Researcher - Invitation to Tender

Researcher - Invitation to Tender 

Research on the development and impact of a BAME-led partnership for tackling social isolation among older people in Camden. 

Ageing Better in Camden (ABC) is a partnership of older people and Camden organisations, working together to tackle social isolation and loneliness among older people. Since 2018, we have supported the development of a BAME-led partnership to find and engage with older people from smaller minority groups in the borough.  

We would like to appoint an experienced qualitative researcher to examine the development and impact of the BAME-led partnership. We are actively seeking applications from researchers of African heritage and/or with substantial cultural understanding of African minority groups in the UK to carry out the work.  

The budget is £20k. The research will be carried out between late March and early November.  

Click here for the Invitation To Tender. Click here for additional information. Click here for the appraisal criteria for tenders.

Deadline for submission of tenders is 9am on 5 March 2021.  

Social connectedness and belonging

Social connectedness and belonging

Ageing Better in Camden (ABC) is a partnership of older people and Camden organisations, working together to tackle social isolation and loneliness among older people since 2015. The partnership is one of 14 National Lottery Community Fund Ageing Better programmes, working across England.

ABC commissioned Traverse to conduct an independent evaluation of the ABC programme. This is the third and final qualitative report which explores the theme of belonging and social connectedness across ABC projects.

Doorstep Outreach: a practitioners guide

Doorstep Outreach: a practitioners guide

Are you a community practitioner looking for a positive way to find and engage with individuals who may be socially isolated? Our Doorstep Outreach guide provides detailed information about the ABC Outreach Team’s inclusive, person-centred approach to making first contact with older people who ‘no one knows’ (those not known to services or involved in groups or activities).

A resource pack for voluntary and community organisations

A resource pack for voluntary and community organisations

The purpose of this resource pack is to offer support and guidance to Voluntary and Community Organisations who work with older people who would like to get online or gain more technology skills.

Whilst in no way exhaustive, this pack covers organisations who can provide devices and funding for this work, recommended best buys, advice on how to guide people from a distance, and support for gaining tech skills so that people can better take part in digital activities.

ABC projects led by Black, Asian and minority ethnic community organisations

Last week Camden Council published its report to address the unequal impacts of Covid-19 on Black, Asian and minority ethnic residents and ensure communities are protected from the immediate and long-term impacts of the pandemic. Click these links to read the full report ‘Building Equal Foundations’, and programme of work on how Black, Asian and residents from other backgrounds have been disproportionally affected by Covid-19 and the plan of action to tackle racial inequalities in Camden.

The Ageing Better in Camden programme works to support all communities of older people in the borough, and all of our delivery agencies are working with a diverse group of older people. In addition, we fund a number of specialist projects which are led by Black, Asian and minority ethnic organisations reaching out to older people in their particular communities.

Bridging the Digital Divide: supporting people to get online in lockdown

Bridging the Digital Divide: supporting people to get online in lockdown

85% of Third Age Project (TAP) service users live alone and over 60% aren’t connected to the internet. During lockdown a majority were required to self-isolate due to being in high risk categories and thus became acutely isolated. Here, TAP tell us how they supported service users to get online, access online shopping, join activities and reconnect with family & friends during lockdown.

The Warm Welcome approach: a practitioner’s guide

The Warm Welcome approach: a practitioner’s guide

Read our practitioner’s guide to creating a Warm Welcome for older people!

This report presents guidance on how to make community groups and activities as welcoming as possible for older people. It is based on the experience and expertise of practitioners (group leaders or teachers, centre managers, outreach workers) who organise or run these groups in Camden and on the experiences of older people who have attended them.

Letters from Lockdown: "I indoctrinated myself to a plan to ‘live with myself and by myself’"

Letters from Lockdown: "I indoctrinated myself to a plan to ‘live with myself and by myself’"

At Ageing Better in Camden we firmly believe in amplifying the voices of older people in our communities. Now, more than ever, we strive to support our members to raise their voices and share their experiences.

Far from being a great equalizer, the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed some of the deepest inequalities that have often remained hidden in our society. Our members have been writing a weekly newsletter for one another, to keep informed and connected in these challenging times. It has also brought us all closer together as we share our personal experiences of lockdown.

Here, Harriette shares her experiences.

Letters from Lockdown: the first-hand experiences of older people in Camden during the Covid-19 crisis

At Ageing Better in Camden we firmly believe in amplifying the voices of older people in our communities. Now, more than ever, we strive to support our members to raise their voices and share their experiences.

Far from being a great equalizer, the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed some of the deepest inequalities that have often remained hidden in our society. Our members have been writing a weekly newsletter for one another, to keep informed and connected in these challenging times. It has also brought us all closer together as we share our personal experiences of lockdown.

Here, they share their experiences.

Letters from Lockdown: “Any other blanket rule would have been dismissed immediately as unfair and discriminatory. But dealing this way with old people seemed to be acceptable”

Letters from Lockdown: “Any other blanket rule would have been dismissed immediately as unfair and discriminatory. But dealing this way with old people seemed to be acceptable”

At Ageing Better in Camden we firmly believe in amplifying the voices of older people in our communities. Now, more than ever, we strive to support our members to raise their voices and share their experiences. In this Letter from Lockdown, Diana talks about the rules for ‘old people’ around Covid-19.

The Ageing Better in Camden partnership: keeping older people supported and connected in a crisis

The Ageing Better in Camden partnership: keeping older people supported and connected in a crisis

The response to Covid-19 across Camden has been incredible. Age UK Camden delivered over 4,000 Emergency Food Parcels, Queen’s Crescent Community Centre served 100 hot meals every day throughout Ramadan, and neighbours are coming together to support one another in ways never before seen in our lifetimes. Find out all of the amazing ways our partners have been supporting older people during these unprecedented times.

Working together: what are the impacts of participant contributions in the ABC programme?

The Ageing Better in Camden (ABC) programme is a six-year programme that aims to address social isolation and loneliness in older people living in Camden. The programme is investing £4.5m from the National Lottery Community Fund.

ABC is funding and supporting a range of projects for older people in Camden to form a body of evidence that increases awareness and knowledge in relation to social isolation and loneliness, both locally and more widely.

This is the second of two interim reports which explores the theme of participant contributions to the design and delivery of ABC funded projects. This report was produced by Traverse.

The report explores:

  • how contributions to projects are understood and realised by participants.

  • the motivations and pathways into contributing in different ways.

  • the factors that help and hinder making different types of contributions.

  • how the ABC programme supports and encourages project contributions.

It draws on interviews with 36 participants from across nine ABC funded projects; and on interviews with project leads and the ABC programme managers.

Click here to read the full report.