Practical tips on co-creation with older adults and informal carers

EUROCARERS is a partner in the MATUROLIFE project funded by the European Union Horizon 2020 programme. MATUROLIFE aims to develop fashionable assistive technologies to make older persons’ lives easier and more independent. To develop these technologies – a smart sofa, garment and shoes – interviews and co-creation workshops were conducted with older persons (+65 years) and their carers in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Co-creation is a process of involving end-users in the creation of a product or service from the beginning and throughout its development. It is based on the idea of equal value of expertise, whether that be design, health, academic or personal experience: good design ideas come from different life experiences.

In this manual, we have aimed to put together some good practices and lessons learned from these co-creation workshops which took place in the context of an EU-funded research setting. The manual includes several tips on how to involve and engage with older persons and informal carers before, during and after the co-creation activity.

Download the co-creation manual here.