ifONLY - A SMART PHONE APP TO CAPTURE UNMET NEED AND SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW PRODUCTS FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH LONG TERM CONDITIONS

Given the rise of long term conditions, and focus on living independently in the community, we launched a free crowd sourcing community app called 'ifOnly' to encourage people with disabilities to share the problems they encounter in everyday life. The app allows people to record, upload and share videos and audios that demonstrate everyday problems they face at home. These were then shared on the 'ifOnly' website - www.ifonlyitworked.com. Designers, recruited nationally, were asked to come up with innovative design solutions via a competition hosted by the University of Bath. The designs were evaluated for novelty and commercial potential by a panel of stakeholders.