Aging Societies - Day Four - Collaborations for a Social Compact

How should governments, business and civil society work together to advance innovation and equity in aging societies?

To ensure a robust, sustainable framework capable of withstanding the challenges facing aging societies, collaborations will be needed that work across silos and bring together government, business and civil society.

These three sectors of society have distinct but vital roles to play in building a “social compact,” as discussed by the final panel of the Salzburg Global Seminar session on Aging Societies: Advancing Innovation and Equity, “What is the Future of the Social Compact?”

Currently, one panelist suggested, there is not enough emphasis on cross-sector collaboration, “Everyone sticks to their own patch,” they added. Collaboration is needed however, as all these sectors will be impacted by aging – and all can have a positive impact on aging.

All sectors and stakeholders should recognize this impact and seek collaborative action, as well as find more ways to share knowledge and resources.

Governments, it was suggested, should assume responsibility for planning and implementing strategic approaches to aging. To better do this, all countries’ governments should abolish their currently siloed approaches to aging policy, by moving the portfolio from solely within health and welfare departments, and instead identify aging as a priority portfolio across departments, with co-ordination at the highest level. National and local governments should also enable “innovation ecosystems,” encouraging start-ups to work on new technologies and solutions.

The business community, in turn, should prioritize innovation and seek solutions that can be scaled up within either the private or public sectors.

Finally, civil society and non-governmental organizations should recognize and maximize their unique role in bridging the activities of government and business.