Sarasota think tank partners with Georgia Tech

SARASOTA — The Institute for the Ages, a nonprofit that studies how to connect businesses with seniors, has formed a partnership with Georgia Tech to help bring aging-care products to market.

The partnership, according to a release, also includes InnovateLTC, a Louisville, Ky.-based business accelerator that helps deliver products and services to the aging population. All three organizations will pool their resources to develop a database of individuals over age 50 that provide feedback on new products, services and technologies for their demographic. Companies can then contract with the partnership, on a per-project basis, to develop products for a specific need in the marketplace, the release states.

Sarasota County is a prime spot to generate that research because it has the highest percentage of people over 65 out of every large county nationwide, according to 2009 U.S. Census figures. That data prompted the formation of the Institute for the Ages in 2011, and it has since received funding from individual, corporate and government entities, including the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County.

Tom Esselman, president and CEO of the institute, says the partnership with Georgia Tech and InnovateLTC further validates the organization's mission. “We are locally anchored to the geographic and demographic assets of our aging population and its incredible array of support resources in Sarasota County and the Gulf Coast of Florida,” Esselman says in the release. “But it matters so much more when we connect our assets with those of globally focused leaders and innovators, which can only happen through partnerships.”'¨