The CommonWell services will be piloted at sites in four European countries from summer 2010 until autumn 2011. The necessary equipment will be installed in the homes of the users and at the service centres of the care provider partners. Service delivery processes at the providers will be adapted and end-users as well as carers will be familiarized with the new CommonWell platform and services.
The pilots will be evaluated to gain a better understanding of the new services' added value, user benefits and acceptance, quality of life impacts and economic viability. The evaluation is a core element of the project and will be designed to be as rigorous and robust as possible. It will take into account the nature of the services to be implemented as well as the diverse national care systems, the regulatory and legal conditions, and the local circumstances under which services are to be delivered.
The evaluation encompasses the different stakeholder groups involved: end users; informal carers; formal health and social care staff and the provider organisations. A multi-dimensional and multi-method approach has been adopted which can be flexibly applied across sites.