From Planning to Practice: Implementing Project Solutions
As often observed in innovation practice, “Ideas are easy. Implementation is hard.” — Guy Kawasaki.
During the project, partners moved decisively beyond the planning phase and into hands-on implementation of the foreseen piloting activities, in line with the project application objectives to validate innovative fall-prevention solutions in real care environments. Particular emphasis was placed on preparing the necessary technical and organisational conditions for piloting, strengthening cross-border cooperation, and ensuring that testing activities generate practical feedback for further refinement of solutions.
Key actions included the Klaipėda City Care Home acquiring testing equipment, which serves as one of the primary pilot sites within the project. This step was essential to enable the deployment of advanced sensor-based technologies in real-life care settings, where fall risks are most prevalent, such as residents’ rooms and common areas. In parallel, partners provided support in organising a joint meeting in Klaipėda, bringing together representatives from all partner organisations to exchange experiences from the initial piloting phase and to collectively address emerging technical and operational challenges. This experience-exchange session strengthened the quality and coherence of activities planned for the next project period, ensuring alignment across partners and countries.
As a first concrete implementation step, and following a lengthy public procurement process conducted in line with applicable regulations, PP3 acquired an innovative fall-detection system from a well-established Israeli manufacturer. Testing of the system, led by the Lead Partner, Klaipėda University, has officially commenced. Initial trials were conducted on the university premises to verify technical functionality and system parameters, after which testing was extended to the seniors’ facilities at the Klaipėda City Care Home. This phased approach reflects the project’s commitment to combining scientific validation with real-world applicability, as outlined in the project application.
Subsequently, on 15 January, PP3 organised a project partners’ meeting at which all relevant challenges encountered during the piloting and installation activities were discussed in detail. During the meeting, partners demonstrated practical issues identified in the care environments and jointly explored potential technical and organisational solutions. These discussions provided valuable input for further optimising the system and for developing a shared methodological approach to piloting and scaling similar solutions across care institutions in both cooperating countries.
As the second project period comes to an end, the achievements to date represent an important step toward the project’s overall objective of enhancing safety, independence, and quality of life for the elderly population in both Lithuania and Latvia. The transition from planning to implementation has laid a solid foundation for continued piloting, evaluation, and cross-border knowledge transfer in the upcoming project phase.
