Are Gerontechnologies a Social Innovation?

According to the scientific literature, social innovations may neither be considered as simple inventions nor be limited to a process of the dissemination of new techniques or technologies. These innovations are now more fundamentally understood as the result of the commitment of social players in their work on problem solving aimed at meeting what are considered as legitimate goals. And yet, while gerontechnologies, along with the silver economy, are commonly linked to “innovative” products or systems, analysis of the emergence of this sector shows that we are dealing with a largely “top-down” process. The public authorities have played a structuring role in the attempt to promote this new manufacturing sector, which is seen as promising on a technological, economic and social basis. In truth, despite favourable public action guidelines for these autonomy-enhancing technologies, substantial obstacles exist relative to their dissemination in society. A review of the social genesis of the socio-technical network devoted to gerontechnologies demonstrates that one of the reasons behind those obstacles is the central role played by engineers, researchers and manufacturers, to the detriment of social and medico-social players and the people with diminishing autonomy themselves.