The goal of this plan is to build an electronic social network for senior citizens.They can use this network to avail various facilities,that daily poses challenges to their simple lifestyle.

The social network should provide option to choose the content in multiple languages, the overall content should be very easy to navigate and provide smooth browsing experience.The basic idea is to enable an overall sense of empowerment within this community so that they don't feel isolated or lonely.

Primary target group is immigrants in Helsinki area over 60 years of age both men and women.These people have migrated to Finland from different countries quite a few years ago but have not been able to adopt the language or local culture of this place.This has led to a sense of despair and helplessness within them as the younger members of the family have now moved apart leaving them lonely and isolated.

Secondary Group is Finnish senior citizens who need support to adjust to the rapid changes

The social network will be a regular companion for it's users.It can be accessed in private or public computers,kiosks in shopping malls, bus/train stops and many other places.The network also should be secured so that the senior citizens feel comfortable in sharing their data as they have little prior experence in modern technologies.It primarily strives to reach out to this community as a helping hand.

The primary objectives are:-

> Provide latest update to the relevant policies in sectors like banking,hospital and pension that will have a direct impact on their lives.
> Updated traffic information and accurate weather forecast to facilitate transportation.
> Group chat and online meeting places to freely discuss their doubts,fears etc with other persons having similar issues.
> Reach out to any emergency services at the shortest possible time.
> Link to different public service websites where they can track the status of their claims or look for better medical facilities.

The key actions on which the fund will be spend are:-

> Identifying the IT partner who will build the social network. --- Public bidding process.
> Setting up the infrastructure, hiring office places etc. ---- IT network setup, licencse acquisition etc.
> Development and deployment of the social network built by the IT partner. ----- Cost of vendor to deliver the product.
> Hiring few senior citizens to act as focus group during testing of the final product. ----- Choose the best members of the focus group through targeted survey.
> Promotion of the social network and build momentum for it's usage. ----- Print and electronic media advertisements.
>Training the early adopters --- Provide training to select people from different localities to enable ease of adoption.
> Miscellaneous activities related to introducing the product to the market. ---- Travel and other project overhead costs.

A core project team needs to be setup who will own the overall progress of all the activities including:

> Organizing bidding process to select the IT vendor.
> Monitor the progress of the vendor and apply necessary controls.
> Design surverys to select the early adopters for training and focus groups.
> Select partners for advertisement and promotion activities.
> Monitor overall project timeline, cost and identify risks/mitigations.

I want to participate in both planning and implementation.