Technology set to transform lives of residents in Haringey

Residents are set to see their lives transformed after Haringey won the funding for a new pioneering project that will see new technology help them to live independently in their homes. 

The council successfully bid for £75,000 as part of the TAPPI project (Technology for our Ageing Population: Panel for Innovation) which aims to improve the way technology is used in housing and care for older people through ten practical principles. “Co-design” sits at the heart of the project; the principle by which residents and council work together to shape services. 

Six organisations in the UK won bids to be part of the project, but Haringey’s bid stands out as it is expanding its part to be relevant not just to older people, but also to other members of the community who may need housing adaptations to live independently. 

The council will shortly begin meeting a diverse range of people across the borough to test different devices, apps and systems across a variety of housing settings. Residents will work with teams within the council to make decisions about which digital support services to develop. The result will be services designed to meet the real aspirations of their residents, not what their assumed needs are.  

Led by the Housing Learning and Improvement Network (Housing LIN), the TEC Services Association (TSA) and funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, the TAPPI project will run over the next 12-15 months. 

In addition to providing funding to the housing providers, the TAPPI project has appointed specialist consultancy Co-production Works to work with the bid winners on developing co-production principles and to pay participants for their time. 

Researchers from the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (CCHPR) – part of the University of Cambridge will study the benefits of the project and share what has been learnt with the wider housing and care sector.  

Councillor Lucia das Neves, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Wellbeing said:

“We are really pleased to have been selected to take part in the TAAPI Project. Given 80% of the housing that we will be living in in 2040 has already been built today, finding innovative ways to adapt existing homes to changing needs is a vital part of our work to make sure people can live independent and fulfilling lives, and help us contribute to healthy, happy communities.”

Click here for further details on TAPPI2, and further information on Haringey Council’s work to help people live independently.