Uncategorized

 ‘I needed to think about the future’ This article depicts the inspring story of Razan Alsous, who fled Syria with her husband and three children and arrived in Huddersfield with all their belongings squeezed into one suitcase. Ambitious and determined to carve out a new, and better, life, Alsous sought to find a job. But despite her scientific background and pharmacy degree, it was a massive battle; companies demanded references and a history of working in the UK that she simply didn’t have. At the same time, Alsous was starting to make her own halloumi from scratch using local milk. “We [...]

The EU defines the Silver Economy as “the sum of all economic activity that serve the needs of people aged 50 and over, including the products and services they purchase directly and the further economic activity this spending generates.” It stretches across all sectors (public and private) of the economy, including health and nutrition, leisure and well-being, finance and transport, housing, education and employment. Spoiler alert: the silver economy is huge…and growing. A European Commission study conducted by Technopolis and Oxford Economics estimated a baseline value of €3.7 trillion for Europe’s Silver Economy in 2015, measured primarily as private expenditure by [...]

Across Europe a growing movement of people is developing inspiring digital solutions to social challenges. These range from social networks for those living with chronic health conditions, to online platforms for citizen participation in policymaking, to using open data to create more transparency about public spending. We call this phenomenon digital social innovation (DSI). DSI offers the possibility to deliver social impact more efficiently and to empower people to take more control over the issues they face. But DSI has so much potential it is yet to fulfil, but once it enters mainstream consciousness, the public service and third sector it [...]

The EU defines the Silver Economy as “the sum of all economic activity that serve the needs of people aged 50 and over, including the products and services they purchase directly and the further economic activity this spending generates.” It stretches across all sectors (public and private) of the economy, including health and nutrition, leisure and well-being, finance and transport, housing, education and employment. Spoiler alert: the silver economy is huge…and growing. A European Commission study conducted by Technopolis and Oxford Economics estimated a baseline value of €3.7 trillion for Europe’s Silver Economy in 2015, measured primarily as private expenditure by [...]

Top 3 Trends in Digital Innovation Pretty much every company today is developing their digital competency, knowing that success is based on their ability to design new technologies that deliver personalized experiences and innovative services to employees, customers, and ecosystem partners. But how are organizations setting themselves apart when ‘going digital’ is no longer enough? And what are the main trends shaping digital innovation that companies need to address to survive in the post-digital era? What is Digital Innovation? At its core, digital innovation is the application of new technologies to existing business problems and practices in a process that takes [...]

Being a socially responsible business often involves higher material and labour costs. But there is a business case to be made for being a good corporate citizen. In a competitive labour market, employees are drawn to companies that have a good track record for responsible behaviour, such as environmental protection. By being a good role model, a company will attract people who have skills such as innovativeness, leadership and the ability to work in teams. And by treating employees responsibly, costly employee turnover is minimized. It is also good for a business to stand out from the crowd—for the right reasons [...]