The renewal of care work needs fresh ideas – innovation competition seeks future solutions from technology and beyond

Finland’s care sector is in a state of transformation. The population is ageing, service needs are growing and staff shortages are widespread. All this adds to the challenges in a sector already in a state of crisis – and the situation is expected to become even more difficult in the future.

The Future of Care Work research project, a joint initiative by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (TTL), the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), the University of Jyväskylä and Tampere University of Applied Sciences, is looking for practical solutions to this situation. The aim of the multi-year project is to find ways to make future care work more sustainable, meaningful and impactful.

The Huomisen hoivatyö (Care Work of Tomorrow) Innovation Competition is closely linked to the research project. The competition is seeking solutions that make everyday care work smoother and improve the quality of care. The competition is divided into three categories with an emphasis on solutions that have already been piloted or are in small-scale use. The aim is to identify innovations that have proven effective in practice and could be scaled for a wide range of uses.

Care professionals and decision-makers are very familiar with the challenges of care work. The workload of staff has increased across the sector, access to services is slow, and implementation of new technological solutions is sluggish. Staff shortages and high turnover make it harder to maintain professional competence and consistent quality.

As with other fields, technology is seen as a key driver of change in the care and nursing sectors. VTT’s central contribution to the CAREFUTURE project is expertise on the ethics and responsibility of technology, as well as futures foresight. According to Jaana Leikas, Principal Scientist at VTT and Associate Professor, future-proof solutions require viewing technology not as a replacement, but as a complement:

“In a best-case scenario technology supports the care professional, facilitates easier ways of communication for those receiving care, and improves management practices and the quality of care. These are exactly the kinds of innovations we hope this competition will bring forward, so that we can continue developing them together.”

Emmi Heinisuo, Project Manager at VTT for the CAREFUTURE project, hopes the competition will feature technological solutions that make care work smoother and enhance wellbeing at work.

“We hope to see solutions that can make the work of care providers easier. Solutions that reduce strain and enable better-quality care by streamlining grueling routines.”

In addition to technological solutions, the competition is also seeking new operating models, management practices and innovations that cut across entire organisations. It may even serve to create entire innovation ecosystems, as often the most enduring everyday ideas are ones that support and complement one another as part of the complex whole of daily life.

The goal is not only to identify the best innovations, but also to develop and scale them further while supporting the conditions for growth in care markets. The best solutions will be included in the research and development within the CAREFUTURE project. Developers will gain access to researchers’ expertise, extensive networks and organisational-level support.

“Research organisations play an important role in promoting societal discussion and dialogue. Through joint projects such as CAREFUTURE, we enable experts, companies, end users and decision-makers to participate in a shared discussion and culture of development,” Heinisuo explains.

VTT’s experts assist innovation developers carry out responsible and user-driven development, which strengthens the market potential of their solutions. This ensures that the innovations can be adapted for everyday use smoothly – ensuring that an idea with the potential to change the world has the best possible conditions to fulfil that potential.

“Although this is an innovation competition focused on the care sector, entries from outside this sector are very welcome. Multi-purpose technologies may possess great potential for care work. We warmly welcome a wide range of bold solutions,” Leikas says.