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?

Meetings in 2026.
Wednesday 29th April 10.30am – 12pm
We have intentionally chosen this date because it falls on Day 6 (29/04) of Global Intergenerational Week which has a focus of ‘Let’s Develop Intergenerational Workplaces’.
We are planning a session that explores both research and practice and offers opportunities to discuss both the challenges and the benefits of a multi-generational workforce. The session will explore the multi-generational workplace and will include a presentation from Doctor Heather Emond, University of Stirling, who is going to share her current research on changing working practices. We will also be sharing the film from the winners of the GWT Intergenerational Workplace award, which was won by Fife Sports and Leisure Trust, who are dedicated to building an inclusive, intergenerational workplace.

Meetings in 2025

Tuesday 27th May Developing and sustaining intergenerational friendships: a service redesign project 

We were joined by Savannah Fishel, talking about her work in a service redesign project for East London Cares, supporting more people to develop and sustain intergenerational friendships in her local area. She documented this work, uncovering insights about what gets in the way of these connections, and creating a suite of supportive tools, including Chatter Matters, a conversation deck for people of all ages.

Since then, she has been focused on Intergenerational Housing, visiting 53 models of communal living across Australia and the US on a Churchill Fellowship. Her blog, thinkitforward.net explores how we can live together more collaboratively, compassionately and sustainably. Both personally and professionally, she is interested in the power of intergenerational initiatives to tackle loneliness, bridge divides and provide an alternative to an increasingly individualistic society. Feel free to connect with her at savfishel1@gmail.com

Past meetings

Monday 23rd September 2024 – The Grandschools Project: An Inter-generational Learning and Living Campus (online)
This workshop which will offer insights into the Grandschools Project from Australia. Hear from Professor Robin Drogemulller, Professor Suzanne Kuys, Adjunct Associate Professor Mark Trotter, Dr Marissa Lindquist and Dr Rosamund Harrington as they outline their progress in developing the Grandschools model, including different typologies of intergenerational living and learning environments, and key considerations guiding their design.

• Wednesday 25th September 2024* – Community Safety and Intergenerational Connections Research
  Join us in this session to hear more about our Community Knowledge Fund participatory research, exploring Community Safety through an Intergenerational Lens – breaking down barriers through intergenerational dialogue to create resilient safer communities that are safe to grow up and grow old in.

If you would like to share your intergenerational research or would like support in sourcing participants and partners interested in intergenerational research please contact Bella Kerr.

Thursday 12 September 2024 – Primary School Intergenerational Research

Watch Professor Louise Nicholls (University of Strathclyde) and Professor Alan Gow talk about their preliminary findings from their Generation for Generation programme. They have investigated how participating in a primary school-based intergenerational activity can benefit older adults’ health outcomes. During their participation, older adult volunteers spent 8 hours per week supporting young pupils as they developed their literacy and numeracy.

Wednesday 31st May 2023 – Intergenerational Innovation and Service design Research

We were delighted to have two students from Glasgow School of Art MDes Innovation and Service Design presenting their research. Ebby Lai and Tzu Tuan Chao shared their project research and experiences which aimed 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 2023 – An evidence gap map: bringing research to you

In this session researchers from Newcastle University and PenArc Southwest Peninsula presented 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.

Thursday 21st September 2023 – Unifying Generations, Edwards Lifesciences

Researchers and volunteers from the Edwards Lifesciences shared insights into their survey on perceptions and experience of intergenerational solidarity of 12,850 citizens across 6 European countries (France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the UK). The 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.

Wednesday 1st November 2023 – 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.

Guest Speaker Diana Ganger moved from Argentina with her husband and earned her M.S.W. at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and specialised 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.

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.