Care-led innovation:The case of elderly care in France and Japan

The increase in human longevity and the ageing of the population constitute a major challenge for our societies. 
One of the key issues concerns the care of elderly people who are facing a loss of autonomy. In this field, if the contribution of technologies (such as robotics, artificial intelligence, information and communication technologies) is recognized as an answer, it is also marked by certain  limits, partly revealed by the Covid-19 crisis. Our hypothesis is that this is a structural problem linked to the partial disconnection between social needs and technological responses, in connection with the dominant paradigm of innovation. The objective of the project is to develop an alternative concept of care-driven innovation. Through a multidisciplinary Franco-Japanese collaboration, we analyze policies and practices that make well-being the ultimate criterion for innovation.