We drive sustainable and inclusive transformation in welfare systems, safeguarding individuals and communities
Why
Like other regions, Europe is going through a demographic transition: we live longer and healthier lives but have fewer children than in the past. As the years go by, our societies age and more individuals need support, but there are fewer and fewer workers to pay for it. This is why the welfare systems we have built in the last century are less and less able to provide the healthcare and social protection needed.
How can we address this threat to the wellbeing of increasing numbers of people both old and young to the cohesion of our communities?
Time to innovate
Fast Forward Foundation, founded in 2004 by BFF Banking Group as Fondazione Farmafactoring, has recently refocused its purpose to help tackle this problem in a new way.
We don’t think that the support given by our welfare systems should be scaled back, nor do we think that their costs should inevitably increase.
We propose an alternative: the transformation of our welfare systems through radically new technological, financial, regulatory and organizational solutions. Indeed, we have chosen the name “Fast Forward” because our aim is to speed it up.
The way we want to transform our welfare systems is called integrated welfare.
Integrated welfare implies a brand new approach in order to “connect the dots” among three areas usually managed as independent silos: health, pensions and financial inclusion.
The integrated welfare approach allow us to coordinate and optimize the delivery of services by public, private and non-profit actors around each person and across the lifetime. “One person, one welfare”. This new approach has the potential to allow considerable efficiency gains, simplify access to services, improve the quality of care, and utilize often neglected instruments such as prevention, the empowerment of people and new financial instruments.
We consider the combination of fast digital payments a transformative opportunity to drive the integration of our welfare systems.
Although not generally well known and often overlooked, digital payments could substantially enhance efficiency and flexibility, reduce costs, increase access to benefits, and encourage financial inclusion. The data generated by their widespread use could help tailor assistance to individual needs and provide insights to create more effective, evidence-based policies.
As any good innovation, integrated welfare promises to produce more – or better – from less.
It might seem too good to be true, but it’s actually what innovation has already delivered in countless cases in other fields.
Get involved
The time has come to bring our welfare systems into the 21st century, but this does not mean it is going to be easy.
Welfare systems are big and complex, move huge amounts of financial resources, and touch the lives of the most vulnerable members of our societies. This is why we have chosen to act as a catalyst of change: we help to make it happen and make sure that the impact benefits individuals and communities.
The Fast Forward Foundation is based in Italy but acts in Europe.
We work with partners from various organizations representing the relevant stakeholders of a specific issue in our Open Lab to co-design new integrated welfare solutions and test them on a small scale in the real world, measuring results and outcomes throughout the process, according to a rigorous methodology. If a solution passes the reality check, it can be scaled up.
We are eager to work with you to make our welfare systems more sustainable, effective, and inclusive.
