Not all older people enjoy their later years. They may feel lonely, unfulfilled, excluded or bored. Are you over 50 in Scotland with the seed of an idea for a community or social enterprise that could help people in their later years (70s, 80s and above) in Scotland to be less socially isolated and as a result to lead healthier and happier lives?
Maybe you have experience as a carer or volunteer with older people and have skills and experience you'd be willing to share? Maybe you are approaching retirement, are recently retired or have been made redundant and are looking for a new challenge? If so, we want to hear from you. In return we've got support and funding to make your idea become real.
Our society has an ageing population, and we are facing the implications that this brings. In Scotland, as in the majority of European countries, the Registrar General predicts that the numbers of older people in Scotland will rise considerably between 2006 and 2031. This brings associated issues - income generation beyond 'retirement' or redundancy, being seen as a valued member of society post-retirement, and for our elderly citizens, the threat of social isolation.
The Government's overarching strategy, 'Reshaping the Future Care of Older People', places prevention of social isolation as a critical dimension to preventing other age-related conditions and affording a more prosperous third age for all. This will contribute to the Scottish Government's strategic objectives of achieving Sustainable Economic Growth for Scotland.
As a response to this challenge, NESTA is committed to working with older social entrepreneurs in Scotland. We aim to stimulate entrepreneurial activity in people in their 50s and 60s over the next two years through a pilot programme of activity in Scotland. We are looking for people in their 50s and 60s who are facing retirement or redundancy, who have the ideas, skills and the determination to create new types of social enterprises aimed at making life better for people older than them, as well as for themselves.
The programme in Scotland aims to uncover, mentor and seed-fund up to 20 'socially motivated' start-ups/community ventures that will tackle the issue of social isolation in the elderly by working directly with individuals in the community. These ventures will be created by small teams of individuals aimed at making ageing a more fulfilling, healthy and socially inclusive experience.
We are looking for ideas that have the potential to reduce social isolation in the older population by creating new types of services which could:
The programme goes live on 14 December 2009.
We start with a one day workshop where we will invite up to 120 people to join us at one of four workshops in Scotland. The choice of available dates are: Saturday 20 March, Sunday 21 March, Monday 29 March or Tuesday 30 March 2010. Please indicate on the application form your first and second choice of date.
The workshops will be an opportunity to meet like-minded people, to refine your idea and work out the next steps to make it live. We promise a fun, interesting and friendly day and will reimburse you with up to £25 to cover your travel expenses.
We will give the best ideas up to £10,000 in staged payments to test they can work. We promise you a fulfilling experience where you will meet new people, learn new things and enjoy the experience.
After the workshop you have up to 19 April 2010 to apply with your idea. However, at this stage all we need to know is a little bit more about your idea, who will benefit from it, what makes it innovative, what impact it could bring etc.
Between March and June we will take the chosen ventures through a 10-12 week incubation process involving:
We will also give you up to £2,000 (payable on milestones) to move the venture from an idea to a working concept.
In June 2010, the ventures will be asked to present their refined idea to a funding panel for a potential grant award of up to £8,000 to test and prove the concept in the community.
Applications have now closed.
For more details contact us on 01382 229521 or email ageunlimitedinscotland@nesta.org.uk.
