Challenging times necessitate innovative solutions and the pressure is on to get better outcomes from less resources. Yet most of the really challenging issues require systemic change to occur, they do not fall in the remit of any one organisation. So how can we gain traction to move forward?
Effective joined-up working is a crucial enabler to change and this requires new ways of thinking and new behaviours. The EU’s Year of Active Ageing 2012 encourages policymakers and stakeholders to define specific commitments related to active ageing and to take action to meet these goals.
To that end we’ve looked at three successful initiatives focused on active ageing that demonstrate the value of a more joined up approach, all of which are featured in the latest edition of New Start.
They are the Valuing Older People programme in Manchester, which was set up in 2003 to improve the quality of life of older residents; the South Staffordshire Rural Transport Partnership, which has brought local authorities and other partners together to look at the synergy between the health & wellbeing and transport issues in an area that has one of the most rapidly ageing populations in the UK; and the Age Unlimited pilot run by the Beth Johnson Foundation.
Here are the key lessons we can draw from their collective experience: