Aged care’s innovation network secures two key partners

Aged care industry initiative innovAGEING has announced the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and professional services firm KPMG as foundation partners to help drive innovation in the sector.

innovAGEING was launched by aged care peak Leading Age Services Australia in October last year as a platform to accelerate innovation via a connected community of practice for the sector’s progressive thinkers and practitioners.

Objectives of the initiative include to reinterpret the concept of ageing in relation to the design and delivery of services, foster the development of new business models through innovation, and enable the industry to be more consumer-centric in its service delivery.

The support of a major institutional bank and a leading global professional services firm will provide the network with the solid platform needed to transform the aged care sector, said Merlin Kong, principal advisor for innovAGEING.

“CBA and KPMG will help drive the innovation and transformation agenda by allowing innovAGEING to scale not just in footprint, but also in our access to the latest thinking innovation, business and aged care,” Mr Kong told Australian Ageing Agenda.

Both organisations have a focus on consumer experience and have invested in areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, automation and social robots, which are all advancements being put forth in aged care, he said.

Mr Kong said the financial and other details of the agreements were commercial-in-confidence.

However, he said both the CBA and KPMG would be supporting and participating in innovAGEING programs, such as the innovation awards and experts-in-residence programs, help guide the network strategically through the advisory committee and share their knowledge and expertise in the areas of innovation, technology, finance and business.

“Support will also come in the way of resources, for example, through access to their innovation labs, space to run functions, meeting and forums,” Mr Kong said.

CBA national director for healthcare and aged care Sachin Kumar said the CBA was delighted to have formed this partnership and is committed to helping drive innovation in the seniors’ living sector.

“Health and ageing spend as a percentage of GDP continues to increase rapidly against a back-drop of increased customer expectations. The current reform process provides the industry with a chance to take a fresh look at potential opportunities.”

KPMG partner for health, ageing and human services Nicki Doyle said in a rapidly changing market, innovation was is key to staying competitive and delivering exceptional customer experiences.

“It can be difficult to know where to start and many aged care providers struggle to embed innovation within their organisation.

“innovAGEING provides a platform for aged care services to start small, where staff are encouraged to share their ideas across the sector, and access expertise from a range of fields to build on their ideas.”

This week’s announcement follows the Commonwealth Government’s 2017 commitment of $400,000 over two years to support the initiative.

Find out more about innovAGEING here.

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