Experienced SME acting as an end-user organisation

Materia Group is a private sector, multi-shareholder social enterprise, based in Nicosia, Cyprus (registered SME). Materia’s vision is the improvement of the quality of life of older adults living in Cyprus. The mission is to provide a diverse range of Care, Nursing and Rehabilitation Services to the older population, whether in the clients’ own home, or in Materia’s 24hour care units, either as residents, short-term stay clients or out-patients. Examples of services offered are Physio Rehab center, home care, day care, cognitive enhancement program, family counselling, caregiver training program, transportation services for people with mobility problems, etc. Management and Operations team is based on an inter-disciplinary approach, aiming at best value services for end user and their families. Materia is also a recognized training center for health and social sciences students from all universities in Nicosia, and has a growing research department specializing in EU funded projects relating to all aspects of Ageing.

Having experience resulting from our participation in AAL and Horizon 2020 projects and being one of the few end-user organisations in Cyprus that are experienced in EU projects, Materia Group can provide a valuable contribution to European projects. More specifically, MATERIA Group has the expertise to undertake the specific tasks and packages (as an end-user organisation):

 User requirements analysis: knowledge and capacity on collecting data from all stakeholders (healthcare professionals, older people, health care professionals, family caregivers, family members, secondary users) so as to receive their feedback in terms of user acceptability, usage features, interface handling, overall experience, perceived benefit, intention of using in the future and other aspects of user requirements.

 Ethical issues: Emphasis on ethics is inherent in our operations since end-user organisation is directly in touch with the older participants and their families. Materia Group is familiarized with the national and European ethical issues that need to be taken into consideration during the testing of a product according to the different needs of the target group. Hence, contribution to the respectful deliverables can be made.

 Planning and implementing of Trial/pilot phase: Materia Group has experience in identifying eligible participants (according to the target group of the project) and to plan and implement the pilot phase in order to collect feedback so as to test and adjust the product according to the target groups’ needs and requirements (UCD methodology). We particularly enjoy the extensive collaboration with technical partners which is essential for these tasks.

 Creating and implementing the Evaluation framework: Materia Group has the knowledge and skills on developing the evaluation framework for the pilot studies and implement the evaluation process, so as to ensure valid and reliable results and maximize possibility of commercialization of the final product.

 Dissemination and Networking: Through its participation in various EU, national and local projects, as well as through the provision of its core services, Materia Group has developed a well-established network, through which it can contribute to distributing the project, its results and contribute in wide-reaching impact within National and European level and support it through various channels.