Test Applications of ICT-based Solutions

 Presentation of the Institution:

NESTHOR Ltd. is the developer and the supporter of portal “SAFE AGING” [www.varnastarost.si] and acts as a communication expert, a technical performer of information network, organizer of supply of services and the facilitator of interests of different target groups with their service providers.

“SAFE AGING” is an informative web portal, the largest Slovenian database of information for seniors and personal advisory service for old people. Through the web portal and a charge-free telephone numbers is helping old people and their trustees in finding appropriate solutions to their challenges in their daily life. It represents old people’s homes, sheltered housing, assisted living, recommends products and services aimed at older people. As a personal advisory service it has directly helped thousands of individuals in the past year.

From the communication aspect, it’s becoming a leading website specializing in information for the elderly in Slovenia. The perfect optimizing and leasing of passwords associated with your age provides precise contact with persons seeking such information, with transparent menus that are logical and user friendly offers to its users fast access to sponsored links. It offers old people help in finding content that is intended primarily to them.

It offers an effective communication tool to the companies which enable them to communicate with older, which can only represent one part of the content / offer, which is helping him. It can accurately and rationally target the desired population. Information companies are therefore published as a recommendation of an independent source, which “SAFE AGEING” is. Direct links of communication facilities help optimizing the home page of the company that wants to communicate with older people. Since the content for the older is published separately from the rest of the content of the company, the target group can easier find it.

Partners and projects in progress:

Nesthor (www.varnastarost.si) with its partners forms a group, that is capable to offer to the IT development  partners  an excellent platform for the implementation of development and testing of ICT-based products and services. Nesthor works with partners on various reference projects, which are primarily oriented to the target group of older people:

• Pza, Telekom and Pacient (www.pza.si):

"TeleCare" is a service that allows immediate contact with a particular call center, doctor or family members 24 hours a day. Call center, if necessary, sends emergency medical assistance, as well as the fire brigade or police. If there is no emergency situation you can connect yourself to your doctor who will listen to you and will give professional advice.

• En Tim (www.prodomi.si):

"ProDomi - the network of help at home" is service for the old people, families and individuals, which allows safe and high quality support for numerous jobs in their home environment, reduces pressure and contributes to higher quality of life (help and care, protection, and various support activities such as housework, preparing meals, cleaning and home care, works round the house, caretaking tasks, small repair, exchange of small parts, etc.).

• CEEREF project Grba Puhtejeva (to be opened in autumn 2012)

Sheltered housing project "Vila ob poti" includes thirty sheltered housing area from 36 m² to 50 m², which are intended for older, vital people who live alone and are thinking ahead. Thus, older people maintain their privacy and in case of need, can rely on various forms of assistance - medical, household, help with personal hygiene, washing and ironing, shopping etc. Flats are equipped with dial-up device in case of emergencies 24 hours a day.

• Institute Proactivita

Activities of the Institute Proactivita are research and experimental development. Institute works mainly on research for older people in the light of demographic changes and respond to it, e.g. extension of working age, older people management, measures to deal with people at work, with an emphasis on keeping older people in work activities, changing the culture of early retirement among employees and changing patterns of thinking of employers.

• ASConsulting

ASConsulting is specialist in support of innovative business ideas and obtaining resources to fund them. It consults on the different areas: broad knowledge of EU development trends, European and Slovene development policies, development programs and tenders and project management consulting – preparation and implementation of development projects.

Our role in the project

Nesthor with partners forms a group, that is capable to offer to the IT development partners an excellent platform for the implementation of development and testing of ICT-based  products and services.

• Implementation of test applications, which are developed by IT partners of the project consortium

"Nesthor group" has all the resources necessary to carry out competently the implementation and testing of innovative ICT products and services for old people, as it has user base in the segment of the old people (varnastarost.si), with a customer base of specific services for old people (ProDomi), with projects in progress which are open to the complementary development  ideas that will positively affect the level of services (ProDomi, Vila ob poti, etc.).

• Participation in the development of ICT applications

"Nesthor group" is able to cooperate in the development of ICT-based  solutions, especially in the field of application design.  Group has the knowledge and many years of experience in the solving of problems  of older people (varnastarost.si, Institute Proactivita), which will have important implications for understanding the needs and limitations of these groups and consequently to  better design of solution for solving these problems.

• Involving of end - users

"Nesthor group" can include into the project, through its user database, the following individual and institutional users:

Primary end - user (single individuals):

Partner of the group En Tim with its “ProDomi network of help at home" is able to include individual users that are relevant and important test user group for the ICT-based solutions for old people.

Secondary end - user (non - profit organization):

CEEREF project Grba Puhtejeva through sheltered housing project "Vila ob poti" is a reliable partner for development, testing and implementation of ICT-based  solutions for old people.