Age Innovators - Episode 1: Language of Care

Introduction to the series

In this new Innovate UK Business Connect podcast series, Age Innovators, we meet researchers and innovators whose work has the potential to support us as we age. Brought to you by the Healthy Ageing Challenge Community of Practice and hosted by Innovate UK, this series spotlights the pioneering innovations being developed to shape the future of our longevity and explores the inspiration behind the work that’s currently taking place.  
 
Episode 1: Language of Care 
 
Can we harness advances in innovation and technology and use them to support the needs of an ageing population? In this episode of Age Innovators, host Julia Glenn, former Innovate UK Design Innovation Lead for the UKRI Healthy Ageing Challenge, talks to Toby Venning and Caleb Adamu, co-founders of care coordination platform, Elate, to explore this question and more. 
 
Bringing intelligent technology into the care market

Developed by Cross Digital Ltd, Elate is an app that aims to help older people and their families navigate the complex world of care in all its forms using technology. 
 
Elate’s co-founders, Toby Venning and Caleb Adamu, have applied co-design principles and the Design Council’s double diamond methodology to develop the app’s intelligent technology which meets the specific and evolving needs of the care sector. 
 
“The catalyst for the project was listening to my own parents struggling to look after both sets of their own parents. Trying to understand their different needs, trying to work out the right care path, understanding the nuances of domestic and domiciliary care—and trying to do all that from a distance.” 
Toby Venning, Elate co-founder and CEO 
 
The language of care 

Working with four user groups, including care providers, paid and unpaid care workers, people in need of care, and those peoples’ families and friends, Elate’s mission is to empower people to live with grace, joy, and dignity.  
 
This is evident in their use of the Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver stages of the double diamond. And their iterative approach has seen the adaptation of users’ language to ensure product specifications are accessible and fit for purpose.  
 
The Elate app enables people to be proactive and design their own care pathway. It frees carers from repetitive paperwork, and enables carers to interact more with the person in their care.  
 
“Improving the welfare of carers is very much at the forefront of what we’re trying to do—making their lives easier in terms of support with planning, assessments, and finding recommendations that best suit the end user’s needs.” 
Caleb Adamu, elate co-founder and CTO 
 
Discover how the sensitivity of Elate’s approach to technological innovation is helping people navigate the different types of care available for family members. And how their co-design process is working to promote both the needs of the person needing care—and their carers—in the care paradigm. 
 
By integrating technology, data, analytics, and user-centered design, Elate is introducing people to personalised technology that’s designed for them and that will design the right sort of care to meet their needs—rather than forcing something to fit.