1. Age-friendly Communities
October 2017
Jessica Entwistle

2. About Centre for Ageing Better
We work for a society where everybody enjoys a good later life
We are an independent charitable foundation
We are funded by an endowment from the Big Lottery Fund
We are part of the network of What Works organisations that promote the better use of evidence

3. Why do communities need to be age-friendly?
More people are living longer
Choice / challenge to treat older people as assets rather than burdens
Ageing well requires a supportive environment – not just about individuals
Need to address barriers across all dimensions of social and physical environment – joined-up approach
Age-friendliness is about including everyone and enabling them to take part regardless of age – not age-segregated
Across the country demographics are changing and the percentage of older population is rising.
Significant challenges for local authorities and health services with the rising cost of care means that prevention and early intervention need to be strategic drive of areas in order to meet the needs of their demographics. Part of this should be utilising older people as assets to their communities rather than seeing them as burdens on the system.
Individuals are important but equally so is the environment that they live in. A joined up approach is needed to address all aspects of communities to be more supportive of this demographic change. It is important that this work does not segregate age groups but brings different generations together to tackle this issue.

4. Age-friendly Communities
World Health Organisation (WHO) framework to tackle ageing through a system-wide, place-based approach
A cycle of continuous improvement through which communities plan, implement and review progress over time
Must have written local political commitment and involve older residents.
Uses eight interlinking domains to look at both the built and social environment
The World Health Organisation Age-friendly Cities: A guide published in 2006 and the Global Network of Age-friendly Cities launched in Dublin Recognising the international issue of an ageing demographic and the need for urban areas to plan for this to ensure environments were inclusive and accessible for our ageing populations. The network was revised to include communities in addition to cities to reflect growing interest from smaller towns and rural communities.
The programme went from strength to strength with well over 300 cities and communities signing up, striving to become age-friendly and becoming a member of a global network. (Canada has well over a 1,000 but not all signed up to global network)
Age-friendly is not an accreditation or ‘destination’ as all communities start from different places, rather it is about striving to become more age-friendly, and to take continual steps in that direction
A variety of different organisations lead age-friendly work but all communities that sign up need a local political commitment from the highest electable (or mandated) officer to join the global network.
Will look at the how to and the content

5. “
In practical terms, an age-friendly city adapts its structures and services to be accessible to and inclusive of older people with varying needs and capacities. “
WHO, 2007a, p1
We are talking about the World Health Organisations place based framework.

6. WHO Age-friendly Framework
The Built Environment
The Social Environment
The eight domains all interlink but can be broadly broken into two spheres – the social and the built environment
Outdoor spaces and buildings: the outside environment significantly impacts on the mobility, independence and quality of life of older people and affects their ability to age in place.
Transportation: accessible and affordable transportation enables older people to move around a city and influences social and civic participation and access to community and health services.
Housing: appropriate and affordable housing influences the independence and quality of life of older people and enables them to age safely within the community.
Social Participation: having opportunities to participate in leisure, social, cultural and spiritual activities in the community, and within the family, allows older people to exercise their competence, enjoy respect and esteem and to build and maintain relationships.
Respect and Social Inclusion: creating environments where older people are respected, recognised and included in the community and the family.
Civic Participation and Employment: ensuring older people have the opportunities to continue to contribute to their communities through paid work or volunteering and to be engaged in the political process.
Communication and Information: supporting older people to stay connected with events and people and have ready access to relevant information in a variety of forms.
Community Support and Health Services: having access to health and support services that are affordable, of good quality and appropriate is vital for older people to maintain health and independence in the community.

7. Age-friendly Communities
Multisector approach and with diverse stakeholders
Co-design and co-creation - meaningful involvement of older people at all stages
A bottom-up participatory approach should be combined with top-down political commitment and resources
A life-course approach that supports inter-generational relations and solidarity
Recognising people in later life are crucial agents of change.

8. Domain in practice – Transport (Isle of Wight)
Project – Age-friendly training and Safer Journey Cards
Details – Age UK created free age-friendly training for bus drivers, and designed and supplied Safer Journey Cards
Achievements – Training has been included as part of continuing professional development (CPD) for bus company and extended of the island across the whole south coast

9. Domain in practice : Employment (Belfast)
Project - Age-friendly Belfast Business Charter.
Detail - The Charter makes the business case for organisations to become Age-friendly, and sign up to 4 core principles including valuing a diverse workforce, creating action plan against charter checklist
Achievements – 25 organisations signed up including the Health Trust one of the largest employers in Belfast
Picture – Belfast Health and Social Care Trust signing up to the Age-friendly Charter which they ask businesses to sign up to.
The Charter has four areas in which businesses commit to create change, and create an action plan, (Age-friendly Belfast goes back and checks it too!)
One of the four is to become an age-friendly employer and valuing an age-diverse workforce.

10. Domain in practice – Outdoor spaces and buildings (Nottingham)
Project – ‘Take a Seat’ campaign
Details – Local businesses and organisations commit to providing and promoting a seat and support for people in later life with no obligation to purchase anything promoting age-friendly high streets
Achievements – Over 300 businesses signed up across the city. Nottingham Building Society introducing campaign nationally in their Building Societies
Started in New York, Manchester then took the idea and Nottingham was supported by Manchester

11. inspiring change by showing what can be done and how it can be done
Network functions
INSPIRE
inspiring change by showing what can be done and how it can be done
CONNECT
connecting communities to facilitate exchange of information and experience
SUPPORT
supporting cities and communities to find innovative and evidence-based solutions
The first thing that we would like to look at are the aims and objectives for the UK Network, there are some existing aims the network and GNAFCC have looked at what some of the activity for affiliated network could be.
The GNAFCC and affiliated networks seek to support areas by:
inspiring change by showing what can be done and how it can be done
connecting cities and communities worldwide to facilitate the exchange of information and experience
supporting cities and communities to find innovative and evidence-based solutions
There are a number of cards which include activity that could be included as part of this. We would like you to sort these under these headings and place these where you think they should go, we have also included some blank cards as there may be key things that you feel are missing off the list and we would encourage you to write these down and place them as well.
ACTION JE photograph card sort 11

12. UK Age-friendly Communities
London borough of Southwark
Manchester
Newcastle upon Tyne
Nottingham
Salford
Sheffield
Stockport
Stoke-on-Trent
Sunderland
Wales
Belfast
Brighton and Hove
Bristol
Coventry
Derry City and Strabane
Glasgow
Isle of Wight
Leeds
Liverpool
London Borough of Lewisham
Since starting I have been busy researching all communities working on Age-friendly. This list has come from a variety of different places which include the existing UK Network, GNAFCC and word of mouth and general research.
There are more communities working on this than expected and we can see quite a strong coverage across the UK.
My main aim in the first three months has been to make contact with communities and gain a detailed understanding of their age friendly work .

13. Why are age-friendly communities important?
Promotes preventative approaches
Encourages action on all aspects of the local system
Joins up different dimensions within a place
Age-friendly communities contribute to wellbeing through
enabling people to stay active and connected
reducing barriers to continued participation and contribution (employment, caring, volunteering etc.) when abilities decline
The age-friendly framework allows for holistic planning looking at all aspects of a community to assist with preventative work.
It allows local areas to use a framework to shape bespoke working to their local areas taking into consideration a place based context.
Age-friendly communities contribute to the wellbeing of an older population by supporting people who are more active , and reducing barriers for those whose abilities are declining.

14. Jessica Entwistle Jessica.entwistle@ageing-better.org.uk
Centre for Ageing Better
Angel Building, Level 3
407 St John Street, London, EC1V 4AD
Greater Manchester Worklessness Project
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