Date: Jan 20, 2011 09:30:00 AM to 16:00

Details:

User engagement is crucial to research quality.  Listening to users with different perspectives can enhance the quality of research projects and help to make findings more robust, relevant and applicable. User engagement is also a fundamental requirement for many research funding calls. Even basic research projects can benefit from understanding how in the long-term outcomes might benefit peoples’ lives through improved policy and design. Engaging with end-users i.e. older people themselves is particularly important but can be challenging.

In the past (and currently in some clinical research settings), researchers have often regarded users as passive subjects, with older people being experimented upon or tested in some way - rather than being fully engaged in the research process. This workshop will present a number of examples of current research where end-user participation is an integral part of the research approach and philosophy and which have involved and empowered research participants in many ways. Indeed the programme will include presentations by older people describing research they have designed and conducted themselves – and the training they sought in order to do this.   The varied roles of older people as initiators, enablers, designers and influencers of research will be examined. We will explore and investigate the merits and limitations of a variety of techniques.

To include:

• Using the creative potential of older people in design
• Older people as active paticipants, researchers and policy influencers
• Engaging older people on steering boards and reseach reference groups
• Training older people for active engagement in research
• Techniques for recruitment, participation and maintaining engagement

A provisional programme can be found here. Please follow the links for directions and map of the venue.

The event is free to attend, however places are rather limited so please complete the booking form below as quickly as possible to ensure your place.