VinclesBCN: a service of the Department for the Promotion of Elderly People of Barcelona City Council to strengthen the social relationships of elderly people who feel alone and improve their well-being through technology.

VinclesBCN is a social innovation project created to enhance the social relationships of elderly individuals who feel lonely and improve their well-being through technology and the support of social dynamization teams. This project has started in autumn 2014, where the Barcelona City Council started a prospection of social innovation actions. The turning point to accelerate the project was its presentation at the Mayors Challenge competition in 2014 by Bloomberg Philanthropies. From then on, pilots could be developed in the years 2016-2017. The intended audience are the elderly citizens of Barcelona who feel alone and willing to improve their well-being through technology. Persons that might be interested in learning about it would be these same elderly people and their families and carers. Citizens interested in joining the VinclesBCN network can call a toll-free number, visit their Social Services Center or Primary Care Center (CAP), or fill out an application form. If they comply with the requirements (be 65 y.o or older, be registered as a resident in Barcelona, feel in a situation of loneliness, be able to use a tablet and are motivated to use the service, and have a level of Catalan, spanish, and/or sign language), they can start the use of the service. The City Council will provide seniors who are users of the service with a tablet with the application installed and with an Internet connection to use the Vincles BCN application. The service has two user profiles: A users are those in a vulnerable economic situation who are provided with the tablet on loan with an Internet connection. B users are those who have their own device and Internet connection. The VinclesBCN application is accessible and very intuitive: it has been designed with the elderly in mind. This application allows users to send and receive voice messages, text messages, photos, or videos, as well as make calls, video conferences, and schedule appointments on the calendar. The elderly person can get in touch with their network of family and friends, who can download the application on their mobile phones. The elderly person can also communicate with user groups in VinclesBCN and create communities of seniors with common interests. Neighbourhood, topic and friendship groups are facilitated by professionals face to face and online.