This is a special 2-day seminar and workshop, one in a series to be organised by SPARC to promote the value of scientific ageing-related research for older people and opportunities for further research. During the first day seminar, a number of design-related ageing research projects, including some supported by SPARC, will be showcased. A guest speaker will provide an overview of the contribution of design research to the UK’s ageing research agenda. The second day comprises an invitation-only ideas workshop centred around new findings arising from the use of data captured from older adults involved in daily living activities and visualised in an innovative format, and is seen as an opportunity for a two-way exchange of research findings and ideas amongst participants. This research has been supported by a New Dynamics of Ageing programme research grant.

SPARC (Strategic Promotion of Ageing Research Capacity) is funded by EPSRC and BBSRC which was established in 2005 to extend the previous remit of the EQUAL Network. SPARC is designed specifically to provide a platform, publicity and policy representation for existing researchers and to encourage newcomers into ageing research. A key aspect of its activities is working in partnership with the users of research - older people and those organisations which represent the interests of older people and which provide older people and their carers with services, advice and other support. As well as organising workshops SPARC is providing 34 pump-priming awards to newcomers to ageing research in the fields of design, engineering and biology.

The New Dynamics of Ageing Programme is a seven-year multidisciplinary research initiative with the ultimate aim of improving quality of life of older people. The programme is a unique collaboration between five UK Research Councils - ESRC, EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC and AHRC - and is the largest and most ambitious research programme on ageing ever mounted in the UK. The programme aims to develop practical policy and implementation guidance and novel scientific, technological and design responses to help older people enjoy better quality lives as they age. The programme will harness inputs from a wide range of disciplines to reveal the dynamic interplay between ageing individuals and their changing technological, cultural, social and physical environments - local, national and global - and to develop methods and means for overcoming the consequent constraints on the quality of life of older people.

The School of Design at the Glasgow School of Art (GSA) conducts research in a wide range of discipline areas, including pedagogy, interior design, visual imaging, digital design, digital textile design, practice-based research, drawing, ceramics, product and service innovation, silversmithing and jewellery, design for healthcare, and inclusive design. The Inclusive Design research cluster at GSA has developed a rich national and international design and healthcare network for addressing e.g. service design to combat malnutrition in older people in hospitals; visualising dynamic data derived from older adults for improved healthcare, product and environmental design; design for dementia; inclusive design curriculum development and CPD; and mass-manufactured inclusive consumer products in Japan. This research has been funded by the EPSRC/EQUAL initiative; The AHRC/EPSRC Designing for the 21st Century initiative; the New Dynamics of Ageing programme; The Japan Foundation; the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation; and The Royal Academy of Engineering.

Contact:

Ms Karen Tsui
Administrator of the NDA Programme
Department of Sociological Studies
The University of Sheffield
Elmfield, Northumberland Road
Sheffield, S10 2TU
Tel: 0114 222 6467 | Fax: 0114 222 6492