Hmmm, just came over this interesting report about new methods for user driven innovation in the health care sector - published September 2009. I'm not sure of how 'new' these methods are today, but the report provides a nice overview of the field.
I know I haven't written for a while, so here comes an update after my visit to UC Berkeley.
In addition to writing mandatory assignments I have been developing the problem statement for my PhD project – with related hypotheses. For the time being, the problem statement concerns the lack of knowledge and conceptualization related to services in business model constructs. Much of the business model literature still applies the product logic where the user is considered as a passive receiver of value. Consequently, the inclusion of the user’s infrastructure in the value creation logic of business models is seemingly in need of rigorous development. I have therefore spent time on conceptualizing a model where the business model of the provider and user is integrated as part of a service system. By considering two business models, one is compelled to consider the infrastructure (skills, processes and network) of the user as a critical component of a service development endeavor.
In order to test out my hypotheses, technology induced service innovations in elderly care will be the empirical focus of attention. The emerging resource challenges related to the care of elderly as “baby boomers” head for retirement are enormous and indeed call for collaborative efforts. In order to provide sound innovations which might aid care workers and concurrently increase care quality a deep understanding of user needs is required.
A pilot project is now being organized to collect data in Østfold, Norway. The idea is to identify the most important problems in private homes where elderly need help. The focus is set on understanding problem parameters such as: importance, frequency and frustration related to different ‘jobs to be done’. By applying a framework where we are able to understand the infrastructure of the user we might be able to identify accompanying technologies and business models more precisely in the context of Norwegian elderly care.
The need for service innovation will most likely be very apparent in home care services as the number of elderly will increase sharply over the next decades in many OECD countries. In Norway for instance, there will be twice as many people over 80 years by 2035. Moreover, the aging population will probably have increased need for health and care services, while access to labour most likely will decline. The way that care services are designed today, the need for assistance may eventually exceed the labour which is available. To address the challenges above – care technologies, such as smart house technology, body sensors, tracking technology and robot technology, could prove to be essential to provide a dignified care in the future.