Mobilizing the Potential of Active Ageing in Europe / MOPACT

Vision

MOPACT is framed on the basis of a conviction that Europe requires a new paradigm of ageing if it is to respond adequately to these challenges in the context of open-ended longevity. Also, this paradigm must be embedded into responses to ageing at all levels – micro, meso and macro – if it is to be effective. This means a new paradigm of active and healthy ageing (hereafter active ageing) that rejects the deficit model of old age as a definite period of economic dependency.

The mission of MOPACT is to concentrate the highest possible quality of scientific analyses into the development of innovative policies and approaches that can assist public authorities and other key actors at all levels in Europe to make longevity an asset for social and economic development has been spelt out by the EC Commissioners for Research and Social affairs.

Objectives

The five specific objectives of MOPACT are:

• To conduct the most comprehensive review to date of the social and economic challenges of ageing. Using a variety of social science methods MOPACT will review the available evidence and model alternative future scenarios – with regard especially to biological ageing, retirement behaviour, pensions, health and social care, the built and technological environmental and social participation – and realise the potential for interventions to produce beneficial outcomes for people as they age and for society as a whole.
• To collect and analyse social innovations and policy initiatives. MOPACT will conduct a comprehensive global search for social innovations and policy initiatives that have proven success in promoting the experience of active ageing in a sustainable way. These will form the basis of a web-based display and social media projections, and will complement and extend such work implemented by various EU stakeholders during the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations 2012. The European Active Ageing resource will be an easy to access web-site with both examples of successful active ageing initiatives and social innovations aimed at promoting active ageing, with links to other related web-sites (WHO, EC, Eurofound).
• To map the steps required to realise active ageing in Europe and to propose innovative ways of doing so. The results from objectives 1 and 2 will be used, via an iterative process involving relevant stakeholders, to explore and publish scenarios, containing specific steps, by which longevity can be made an asset for economic and social development using combinations of policy levers, commercial and third sector innovations and civil society initiatives. These scenarios will reflect differences between Member States, for example in healthy life expectancy and financial context.
• Stakeholder engagement. The shared conviction of the MOPACT partners is that scientific research alone cannot deliver a fully adequate response to this Call and the societal challenges behind it. The challenges are so immense that all relevant stakeholders (or research users) must be engaged proactively in this endeavour.
• To undertake the wide and effective knowledge transfer and dissemination of the work of MOPACT. The project will place the highest priority on the impact of its work and will specifically target audiences that can implement the proposed scenarios, such as policy makers at national, regional and local levels, but also the social partners and the general public of Europe, to enhance their role in contributing to active ageing.