Social Innovation, consultation and its role in designing a new national innovation centre

The National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) was established with funding from the UK Government and Newcastle University. The Innovation Centre is a new build, located in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne in northern England and comprises ~10,000 square metres of innovation space. Part of the role of the Centre is to encourage public engagement with what it means to “grow old” and how society engages with ageing.

As a consequence, the building has to be designed and built in a way which encourages accessibility and inclusivity, particularly for older members of society. This paper describes how the design process for the new building has drawn upon best practice in design for in order to address the needs of, amongst others, those with dementia or suffering age related visual impairment. It also describes the process of co-design and social innovation with local older citizens through NICA’s VOICE programme.