Stakeholder Collaboration Mechanism in Elderly Community Retrofit Projects: Case Study in China

Abstract

The aged population all over the world is predicted to increase over the next couple of years. Especially in China, the ageing population is expanding significantly every year. A ‘Home-care model’ is becoming the first choice for many elders in China due to the traditional style of community and economic considerations. However, existing communities generally lack supporting facilities for their elders. This can result in hidden safety risks in these communities. Consequently, retrofit projects among these communities of elders have attracted attention and generated studies in both academia and industry. Such elderly community retrofit projects (ECRPs) involve multiple stakeholders, and therefore, the establishment of an effective synergy mechanism for all stakeholders would provide significant value for the successful implementation of ECRPs. Until now, no such mechanism has been developed and published. This research aims to develop a stakeholder collaboration mechanism (SCM) for ECRPs in China. As the method of data collection, interviews with relevant ECRP stakeholders were conducted. Stakeholders involved with ECRPs were classified into three main categories—namely, core stakeholders (ageing families, government organisations, and ECRP companies), dormant stakeholders (other residents, other investors community committees), and marginal stakeholders (financial institutions, property service enterprises, and public welfare organisations). Finally, the SCM was developed utilising a power–interest matrix. Actions for stakeholders were recommended in order to promote ECRP in China.