Research Network

Our aim is to connect individuals, volunteers, practitioners, policy makers, academics and researchers who are interested in investigating and hearing about the impact of intergenerational work/relationships for both younger and older aged participants. By connecting we shall together, discuss, share and explore:

• new and existing research from Scotland and across the globe
• identify where demand for new research is emerging – public sector/policy makers/consumers/practitioners/investors? Help identify specific fields within intergenerational research that should be prioritised for future research
• opportunities for getting involved in research studies
• methodologies and project ideas – for example – is there an appetite to attempt to run a multi-site intergenerational impact assessment project? If so, what might that look like?

Future meetings for 2023

• Thursday 21st September from 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Unifying Generations, Edwards Lifesciences

Hear from researchers and a volunteer from the Edwards Lifesciences about their recent survey into perceptions and experience of intergenerational solidarity of 12,850 citizens across 6 European countries (France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the UK). Unifying Generations Initiative is their first step in the journey towards changing the perception about the senior population and supporting intergenerational solidarity. The European population is ageing. By 2030, one in five people in the UK will be aged over 651. In the Republic of Ireland, it is anticipated that there will be twice as many people aged 65 in 20512. Today, for the first time, we see four generations share a longer life span together. This demographic change is often referred to as a challenge, giving a misleadingly negative impression of the contribution of over-65s to the society. We believe that this demographic challenge is, in reality, an opportunity. Book your place here

• Wednesday 1st November from 2.00pm – 4.00pm – Inspiring leadership in Intergenerational Activism

Topic: What did we learn from facilitating a three year fellowship: Inspiring leadership in Intergenerational activism

13 fellows from across the US were selected for this fellowship in which they committed to learn and seed intergenerational programs in their communities. They also signed up to become social activists in their communities.

What was the fellowship all about: “The Why, The What and the How” Reflections on what worked well and what we learned that can be improved 2nd time around.

Presenter / Guest Speaker Diana Ganger moved from Argentina with her husband and earned her M.S.W. at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and specialized in Family therapy and Gerontology. She implemented her first intergenerational program in Haifa, Israel as a BSW student pairing middle school children with elders in congregate housing on a one on one with weekly meetings. These quality relationships and friendships left an indelible mark. Book your place here

Past meetings 2023

• Wednesday 31st May from 2.00pm – 3.30pm – Intergenerational Innovation and Service design Research

We are delighted to have two students from Glasgow School of Art MDes Innovation and Service Design presenting their research. Ebby Lai and Tzu Tuan Chao will share their research and experiences from their project which aims to build new relationships and better connections between generations, with a focus on retired individuals and young people starting their first job or fresh out of college.

• Wednesday 7th June from 2.30pm – 4.00pm – An evidence gap map: bringing research to you

In this session researchers from Newcastle University and PenArc Southwest Peninsula will present their evidence gap map of research on intergenerational interventions. The map contains all the published and unpublished studies evaluating the effectiveness of intergenerational interventions using a randomised controlled trial design. This map includes 500 research studies published between 1975 and 2021. The last search was completed in February 2022.

Resource Library

GWT actively shares academic evidence with members whenever possible and is still considering ways of providing a library for practitioners and interested parties to use from our website. The library would share studies and professional articles which individuals would normally be unable to access. The library will provide affirmation from the field and will be easy accessible for members to increase their knowledge and understanding of intergenerational practice providing evidence to assist in developing new, improving and sustaining projects for longer periods. The library and network meetings will provide much needed evidence which will assist individuals in future planning of projects, funding applications and for strategic players looking to embed intergenerational approaches into policy and strategic reports.

Past Meetings

Back in 2022 GWT considered how research strengthens intergenerational work and informs us around what works and what we could do to improve our own practice.

We know that intergenerational collaboration can help us make our communities stronger and friendlier places by breaking down stereotypes and building positive relationships but we do need public policy to meet our needs and as we work towards ensuring that resources are used wisely to serve our communities we recognise the need for more research to strengthen what we already know.

At the final network session of the year, guest speaker: Lois Peach, Doctor of Philosophy, School for Policy Studies, Bristol Doctoral College talked about ‘Rebuilding Bridges’ an eight-week intergenerational music and song-writing project, led by Hugh Nankivell of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The project involved pre-school children and their childminders who visited residents of three local care homes for weekly music, singing and percussion groups between September to November 2021. Lois shared the journey of researching the project. Read our case study for more detail here.