The Hidden Variable
It’s simple but not well known and definitely not well addressed: the design of Places, Products, Policies, and Programs don’t reflect the true needs and abilities of our population. The greater the gap in Person:Environment Fit, the more people struggle to do what they need to do–unnecessarily. In the workplace, this can look like lower productivity or job-related injuries. In society overall, poor Person:Environment Fit can actually make people more frail and therefore dependent on expensive and limited long term care services. This costs everyone and yet it doesn’t have to be this way. Decline by design is preventable with the Enabling Design Approach.
The Enabling Design Approach
theory
ENVIRONMENTAL FIT & PRESS
There is an optimal fit between a person and their environment
Good Fit = the person can function at a high level + be independent as possible
Poor Fit = the person struggles to adapt to the environment’s demands + experiences artificially greater dependence
fact
THE STATUS QUO IS DISCRIMINATORY & DIS-ABLING
Data & conventions create products, places, and systems that are optimally designed for a subset of the population — the average height male, with high sensory, cognitive, and physical abilities–forcing everyone else to adapt.
strategy
YOU CAN ENABLE PEOPLE TO THRIVE!
Considering issues, needs, policies, and economics, we help you harness the power of the environment to enable your people to function at their highest level and THRIVE!
People are pushed to artificially lower levels of functioning and greater dependency by design.
What is the status quo costing you?
The Enabling Design Approach goes beyond the physical design of places and products to help shift the systems, policies, and programs that may be dis-abling your people. The farther your people are from the norm (the average height male, with high physical, sensory, & cognitive abilities, between the ages of 20 and 50), the more they are pushed to an artificially lower level of functioning, which is preventable by Enabling Design.
The Enabling Design Approach can:
- help people maintain their physical and financial independence as they age
- reduce caregiver burden
- reduce long term care costs
- improve workplaces and the impacts of caregiving on the bottom line
- enable health systems and communities to reduce frailty and demands on services
- create products and services that actually meet real needs
to help you excel at meeting the needs of the 50+ population and capture your share of the Longevity Economy
The Enabling Design Approach Applied
The Enabling Design Approach is one of the two pillars, along with Equity, of AARP International’s multi-year Equity by Design initiative. Silver to Gold co-developed this program to guide the development of equitable and enabling places. View the principles for Creating Enabling & Equitable Housing and Multigenerational Communities.
Enabling Physical & Financial Independence in Retirement
The Enabling Design Approach can be applied to help people reduce long term care needs and expenses as well as the likelihood of impoverishment in old age. This article, “Enable by Design: Leveraging Home Features for Physical & Financial Independence in Retirement” explores the economic and societal issues and the needed policy and paradigm shifts.
problems we address
HOUSING THAT CREATES FRAILTY
The design of our housing and communities artificially accelerates age-related decline resulting in forced frailty. This is preventable with good design. Enabling Design features can improve quality of life, delay or prevent a move to a care facility, and reduce caregiving demands and long term care costs for individuals, families, and communities.
PRODUCTS THAT FAIL
Many products, technologies, and services are designed without knowledge and understanding of the needs, behaviors, and desires of older adults–and others who are affected, such as caregivers. When you fail to satisfy you lose the market or waste money on trying to help them with support. By the way, how well is your client support designed? Are your representatives trained to understand and properly support people 50 and older?
WORKPLACES THAT WORK AGAINST YOU
Why allow your workforce to struggle to adapt to physical & policy environments that push them to an artificially lower level? This is particularly true if they are female, older, neurodivergent, have a disability, or all of these. Your DEI strategies, ESG policies, and EA program can be complete and relevant when informed by the Enabling Design Approach.