Participatory Approaches with Older Adults (PAAR-net)

There is a significant international commitment to give non-academics a greater role in science to help deliver impactful research and realise the European vision of science for the people, by the people. To support this commitment, the PAAR-net COST Action focuses on knowledge co-production, labelled here as participatory approaches, in research, policymaking and practice. It focuses on research, policy and practice intervention designs by experts-by-training (usually academics) and experts-by-experience (usually non-academics).

The Action focuses on a specific group of experts-by-experience who are often not included in research, namely older adults (aged 65 and older, including those at risk of social exclusion). This COST Action aims to further develop participatory approaches with older adults as a means of driving inclusive social innovation across research, policy, and practice, for heterogenous and fair ageing societies.

PAAR-net aims to gather, exchange and advance knowledge on participatory approaches with older adults (including those at risk of social exclusion) by asking the following questions:

1) How can diverse groups of older adults be meaningfully involved to contribute their perspectives and experience (including those at risk of social exclusion) in participatory approaches to research, policy and practice development?
2) How do participatory approaches with diverse older adults (including those at risk of social exclusion) impact research process and the quality of data gathered?
3) How do participatory approaches impact those (academics and non-academics) involved in research (e.g., wellbeing, reciprocal learning, emancipation)?

Through this, PAAR-net will shift the focus from an exclusionary framework to a participatory framework in thinking of older age.