Linking Communities: developing services and resources for older people
19.05.2010
Linking Communities is a three year project being run by Age Concern Lancashire. Funding for this research has been awarded from the Big Lottery Fund and was won against intense competition. This project will build on earlier work that sought the views of older people on services and will examine whether the involvement of local communities in the development of services for older people results in better provision. Three areas of Lancashire will be studied as development areas: these will be based around Lancaster and Morecambe in the north of the county, Ormskirk and Skelmersdale in West Lancashire and Pendle and the Ribble Valley to the east.
There is abundant evidence that, whatever improvements have been made in the provision of services, many people are dissatisfied with either the scope or the quality of the support that they receive. However, not all aspirations can be met, particularly at times of resource constraints. Age Concern Lancashire will support communities in the selected areas to further consider these issues.
The research will help older people and communities:
• to think about wants, needs, resources;
• to develop understanding of the options for services;
• to propose changes to services for their localities;
• to better use and develop resources to support older people.
To enable Age Concern Lancashire to do this in partnership with the people of these areas we will be collecting information across a number of themes:
• the population characteristics of development areas and Lancashire;
• the impact of service changes between 2010 and 2012;
• the well-being of participating older people;
• the support wanted by older people; and
• the experiences of older people, commissioners, providers and community members.
Older people will play a key role in the research, not only in consultations but also in the carrying out of the research. We will be actively searching for older people to participate in the project.
There will be a regular newsletter and a website (currently under development) from which further details can be obtained. We will also be establishing an Advisory Group and other local community based groups for the lifetime of the research. If you would like to participate in the research or to be kept informed about the progress of the project please contact:
Ian Sidney, Senior Research Officer at Age Concern Lancashire, at isidney@ageconcernlancs.org.uk or Tel: 01524 387840