In our lives, thinking about and acting towards the future is sometimes needed but not always easy. There can be many reasons why we find it hard to think about our possible personal futures. In the research project MyFutures, funded by NWO/STW, Researchers from TU Delft and the Design Academy Eindhoven work together with user-centered design agencies Muzus, KoDieZijn, and STBY, Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken, care organisations Zuidzorg and Vivent, insurance companies Achmea and CZ, the cities of Rotterdam and Eindhoven, and the Vereniging Nederlandse Gemeenten. Together they aim is to come to solutions to empower individuals to better confront their possible futures, think about them, and act toward them.
At the moment of planning professional care with a personal budget people make decisions for an entire year to come. It seems obvious to look ahead, at least one year, at this point. But in reality people experience a lot of stress and are mostly concerned with arranging urgent immediate care for a loved one. In this situation they don’t consider possible needs and wishes of themselves or their loved ones in the near future.
“Looking back, everybody was exhausted but we didn’t tell each other at that time.” – Agnes
