Adelaide University. Australia: An innovative approach is being taken to one of the biggest 'wicked'
issues facing Australia's population – healthy ageing – with the
establishment of a new Ageing Well Think Tank, bringing together
expertise in health and business.
Officially launched in Adelaide this morning, the new Ageing Well Think Tank & Innovation Collaborative is an initiative of the University of Adelaide's School of Nursing and the Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre (ECIC). It includes experts in health, academia and business from around Australia and overseas.
"The
idea behind the new Think Tank is to help drive innovations to outcomes
that will benefit older Australians and the health sector," says the
ECIC's Adjunct Professor Murray Gillin AM, who is managing the
initiative on behalf of co-Chairs Professor Alison Kitson (Dean, School of Nursing) and Professor Noel Lindsay (Director, ECIC).
"Australia's Baby Boomer population represents a massive and immediate issue for healthcare and ageing.
"Rather
than just accepting that this issue may be too big for anyone to
handle, our new Think Tank will offer leadership, new ideas, and drive
opportunities towards outcomes. It brings together leaders in the
business and health sectors, with practitioners, academics and policy
makers, who are all concerned about the issues facing our nation."
Professor
Gillin says issues to be considered include but are not limited to
technology, finance, lifestyle, the built environment, nutrition and
resources planning.
"We recognise that wicked problems are, by
their very nature, large and complex – and scary. There will not be any
one simple solution to these problems, and that's why leadership and
innovation is needed at this time," Professor Gillin says.
"Innovations
can only occur by bringing together the collective expertise and wisdom
of people who are willing to help solve the problems. And in a
practical sense, innovations can only work if the need for change is
identified, recognised, resourced and acted upon."
This morning's
launch was the first opportunity for members of the Ageing Well Think
Tank & Innovation Collaborative to discuss their agenda, and to hear
from international experts, including Professor Patricia McDougall
(Kelley School of Business, Indiana University) and Professor Tom
Lumpkin (Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University).
The Ageing Well Think Tank will hold a major conference in Adelaide from 9-11 November: Boomers – Riding the Long Wave – 'Wicked Problem' and Opportunity Spaces. For more information, visit the Think Tank's website.