration and staffing of service; psychological exclusion, fear and anxiety about travelling.

Other factors will be considered with demonstrable evidence of need.

A free online briefing session for those interested in finding out more about the Transport Innovation Pathfinder Programme and working with Design Age Institute will be held on Tuesday 24 January 2023 from 11am to 1pm. Sign up via Eventbrite.

Applications are sought from a wide range of applicants, including: transport multinationals and their supply chains; transport network leaders; public sector organisations; university innovation and incubator graduates; community groups working with older users to identify a need and Individual entrepreneurs and innovators.

Funding will be granted to successful applicants based in the UK from InnovateUK, the UK’s innovation agency. Up to £120,000 can be provided and additionally, Design Age Institute will provide design management support, mentoring and access to existing research over 9 months.

Applications are now open for the new intake of Pathfinder Projects focusing on Transport solutions. The call-out is focused on system, service, product or digital solutions for transport or mass transit, and is open until midday on Monday 27 February 2023.

Information about how to apply can be found on Design Age Institute’s website.

Chris Ward, Innovation Lead, Innovate UK, commented: “All too often, older people are excluded from the user groups who inform design for products, systems or services.

“It is increasingly vital that transport solutions are designed with greater inherent inclusivity to encourage anyone to travel efficiently, safely with confidence.

“I am excited to see solutions that will rise to this vital design imperative and how UKRI’s Healthy Ageing Challenge funding might support viable design projects to make demonstrable impact.”

Design Age Institute will work with companies, organisations, entrepreneurs and start-ups equally, and welcomes applications from across the UK, regardless of track record.

According to ‘The unmet travel needs of the older population: a review of the literature’, approximately one third of older people report unmet travel needs, which worsen with progressing age.

There is a need for innovative and scalable approaches that are able to meet the increasing demand for transport options that are safe, affordable, sustainable and desirable, says the Design Age Institute. Whether on foot, wheels or tracks, a good design has the potential to transform how communities socialise, work, and navigate the cities, towns, offices, neighbourhoods and homes of our future selves.

Colum Lowe, Director of the Design Age Institute, said: “The public transport options we have in the UK do a great job of getting people en masse from A to B, but the design of these transport systems have not kept pace with the evolving needs of our rapidly ageing population.

“It’s important that we are able to design the next generation of our mass transit solutions to include and celebrate inclusivity rather than excluding huge swathes of a population who want to travel and continue to be involved in society as they get older.”

The core aim of the Transport Pathfinder Innovation Programme is to fund and support design projects from proof-of-concept stage onwards that are commercially viable, that demonstrate creativity and innovation, and are distinctive from existing ideas.

Based at the Royal College of Art, Design Age Institute was set up in 2020 to provide design support and investment in Pathfinder Projects; accelerating innovative solutions for healthy ageing.

Across its Pathfinder projects, the Institute provides and facilitates seed funding, design research, opportunity scoping and mentoring, as well as connecting projects with expertise in design for healthy ageing.

A further call-out for projects addressing Personal Mobility will be launched in Spring 2023, which will look for projects considering the ability of a person to move or be moved freely i.e. personal mobility supported by devices like a walking stick, shoe, app, stairlift or wheelchair.

Interested applicants can register to be notified about upcoming callouts by signing up to Design Age Institute mailing list.