Fulfilling Lives: Ageing Better: Funding. This programme is now closed for applications We are investing £70 million in England to improve the lives of older people. Listen to Ron who has used his own experience of isolation to help us shape our investment as part of our co-design group. The Big Lottery Fund is now in the process of creating the Centre for Ageing Better , a £50m world-leading hub for the gathering and application of evidence to identify what makes for a better quality of life in older age, combining the highest standards of evidence generation with a commitment to practical change. With the aim of empowering older people to stay active, healthier and happier for longer, it will promote the positive role they play within society and actively engage older people in the shaping of its work. We invited 100 local authorities to submit an expression of interest to be considered for funding.
We expect to make awards to 15 to 20 areas of between £2 and £6 million over three to six years. Sus-IT A New Dynamics of Ageing Project. International Longevity Centre - UK. Helping communities tackle social and digital exclusion. Redirecting. Nominet Trust | Social investment for social impact. The Nominet Trust £250k Challenge. The Nominet Trust £250k Challenge support projects that address the recommendations set out in our second State of the Art Review: ‘The internet and an ageing population’, written by Prof Christine Milligan and Dr Don Passey.
In particular, we're looking to invest in projects that work with older people (65+) to: use the internet to address specific social problems facing older people; design new and better ways for older people to access and use the internet; and develop and use technologies familiar to older people that may have internet functionality such as projects that use IPTV or internet radio. Geraldine Bedell, editor of Gransnet tells us why they are supporting this challenge: "As the fastest-growing group of digital and social media users, older people can build on their own online experience to provide better services to people of their own age. Do you have a project that meets this challenge? The deadline for first stage applications is 1st February 2012. Older people and their use of the internet. If we start from a general assumption that the internet has had an overwhelmingly positive impact on society, and that access to the internet is regarded as a utility – or in some circles, a basic human right – in the same way as access to clean water and a reliable supply of power – then we should assume that this positive impact is one that should be shared across society.
This is particularly so for those groups at the greatest risk of social exclusion and financial hardship. One of the great paradoxes of the emergence of the internet as a change for social good is that it can also easily lead to increased social exclusion. The widely accepted social and financial benefits that the internet can offer as a nearly-ubiquitous communication medium are denied to those members of society who do not use, or cannot use, the internet. Ageing and the use of the internet. Over the past five years the number of people online, aged 65 and over, has remained relatively static, with between 25% and 35% using the internet (Oxford Internet Institute Survey 2011). As new online services become available and more benefits of being digitally connected are highlighted, this figure presents a real challenge to those working with this demographic group as there seems to be little impact aggregated to a national scale.
Yet the over-65 population describes a diverse group. There can be up to 40 years’ life experience between those in early old age and those in late old age; it can describe people in good health and poor health; those who are physically or socially isolated or those living with, or supported by families. As such, a diverse range of approaches need to be put in place if we are to support them to benefit from using the internet. Our Digital Planet.
Age UK is the charity formed from Age Concern & Help the Aged | Elderly Benefits & Care Advice. Shaw Trust. Innovation in the UK - Nesta. Care4Care. Living well with Dementia | Design Council Challenges. Launched in 2011, Living Well with Dementia was a Design Challenge run in partnership with the Department of Health, to improve the lives of those affected by dementia. The problem More than 800,000 people in the UK are living with dementia, with numbers expected to rise to 1.7 million by 2051. Dementia is a huge issue for the UK and the world. The cost to the UK is already around £23 billion per year, and is set to rise to £27 billion by 2018. Globally the estimated costs are $604 billion – 1% of global GDP. The insight We felt we could use the Design Challenge process to turn the rising costs associated with dementia in an ageing population into an opportunity for positive change and innovation.
Our response We launched a 12 month Design Challenge in partnership with Department of Health, the aim: to design and develop products and services that rethink living with dementia, and launch them as real initiatives. The results. South West Forum on Ageing. Independence Matters | Our work. Launched in May 2012, Independence Matters was a Design Challenge run with in partnership with Technology Strategy Board to develop inspiring services that promote independence in later life. The problem As we grow older, we can experience changes that diminish our ability to exercise choice and control. We may experience changes in our physical and mental abilities, or life changes such as retirement and bereavement. In later life, we rely on services that help us to navigate these changes, stay independent and live our lives the way we want to.
The insight As we age, loneliness becomes a significant issue for many and raises the question of how to enable people to live well in their own homes while remaining connected to their community. Our response The results The Design Challenge supported the development of seven innovative services for older people: Casserole Club is a food sharing network, bringing local communities together around delicious home cooked food.
Age Action Alliance. Older People's Charity | Independent Age | Support for Older People. Silverhairs - Features, Discounts, Special Offers and Social Forums for the over 50s.