Ageing societies and social innovation

The increasingly global social challenge of ageing populations has become a prominent theme in social innovation research and practice. This chapter offers a new typology of age-related social innovation research by organizing existing research into three themes. Firstly, Systemic Changes studies how ageing populations drive change throughout society, from the economy and industry to welfare and politics. The second theme, Ageing Driven Innovative Solutions, explores ageing-related social needs, often in case studies, and currently accounts for the majority of research in the field. Finally, Ageing as an Asset studies capture the contribution older people make to society, though this remains underexplored in academic research. This typology offers a structure for multidisciplinary ageing-related social innovation research teams to ensure current gaps in academic understanding are addressed. The authors present some lessons from Japan, which has proportionally the oldest population in the world. The chapter concludes that future research must consider social innovations from a holistic perspective where older people are positioned as active participants rather than singular beneficiaries.