Older People: REPORT 4 a Case Study
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Engagement and Empowerment among Older People: REPORT 4 A Case Study A Report to the Empowering Communities Consortium Engagement and Empowerment Among Older People in the South West of England: A Case Study A Note about this Case Study This case study was commissioned by the South West Regional Consortium of the National Empowerment Partnership. It forms part of a set of reports reflecting research and other activities undertaken through the South West Empowerment Development Project (October 2007 – March 2008). All the reports may be downloaded from the Creating Excellence website at: www.creatingexcellence.org.uk Report 1 An Overview of the Learning from the South West Empowerment Development Project Report 2 Engagement and Empowerment among Black and Minority Ethnic and other Equality Communities in the South West of England: A Case Study Report 3 Participation and Empowerment of Children and Young People in the South West of England: A Case Study Report 4 Engagement and Empowerment among Older People in the South West of England: A Case Study Report 5 Engagement and Empowerment in Rural Local Authorities in the South West of England: A Case Study Report 6 Engagement and Empowerment in an Urban Unitary Authority in the South West of England: A Case Study Report 7 No Boundaries: A Study of Networks and Empowerment Report 8 Engagement and Empowerment: Measurement and Indicators All the reports were researched and written by a joint team from The Evaluation Trust and South West Foundation, with support from Professor Marilyn Taylor, Professor of Urban Governance and Regeneration at the University of the West of England. The team members were: Philippa Chapman Erica Lewis Maria Clarke Lori Streich Jan Crawley Sarah del Tufo Andrew Edgington Jenni Wilson Lesley Frazer These reports, as with all research, reflect the views of those who took part and are a snapshot in time and there may be other perspectives that are not recorded. The Evaluation Trust and South West Foundation 2 Engagement and Empowerment Among Older People in the South West of England: A Case Study Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................4 1. Introduction to the Case Study ...............................................................5 2. The National Context ...............................................................................5 3. The South West Regional Context..........................................................9 4. The Case Study Methodology ...............................................................13 5. The Aims of the Older People’s Forums ..............................................14 6. The Development of the Forums ..........................................................14 7. Who Engages with the Forums?...........................................................17 8. Communication and Participation ........................................................18 9. Engagement with Other Agencies ........................................................20 10. The Achievements .................................................................................23 11. Independence of the Forums................................................................24 12. Measuring the Difference the Forums Make........................................25 13. Dorset POPP: Where ‘Bottom Up’ Meets ‘Top Down’.........................26 14. The Regional Dimension.......................................................................30 15. Learning from the Case Study..............................................................31 16. The Future ..............................................................................................34 APPENDIX 1 - Forums and Agencies that Contributed to the Case Study .35 APPENDIX 2 – References ...............................................................................36 The Evaluation Trust and South West Foundation 3 Engagement and Empowerment Among Older People in the South West of England: A Case Study Acknowledgements The members of the research team working on this case study would like to express their sincere thanks to all the people who have contributed their time and shared their knowledge, observations and insight into engagement and empowerment among older people in the South West region (see Appendix 1). Although not all of this material could be referred to within the case study, it has informed the project’s wider learning and will form part of a continuing regional resource on community empowerment. Front cover photograph: Launch event of the Beaminster Area Seniors, West Dorset, discussing what life is like for an older person living in the surrounding villages (Copyright: Dorset Association of Senior Forums). Research Team Contacts The Evaluation Trust South West Foundation Sarah del Tufo Jan Crawley Principal Evaluation Worker Director 0118 966 4864 01275 333666 [email protected] [email protected] The Evaluation Trust and South West Foundation 4 Engagement and Empowerment Among Older People in the South West of England: A Case Study 1. Introduction to the Case Study This case study focuses on a number of different examples of older people’s engagement and empowerment across the South West region, and identifies the key themes and learning from their collective experience. Before considering these examples, however, it is important to note the changes in policy, demography, and in levels of activism among older people themselves that have taken place since the early 1990s. These provide an important context for older people’s engagement and empowerment, both nationally and regionally. 2. The National Context Across the UK, the policy push to give older people a voice in local service planning can be traced back to the 1990 NHS and Community Care Act, which required statutory agencies to shift from being providers of a fixed set of services into a much more locally responsive commissioning role. For the first time, local authorities were expected to consult with their users in drawing up their Community Care Plans. Initially progress was slow and statutory agencies tended to excuse their lack of engagement with older service users by saying that it was ‘hard to reach’ and involve them. However, a number of innovative projects showed that, with support, many of the most frail and isolated older people in the community were keen to have a voice in shaping local services and could certainly be enabled to do so. One of the earliest examples was the Fife User Panel Project1, set up by Age Concern Scotland in 1992 to bring together groups of actual or potential service users in order to influence the planning and provision of Community Care services. By 2000, these organised (often ‘top down’) initiatives to engage with older service users around a fairly prescribed set of issues had been joined by others that empowered older citizens aged 50+ to develop their own forums, with much more open and self-selected agendas2. Accounts from these self-organised groups of older people have consistently shown that they home in on issues which directly affected the mass of retired people – ageism, Council Tax, pensions, transport, the street environment, safety, care charges, and rationing of health services. There are currently over 400 Senior Citizens' Forums in the UK, with a total membership in excess of 100,000. This ‘bottom up’ approach to forum development has been very much supported by the national voluntary organisations concerned with older people: Help the Aged and Age Concern. The Evaluation Trust and South West Foundation 5 Engagement and Empowerment Among Older People in the South West of England: A Case Study Help the Aged has been one of the prime development agencies working with older people to develop their own local forums, through its national ‘Speaking Up for Our Age’ programme which has provided funding, practical support, conferences and training sessions across the country: Although they vary in size from small groups to those with members numbering many hundreds, forums all have a number of important features in common: they are independent organisations which give a collective voice to older people, in order to influence decision-makers on matters which impact on their every-day lives. They are run by older people, for older people. All members are volunteers. They are democratic and inclusive. They decide their own agenda, sharing information and raising issues of concern. Forums help combat disadvantage by providing a platform where older people can speak out on the issues that concern them. As well as their campaigning efforts, many have social activities, run trips and hold open meetings, helping to break down isolation by providing opportunities for older members of the community to socialise, meet new people and keep in touch with local news. (Help the Aged3) Age Concern has also supported a range of initiatives to enable older people to get involved and voice their views, through the delivery of national initiatives such as the ‘Voice and Choice’ training programme, and the development and administrative help provided by local Age Concerns to forums and other older people’s groupings. Running alongside these developments, the importance to Government of involving older people in decision making and future planning across a wide public policy and economic agenda has gained increasing prominence not only in the UK but across Europe, largely because of the growing recognition