Recipes for Systemic Change - Helsinki Design Lab

As the average age of many societies in the developed worldsteadily rises, the basic assumptions of daily life are beingrewritten. This change affects not only the members of thisageing population, who are facing increasing competition witha constantly growing peer group, but also by those individualsand communities who provide care and support for the elderly.As Baby Boomers retire, every level of society will be affected—from the individual to the institutional—with particular attentionfocused on the interfaces between these different groups.The coming of this “Silver Wave” is coincident with broaderstructural changes occurring globally. Post-war welfare institutionsare subject to additional stresses as they confront unfamiliarconditions such as expanding markets and competition,increasing diversity and fluidity, and new understandings of citizenship,participation, and social relationships. Welfare systemswill have to evolve along with the constituencies that they serveif both are to continue with dignity into the twenty-first century.The Nordic Model has garnered particular attention becauseof its manifold successes. Tight integration into social fabricsand deep penetration into economic foundations make the NordicModel unique among welfare systems. It is unclear if such astructured, embedded model is flexible enough to accommodatethe onset of these structural challenges.Models that prove too rigid or brittle will likely fail undermounting pressures. An agile response will require that the“how” be as flexible as the “who” is diverse and numerous.Success suggests three major shifts:• Broadening the emphasis of care beyond institutions;• Repositioning our understanding of the elderly as a normrather than the exception;• Intensifying our attention to social wellness in addition tobiomedical health.The future of social welfare systems—their scope, structure,and form—is in flux as societies continually struggle to providefor the well-being of all its citizens. This state of flux is particularlyimportant as the Silver Wave fundamentally shifts thedependency ratio, a term used to describe the balance betweenproductive and dependent members of society.275