Funding of $3 million from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care will establish a new effort at the Milken Institute to “develop bold new models of housing, healthcare and community that meet the needs of a growing US population of older adults,” NIC announced Monday.
Nexus Insights, a think tank founded almost four years ago by NIC founder Bob Kramer, will merge with the new Aging Innovation Collaborative within the Milken Institute’s Center for the Future of Aging. Nexus Insights fellows, including Kramer and other experts representing various aspects of aging, will become AIC fellows and contribute to the AIC’s day-to-day work.
“It’s an exciting time to join forces with the Milken Institute to help people meet their expectations for aging,” said Kramer, who also is a strategic adviser to NIC. “Older adults have diverse backgrounds, interests, healthcare and social needs, and they want and expect housing and care that is as unique as they are. Aging is a good thing, and we need disruptive innovation to create housing and care that supports older adults’ ability to not just age but thrive.”
The AIC initially will focus on three projects:
- Conducting a research study that tracks attitudes and preferences of older adults aged 50 to 80 over time. Initial results are expected next year.
- Establishing an Aging Innovation Council, including leaders from consumer goods and retailers, housing, government, healthcare providers and payers, technology and capital markets.”By removing silos across industries to share ideas and technologies, the Council will create new housing, healthcare, and community solutions for the aging population,” NIC said.
- Offering advisory services to organizations that want to “enhance the health and housing of older adults but that lack the capacity or expertise for innovative solutions,” NIC said. The advisers will guide the companies in identifying opportunities for innovation and accelerating time to market.
“Housing and long-term care stand at a crossroads as millions of baby boomers think about how they want to live their best life after retirement,” NIC President and CEO Raymond Braun said in a statement. “This commitment to the Milken Institute brings talented individuals from diverse backgrounds together to transform how we think about aging in the United States. The Aging Innovation Collaborative will become a font of ideas for consumer advocates, real estate developers, senior housing operators, healthcare providers and payers, policymakers and others.”
Diane Ty, senior director of the Milken Institute’s Center for the Future of Aging, will work with NIC to establish the AIC.
“I look forward to bringing in outside entrepreneurial experience to lead the AIC and examine the intersection of sectors to create new companies and platforms that benefit older adults,” she said. “The Milken Institute’s core maxim is ‘turning ideas into action,’ and that is exactly what the AIC plans to do.”
