Outcomes of the active at 60 community agent programme: research report

Author(s)

HATAMIAN Areenay, PEARMAIN Daniel, GOLDEN Sarah

Publisher(s):

Great Britain. Department for Work and Pensions

Publication year:

2012

The Active at 60 Community Agents programme was a Department for Work and Pensions fund to encourage community groups and their volunteers to help people approaching and post retirement (particularly those at risk of social isolation and loneliness in later life) to stay or become active and positively engaged with society. It was launched in March 2011 and ran until December 2011. This evaluation of the programme included surveys and interviews with local funders, group leaders, community agents (volunteers whose role aimed to empower and support older people to become and/or stay active) and older people. The report describes the background and methodology of the study and presents the findings, covering the role of Community Agents, reaching and engaging older people, what groups did with the funding, what difference the programme made to older people who took part and wider benefits, the legacy of the programme, and the role of local funders and programme management. It also discusses how far the programme achieved its aims and sets out key lessons learned.