Coordinator: The University of Sheffield Sociological Studies Elmfield Building Northumberland Road Sheffield S10 2TU, UK E-mail: futurage@sheffield.ac.uk Tel: +44 114 222 6458 Fax: +44 114 222 6492 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk Funded by the European Commission���s Seventh Framework Programme FP7-HEALTH-2007-B/No 223679 October 2011 active ageing healthy ageing infrastructure person-environment intergenerational innovation mental capacity life course older people multi-disciplinary coordination implementation well-being Road Map biogerontology knowledge exchange partnership user involvement ageing well inclusion community home sustainability research agenda ICT A Road Map for European Ageing Research SCS/56140/Futurage Cover.indd 1 30/09/2011 15:38

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Contents 1 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map Contents LIST OF FIGURES 3 ExEcUTIvE SUMMARy 4 chApTER 1: InTROdUcTIOn 6 Demographic context 7 european Policy Priorities 11 the Priority of Active Ageing 12 Designing the Road Map 14 Producing the Road Map 17 chApTER 2: MAjOR pRIORITIES FOR EUROpEAn AGEInG RESEARch 19 HealtHy ageing For More liFe in years 21 Importance of theme 21 Fundamental Insights Crucial for Future Research 21 Current Research in europe 22 Key topics for Future european Ageing Research on Healthy Ageing for more Life in Years 22 Maintaining and regaining Mental CapaCity 30 Importance of theme 30 Fundamental Insights Crucial for Future Research 31 Current Research in europe 32 Key topics for Future european Ageing Research on Mental Capacity 32 inClusion and partiCipation in tHe CoMMunity and in tHe labour Market 38 Importance of theme 38 Fundamental Insights Crucial for Future Research 38 Current Research in europe 39 Key topics for Future european Ageing Research on social Participation 40 guaranteeing tHe Quality and sustainability oF soCial proteCtion systeMs 50 Importance of theme 50 Fundamental Insights Crucial for Future Research 50 Current Research in europe 51 Key topics for Future european Ageing Research on Guaranteeing the Quality and sustainability of social Protection systems 52 ageing Well at HoMe and in CoMMunity environMents 58 Importance of theme 58 Fundamental Insights Crucial for Future Research 59 Current Research in europe 60 Key topics for Future european Ageing Research on Physical-spatial-technical environments 61 SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 1 30/09/2011 15:34

Contents 2 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map uneQual ageing and age-related ineQualities 65 Importance of the theme 65 Fundamental Insights Crucial for Future Research 65 Current Research in europe 66 Key topics for Future european Research on Inequalities and Ageing 67 biogerontology: FroM MeCHanisMs to interventions 73 Importance of theme 73 Fundamental Insights Crucial for Future Research 74 Current Research in europe 75 Key topics for Future european Ageing Research on Biogerontology 75 chApTER 3: IMpLEMEnTInG ThE ROAd MAp 84 Ageing Research Infrastructure 84 Capacity Building 85 User Involvement 85 Knowledge exchange 86 chApTER 4: cOncLUSIOn 88 AppEndIx 1: ThE ROAd MAp cREATIOn pROcESS 89 AppEndIx 2: cOUncIL OF ScIEnTISTS 90 AppEndIx 3: SUMMARy OF RESEARch pRIORITIES And MAIn RESEARch QUESTIOnS 91 REFEREncES 107 AUThORShIp And AcknOwLEdGEMEnTS 110 IndEx OF kEy TERMS 112 SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 2 30/09/2011 15:34

l ist of Figures 3 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map LIst oF FIGURes Figure 1: Percentage of Population Aged 65 Years and over by Region, 2007 8 Figure 2: Countries Above or Below the Average of the Median Age in selected Years 9 Figure 3: Healthy Life Years at Age 65 for Women, 2008 10 Figure 4: Healthy Life Years at Age 65 for Men, 2008 10 Figure 5: scientific Foundations of the Road Map 15 Figure 6: the Key Role of Active Ageing 20 SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 3 30/09/2011 15:34

e xecutive s ummary 4 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map This document contains the research agenda that will enable Europe to respond successfully to the unprecedented demographic challenges it faces. Its twin starting points are the high priority allocated to population ageing, by Member States and the European Union as a whole, and the fundamental importance of scientific research as the driver of innovations in public policy, in a wide range of clinical and other professional practices, and in the development of products and services. The combination of science and innovation will be the cornerstone of Europe���s future success, both in terms of economic growth and the promotion of social quality for all citizens, and that equation lies at the heart of this Road Map. The Road Map for ageing research is the product of the most extensive consultation ever undertaken in this field, involving all of the major stakeholder groups and end users of ageing research, and spanning a 2 year period. A specially designed iterative process ensured that the specific research priorities were not identified by scientists alone and were subjected to a high degree of reflection and cross-examination from a wide range of stakeholder perspectives, including policy makers, practitioners, business people, older people and their nGOs as well as scientists. This process led to an extraordinary broad and deep consensus on the major future priorities. The Road Map itself consists of three main chapters. The first of these sets the scene by describing briefly the demographic context and emphasising the huge challenge facing the European Innovation partnership pilot initiative on Active and healthy Ageing (EIpAhA) if it is to achieve its goal of increasing average healthy life expectancy across the EU by 2 years by 2020. Then the links between this document and some of the other major European policies concerning ageing are summarised. A key role of the introductory chapter is to explain the importance of active ageing to the Road Map. Originally one of the individual priority topics generated by the iterative process it was subsequently elevated to the central theme of the Road Map. In addition the case is advanced for a new comprehensive approach to ���active ageing��� which includes all activities, physical or mental, and all age groups. Then each of the major research priorities is linked to the active ageing core theme on the assumption that this should be a central aim of ageing research. The Road Map is also based on eight basic assumptions: multi-disciplinarity, user engagement, a life course perspective, a person-environment perspective, the importance of diversities and intergenerational relationships, knowledge exchange and technological innovation ��� which should figure significantly in all priority topics. The final contextual building block is a full account of how the Road Map was produced. The second chapter forms the centrepiece of the Road Map. It is here that the following seven major priority research themes are described and explained using a common format. within each theme the main priority topics are identified along with examples of specific research questions. exeCUtIve sUMMARY SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 4 30/09/2011 15:34

e xecutive s ummary 5 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map The major priority themes for future ageing research are: ��� healthy Ageing for More Life in years ��� Maintaining and Regaining Mental capacity ��� Inclusion and participation in the community and in the Labour Market ��� Guaranteeing the Quality and Sustainability of Social protection Systems ��� Ageing well at home and in community Environments ��� Unequal Ageing and Age-Related Inequalities ��� Biogerontology: from Mechanisms to Interventions The third main chapter concerns the implementation of the Road Map and covers four critical issues. First of all it is vital for Europe to invest in ageing research infrastructure. The case is made for a European Institute of Ageing, but, at the very least, there must be some coordination mechanism of the kind that the European Research Area in Ageing (ERA-AGE) has been providing since 2005, but with an enhanced capacity. The second implementation priority is to ensure the future development of scientific expertise in this field. There is a need for additional capacity building at all levels ��� doctoral programmes, post-doctoral programmes and mid-career development programmes ��� otherwise Europe will not be able to match north America and Asia in research and innovation in ageing. Thirdly, user engagement is a critical element of implementation as well as a fundamental assumption of future ageing research. User engagement was allocated an equal status to science in the production of the Road Map and the main challenges for both scientists and research funders in implementing the principle of user involvement are laid out in chapter 3. Fourthly, linked to user engagement, knowledge exchange or knowledge transfer is a neglected aspect of ageing research. The pilot EIpAhA should provide the framework to remove barriers to successful innovation in this field. what is needed is a new priority for knowledge exchange in which project funding rests not only on scientific excellence but also on the quality of the knowledge exchange plans. Thus this Road Map sets out the major research priorities for European ageing research over the next 10 or so years. It also calls for new approaches to ageing research which are more multi-disciplinary, life course focussed, user engaged and have a big emphasis on knowledge exchange. Furthermore it calls for a new vision of ageing which promotes its positive possibilities rather than deficits, inclusion and full citizenship rather than exclusion. Therefore the Road Map challenges all stakeholders in ageing research ��� policy makers and research funders nGOs, practitioners, business people scientists and older people ��� to work in unison to ensure that research maximises its impact on the well-being of all Europeans as they age. SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 5 30/09/2011 15:34

Chapter 1 6 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map europe is the oldest region in the world. Population ageing has been a policy priority at both Member state and european Union (eU) levels for more than two decades and, in recent years has been promoted to the level of a ���grand challenge���. It is widely accepted too that scientific research is essential if europe is to respond successfully to this challenge because it provides the evidence base for innovation in policy, practice and product and service developments. It is the key to ensuring that the positive potential of ageing is realised for both individuals and societies. In a nutshell it is the purpose of this document to facilitate that: by framing the research agenda that europe will need to respond to the unprecedented demographic challenge in an innovative and sustainable way. the european Commission (eC) has emphasised the high importance of scientific research in addressing the challenges presented by population ageing. According to the Commissioner for Research and Innovation, M��ire Geoghegan-Quinn, Ageing research is an area of great social, political and economic importance for the European Union... I want to re-focus research and innovation polices very clearly on developing a coherent strategic research agenda which will tackle the grand societal challenges, which include both the promotion of healthy living and healthy ageing... These challenges can only be confronted if innovative and multi-disciplinary approaches are taken.1 As the Commissioner also noted in the same speech this Road Map is the collective product of the most extensive consultation ever undertaken on this topic, which spanned two years and involved the major stakeholder groups in ageing research and policy among Member states and Associate Countries. these include scientists, policy makers, practitioners, product developers and producers, carers and older people and their organisations. Critically too, it brought together all of the relevant scientific disciplines. A high level of consensus was achieved, among the various stakeholders and between the scientific disciplines, about the research priorities contained in this document, as well as the new approaches it espouses. everyone involved in the production of this Road Map is agreed not only on the main research priorities and the universal organising principals and methods but, also much more fundamentally, on the necessity for a new vision of ageing and innovative ways to develop the science of ageing. A new vision of ageing is required because the present dominant paradigm is now a relic of a previous socio-demographic era in which retirement took place for a majority at state pension ages and post-retirement years were relatively short. Changes in the labour market and social behaviour coupled with a remarkable extension in longevity, associated in some countries with a pushing further up the age range (or ���compression���) of morbidity, have transformed the experience of later life. Commercially too, the new old are no longer ignored, as in the previous era, but routinely regarded as targets for a diverse range of products from cosmetics to package holidays. the boundaries of frailty are being pushed back and, for a growing number of older europeans, 70 is the new 50. Unfortunately however there continues to be a ���structural lag��� between this socio-demographic leap and societal institutions and attitudes, for example in the labour market and media.2 Hence the need for a new vision. this has to be a positive vision in which all older people, regardless of competence and capability, are included as full citizens, expected to contribute and participate, and in which they feel empowered. the reality of the plasticity and diversity of old age must replace the outdated model of inevitable decline and disability. Later life is but one part of a life course which is characterised by lifelong development. Although there are well known problems with terminology, the concept that best captures this life course perspective is ���active ageing���. We argue later why this should be the overarching theme of future ageing research. It must be emphasised here though that this paradigm does not exclude inactive or frail older persons, it is an inclusive one. Alongside this new vision of ageing there should also be new scientific approaches. More multi-disciplinary perspectives are required in order to reflect the fact that the ageing process and its experience are holistic. But research funding regimes have not always been open to such multi-disciplinarity, again with chApTER 1: IntRoDUCtIon SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 6 30/09/2011 15:34

Chapter 1 7 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map important exceptions that have blazed the trail in this respect. As we argue below this new science of ageing also includes a life course perspective, pays attention to person-environment interaction and is user engaged. Moreover the changing demographic context increases the need for a greater focus on chronic conditions. the non-communicable diseases (nCDs) ��� strokes, cancer, heart attacks, lung disease and dementia ��� are increasing and, by 2020, will be the top four causes of death globally. three in every four deaths from nCD occur in people age 60 and over and their incidence rises with age. For example dementias affect 12% of those over 65 and 30% of those over 85. A new vision of ageing and new scientific approaches are the base lines for the FUtURAGe Road Map. In the rest of this introduction we will summarise the demographic context, show how the Road Map is linked to major eU initiatives, introduce the active ageing paradigm and explain how the Road Map was developed and designed. Demographic context the upward trajectory of european ageing has been linear for more than 150 years. the increase in life expectancy currently averages 12 months every 5 years and shows no sign of abating.3 the number of europeans aged 65 and over is expected to increase by 45% between 2008 and 2030, and will be over 30% of the population by 2060. the total population of europe is also increasing, even though some Member states are experiencing population decline. Using data from the eURoPoP2010 survey the ���convergence scenario��� for the eU27 population is projected to increase from 501 million on 1 January 2010 to 525 million in 2035, to peak at 526 million around 2040, and thereafter gradually decline to 517 million in 2060.4 Accompanying this trend the share of the population aged 65 years and over rises from 17% in 2010 to 30% in 2060, with those aged 80 and over being the fastest growing age group, increasing from 5% to 12% over the same period. A clear sign of the longevity revolution taking place currently is the growth in the number of centenarians. Although these super-survivors are still relatively rare they highlight the expansion of the much larger group of very old, aged 85 and older. Unfortunately and surprisingly we do not have reliable estimates for the total number of centenarians in all eU countries and, therefore for the Union as a whole.5 Analysis of this important social change has been made possible however, following the collaborative development of a Human Mortality Database (www.mortality.org). since 2002, this has been able to progressively develop a robust range of indicators so that by 2009 datasets on 38 countries were available, including most eU countries. Robine and saito note that in the larger Member states there has been a ���smooth and steady��� rise in the number of centenarians, yet in the smaller states the trend is upwards but fluctuating. the most recent estimates, for 2006, are there were 57306 centenarians in total, with women outnumbering men by 6:1. By 2060, there will be between 750000 and 1.8 million centenarians in europe.6 these demographic changes are not distributed uniformly across eU Member states and regions. As Figure 1 shows most people over 65 live in the Western parts of the eU, although it should be noted that data are not available for some areas of eastern europe. Looking to the future, not only will the average (median) european age increase but the process of population ageing will shift eastward, as shown in Figure 2. For example, it is estimated that by 2040 countries such as Latvia and Romania will have the highest median ages in europe, while sweden and most of the nordic and Western european countries will share the youngest age profiles. those countries in southern and Central europe, such as Hungary and slovakia, are likely to have above average age profiles (Figure 2). these differences between Member states and regions demonstrate that a ���one size fits all approach��� is not appropriate and therefore the future research and policy agendas have to become more nuanced. It also challenges the european scientific research community to ensure close collaboration and knowledge exchange between Member states, something that the european Research Area in Ageing (eRA-AGe) has pioneered and which we will return to later.7 SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 7 30/09/2011 15:34

Chapter 1 8 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map Figure 1 Percentage of Population Aged 65 Years and Over by Region, 2007 source: eurostat Demographic statistics SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 8 30/09/2011 15:34

Chapter 1 9 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map Healthy Life Expectancy As the earlier extract from Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn���s landmark speech on ageing research indicates the eU places a high priority on healthy ageing. so does this Road Map. It is inevitable that, as the impact of infectious diseases recedes, the emphasis of both science and policy shifts from reduced mortality to longevity, and then to healthy life expectancy (or disability free life expectancy). this welcome policy focus has been given high visibility at the european level by the european Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (eIPAHA) which has set the highly ambitious target of raising healthy life expectancy across the eU by an average of 2 years by 2020. the extent of the challenge presented by this target can be seen from Figures 3 and 4 which show the variation in healthy life years for men and women aged 65. the current average healthy life years at 65 in the eU is 8 years for both men and women, but this varies among Member states from 3 years in estonia to 13 years for women and 14 years for men in Denmark. Healthy life years at birth average 61 for women and 60 for men across the eU, but range from 52 in Latvia to 70 in Malta for women and 49 in estonia to 68 in Denmark for men. In fact the healthy life years gap between european countries exceeds the gap in life expectancy and both of these gaps are driven mainly by the low levels of life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in Central and eastern european countries.8 Analysis of data from the eU15 prior to enlargement, by Carol Jagger and her colleagues, revealed a complex picture in which healthy life years were expanding (men in Austria, Belgium, Finland and Germany women in Belgium, Italy and sweden) and contracting (men in Denmark, the netherlands, sweden and the UK, women in Germany Greece, Ireland, the netherlands and Portugal).9 this is the demographic context in which this Road Map was prepared and to which it is principally addressed. It is aimed at assisting europe to respond to the demographic challenges and, in particular, at understanding and promoting active ageing and the growth of healthy life expectancy. We now turn to the policy context. Figure 2 Countries Above or Below the Average of the Median Age in Selected Years source: eurostat, statistics in Focus, 23/2011 June 2011 figure 2 SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 9 30/09/2011 15:34

Chapter 1 10 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map source: eurographics Figure 3 Healthy Life Years at Age 65 for Women, 2008 Figure 4 Healthy Life Years at Age 65 for Men, 2008 source: eurographics source: eurographics SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 10 30/09/2011 15:34

Chapter 1 11 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map European Policy Priorities this Road Map was not designed purely by scientists nor is it aimed at the scientific community alone. Indeed it seeks to integrate a wide range of stakeholder interests in the ageing research and general ageing fields. It was prepared with major eU policy priorities in mind. thus the Road Map aims to contribute to the europe 2020 strategy objective to develop a competitive and resource-efficient economy based on knowledge and innovation. the FUtURAGe partners identified research priorities that could contribute to the european smart and inclusive growth objective by investigating ways of helping people to participate longer in society and adapting good quality responsive services for people as they age. the agreed priorities could also support european sustainable growth by exploring approaches to improving older people���s health and participation, thus reducing social protection costs as well as enhancing quality of life. the priorities identified by this Road Map are also completely in line with the goals of the pilot eIPAHA recently launched by the european Commission. extending healthy life years in europe had already emerged as a hot topic from the FUtURAGe consultation process before this announcement was made. therefore Chapter 2 illustrates key areas in which research could support the goal of raising the average healthy lifespan in the eU. Moreover we hope the Road Map will contribute to the 2012 european Year for Active Ageing and solidarity Between Generations. As we emphasise below active ageing is the centrepiece of this Road Map. FUtURAGe partners consider this european Year as an important opportunity to investigate innovative solutions to the current economic and social challenges facing our ageing population. In order to increase older people���s participation in society, including the labour market, as well as to promote healthy ageing, further research is needed in the priority fields highlighted in Chapter 2. Also, being aware of the discussion on the european Institute of Innovation and technology (eIt) FUtURAGe recommends the inclusion of ���ageing��� in the strategic Innovation agenda of the eIt. this will help to ensure that the results of the research on ageing are better translated into effective actions. the european Pact for Mental Health and Well-being, launched in June 2008, includes, as one of its five priority areas, ���mental health and older people��� and, therefore, is of direct relevance to this Road Map���s priority theme on mental capacity. there is also a high level of symmetry between the approach and content of the Road Map and other prominent eU policies and initiatives. the White Paper together for Health: A strategic Approach for the eU 2008���201310, overlaps in various places with this Road Map, even though our work was conducted independently of it. For example, the significance of shared health values in europe, such as universality, access to good quality care, equity and solidarity, the importance of citizen empowerment, reducing inequalities in health and the commitment that ���health policy must be based on the best scientific evidence derived from sound data and information, and relevant research���. similar synergies are found between this Road Map and the Demographic Report 201011. these include the promotion of active ageing, increasing healthy life years and the integration of migrants. the Road Map also speaks directly to the Digital Agenda for europe in recognising the potential of Information and Communication technologies (ICt) to offset some of the impact, of later life loss of function and to promote social inclusion among older people (although there is an entirely separate road map project on ageing and ICt development, see below). Other Road Maps FUtURAGe was not the first european road map project in the ageing field and others have been commissioned subsequently. By virtue of its disciplinary spread, however, it does claim to the most comprehensive one. the WhyWeAge road map for biogerontological research was the first of its kind and it was amalgamated with FUtURAGe. Close links were also established with the BRAID project (Bridging Research in Ageing and ICt Development). BRAID has also adopted active ageing as a guiding concept to illuminate four different ���life settings���: independent living, health and care, occupation and recreation.12 SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 11 30/09/2011 15:34

Chapter 1 12 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map these aspects of life also feature in the following chapter on research priorities but in the BRAID project the emphasis is on the use of ICt to improve the quality of later life. In the field of Ambient Assisted Living, the AALIAnCe (the european Ambient Assisted Living Innovation Platform), similar to BRAID, seeks to utilise the rapid developments in ICt to enhance the lives of people as they age. specifically the focus of the AALIAnCe project is on the commercial delivery of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) solutions based on advanced ICt technologies for the areas of ageing at work, ageing at home and ageing in society. It provides a framework for stakeholders, led by key leaders in industry (including Bosch, Phillips, nokia and vodafone), to define research and development (R&D) priorities through a ���road map��� document, time-frames and action plans in the field. FUtURAGe kept in close touch with AALIAnCe during the development of this ageing research Road Map. one of the key partners in FUtURAGe, Age Platform europe, was also a partner in AALIAnCe.13 the FUtURAGe Road Map development template has been replicated by the RoAMeR project in a successful Framework Programme 7 application to prepare a similar one for mental health research (A Roadmap for Mental Health in european Research). the FUtURAGe project also assisted the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) ���More Years Better Lives��� by sharing early drafts of the Road Map to support its priority setting exercise. The Priority of Active Ageing During the Road Map development process active ageing quickly emerged as a major multi-disciplinary theme. Rather than being one among several priority themes, moreover, it is the red thread that links all of them (see Chapter 2). In scientific terms active ageing is used as a helpful umbrella term to encompass various combinations of quality of life essentials such as continuous labour market participation, active contribution to domestic labour (caring, housework), active participation in community life and active leisure. It is valuable too in being able to synthesise strands of research on ageing and developmental science which traditionally have not had much in common. For example the need to combine research able to drive social policy or cultural investments with that concerning the individual level of ageing, such as in regard to health, cognitive functioning and motivation. the concept of active ageing is also valuable in social gerontology in linking the macro, meso and micro perspectives of ageing research. Active ageing requires a social-ecological view of ageing. Different levels such as evidence-based policy action (macro), community and neighbourhood arrangements (meso) and individual intervention (micro) must go hand in hand in order to effectively promote active ageing. In addition, the social-ecology perspective implies a contextual view to be imposed on active ageing, because active ageing outcomes are significantly driven by the interplay between persons and environmental resources and constraints. A social-ecology view also comes with a purposefully wide understanding of environmental levels including the physical, spatial, social, economic, cultural legal and value context and the ���chronosystem���,14 that is, the flow of individual and historical time as a context of active ageing. this also means that the concept of active ageing must be multi-disciplinary including, for example, sociology and social policy research, psychology, biogerontology and economics in order to acknowledge its holistic nature. Because of its integrative potential, the construct of active ageing aims to nurture the bridge-building between the different thematic areas of the Road Map, for example between health, social participation and the role of place and context. While there are compelling scientific reasons to employ the concept of active ageing as a central theme the political ones are no less so. In brief the concept already has a major european and global profile. the european Year of older People in 1993 represented the first proclamation by europe of a new active and participative discourse in ageing.15 this was expanded into an outline of a european approach to active ageing during 1999, the United nations (Un) Year of older People. the eC���s policy document and the special conference it staged on the topic of active ageing set a radical vision of this concept and how it would be implemented across a broad field of national and european responsibilities.16 SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 12 30/09/2011 15:34

Chapter 1 13 www.futurage.group.shef.ac.uk The Future of Ageing Research in Europe: A Road Map on the global front the World Health organisation (WHo) has also advanced a multi-dimensional concept of active ageing: The process of optimising opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. Active ageing applies to both individuals and groups. It allows people to realise their potential for physical, social and mental well-being throughout their lives and to participate in society according to their needs, desires and capacities, while providing them with adequate protection, security and care when they require assistance.17 this conceptualisation has made two important contributions to european (and global) discourses on active ageing. It added further weight to the case for a re-focusing of active ageing away from a narrow focus on employment and towards a consideration of all of the different factors that contribute to well-being. specifically it argues for the linkage, in policy terms, between employment, health and participation. Along similar lines it emphasised the critical importance of a life course perspective. In other words, to prevent some of the negative consequences associated with later life it is essential to influence individual behaviour and its policy context at earlier stages of the life course. the WHo���s approach to active ageing also contributes to the growth of the discourse on older people as active participants in society that had been signalled so strongly at european level in 1993, was reiterated in the european response to the Un Year of older People in 1999 and will be centre-stage in 2012. the priority of active ageing was adopted by the Un���s Madrid International Action Plan on Ageing (MIAPA) in 2002, along with the principle of older people���s right to participate.18 The Need for a Comprehensive Vision of Active Ageing We are convinced of the need for a new comprehensive paradigm of active ageing, one which brings together its gerontological heritage, stretching back to the 1960s ���successful ageing��� concept, and the current pressing policy imperatives. this new paradigm would also reflect the need for a life course approach to ageing (in science, policy and practice) which transcends the traditional age segregation into three life stages ��� education, work and retirement ��� and adopts an age-integrated approach in which all three concurrently span much of the life course. the foundations for a comprehensive approach to active ageing exist already in european and WHo documents.19 their emphasis on well-being and participation is highly important as is the life course focus. Also, crucially, ���activity��� must consist of all meaningful pursuits (mental and physical) that contribute to the well-being of the individual concerned. Because of the dangers of exclusion active ageing should not be focussed only on the young-old. For all age groups, it should be participative and empowering and, in public health terms, preventative. to these essentials must be added a division of labour and responsibility to underline the fact that active ageing depends on a wide range of different actors and cannot simply be a top-down imposition by policy makers. For example age management in enterprises to improve opportunities for older workers, must be largely a matter for organisations themselves. Furthermore, we should not assume that active ageing exists as a fully developed entity but, rather, it should be seen as an aspiration. thus it might be defined as: A comprehensive strategy to maximise participation and well-being as people age. It should operate simultaneously at the individual (lifestyle), organisational (management) and societal (policy) levels and at all stage of the life course. 20 SCS/56140/Futurage Road Map Report.indd 13 30/09/2011 15:34