Global expansion for UK National Innovation Centre with a new VOICE in the US

Together with VOICE, The UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing will launch their very first citizen-led community in the US.

Through a commercial agreement, VOICE (Valuing Our Intellectual Capital & Experience) and the UK’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing (NICA) have set up a partnership with a non-profit organisation called amazing.community.

Headquartered in New Jersey (US) the amazing.community supports women aged 45+ as they navigate the present and future of work in this digital world; the organisation offers cutting edge skills building opportunities, curated resources, and an open virtual door for women 45+ to connect meaningfully with each other.

This new partnership will help build a more diverse VOICE community and facilitate cultural exchanges between US and UK. NICA and amazing.community will work together to explore the impact of technology at work, ageism, gender equality, cultural differences and the many issues and challenges that need to be addressed to ensure women over 45 thrive in the workplace – now and in the future.

All this is building a deep global knowledge and rich consumer insights on healthy ageing. It gives businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators, and policy makers a novel and unique source of data and insights, building the evidence base to rapidly inform the development of new products and services – helping people to live well for longer and tapping into a billion-pound longevity economy.

NICA, who are based within Newcastle University, UK on Newcastle Helix, is the UK home of Ageing Intelligence®, which brings together data driven insight and human experiences to help bring new products, business models and services to market.  VOICE is part of NICA and leads dialogue with citizens on what is needed for healthy ageing.

VOICE currently has a citizen network of more than 8,000 people the UK and this expansion is part of NICA’s strategy to provide services and insight on ageing at a global level. It is intended that this business model will be replicated in other countries around the world, building a broader repository of data and insight to empower new business opportunities and ideas.

Professor Lynne Corner, chief operating officer at NICA and director of VOICE said: “This marks the first step in our global ambitions for the VOICE community and we are thrilled to partner with the wonderful team at amazing.community and support ageing innovation in the US.

“This is a strategic decision to develop a more culturally and gender diverse community to generate broader, deeper, richer insights and cultural exchanges between individuals from all over the world.  It will provide to clients, business and policy makers a novel and unique source of insight.

“This new business model is not only commercially viable, but also a way to empower parallel communities to come together and amplify their voices – sharing experiences, exchanging insights, and building on common ground. Our plans will not only support international longevity economies but make a lasting impact on people’s lives – helping them live well for longer.”

amazing.community will be able to take advantage of ten years of operational expertise in community engagement from the VOICE network in the UK.  Branded as “Amplified by VOICE”, amazing.community has customized the VOICE digital platform to engage and grow their existing community as well as to invite more robust collaboration with companies, non-profits and other organisations.

Dr. Ashley Ater Kranov, executive director of amazing.community, said: “I’m thrilled to announce our global partnership with VOICE. It has been nearly a year in the making and we are beyond ready to bring our communities together.

“This partnership forwards one of our strategic initiatives: to establish close ties with a center for aging known for applied research, community engagement, and a commitment to transforming individual lives and impacting policy. Our collaboration will allow each of our communities to participate in tech skills building opportunities, quality of life research studies and special interest group discussions offered by both organizations. We believe doubling our offerings and opening the door to an international community will meaningfully enhance our efforts to expand the work horizon for women 45+ who are looking to re-enter the workforce, pivot to a new career or start their own businesses.”

To celebrate this global partnership, and to bring both communities together for an engaging cross Atlantic conversation, they will watch the exclusive premiere of the film “Les Dames” (Ladies).

The acclaimed Swiss film ‘Ladies’ by directors Stéphanie Chuat, Véronique Reymond – is a movie that reveals the passions, intimacy, and desires of five women who, at the dawn of their 60s or older, dream of their future. This will be a first-world premiere and will also mark the start of a joint research piece on love, life, companionship for women in later life.

For more information or to sign up to be part of the VOICE community visit – https://www.voice-global.org/about/ (UK) or https://amazing.community  (US).