In 2010 Nesta launched the Age Unlimited Scotland (AUS) programme to reach, stimulate and support older people

to create and lead innovative new community ventures.

Age Unlimited Scotland Findings July 2012

Without AUS, I would not have dared to take the idea forward.
AUS participant 2010

The programme made me feel part of a network of advice, support, enthusiasm and encouragement.
AUS participant 2011

Contents 01 Summary 02 Why Age Unlimited Scotland? 03 What did the programme involve? 03 Who took part? 04 Participant backgrounds 05 Programme achievements and impacts 06 Key strengths of the programme 07 Learning from the programme 08 Sharing learning 09 Ena Brown 10 Rosie Nicol 11 Margaret Boyd 12 Mamie Donald

Summary In 2010 Nesta launched the Age Unlimited Scotland (AUS) programme to reach, stimulate and support older people to create and lead innovative new community ventures. Through a competition-based call for ideas over 2 years, AUS provided training and mentoring which supported 27 people in their 50s and 60s over two years to transform their good ideas for community ventures across Scotland. Of these, 16 ventures were awarded micro-finance investment. This document sets out the background to the Age Unlimited Scotland programme, its objectives, key features, achievements and impacts as well as case studies of the innovators behind these ventures.

Age Unlimited Scotland Findings July 2012

Without AUS, I would not have dared to take the idea forward.
AUS participant 2010

The programme made me feel part of a network of advice, support, enthusiasm and encouragement.
AUS participant 2011

Age Unlimited Scotland

Findings July 2012

Why Age Unlimited Scotland? Our ageing population provides a valuable opportunity to mobilise social innovation and encourage capable communities. It is also vital for the UKs older generation to stay healthy, active and independent for as long as possible. Current innovations within the age sector tend to focus on products or services for older people. Nesta aimed to investigate how older people can lead change by innovating the types of activities people do after they retire in order to encourage and promote active ageing. Current opportunities in retirement tend to focus on volunteering, further studies or vocational training, grand-parenting/caring or part time work. Nesta sought to encourage older people to work with their peers to develop communityrun ventures which would support and improve their local communities. The key consideration was that this group would understand what was needed in their communities and would be ideally placed to develop and run new services in their local area. We believe there is a space for new opportunities in retirement. 160 people across Scotland applied to take part in the AUS programme, which perhaps demonstrates that there is a market for new initiatives of this kind.

02

Age Unlimited Scotland

What did the programme involve?

A Scotland-wide call for ideas was launched, aimed at people with the spark of a good idea. We especially wanted to target individuals who had an exciting project in mind but didnt have the knowledge or confidence on how to take this forward. Year 1 (2010) called for ideas which supported the reduction of social isolation in the older population. Year 2 (2011) focused on ideas which supported and improved local communities. A clear and straightforward application process ensured proposals were only accepted from individuals or un-constituted groups of people, over the age of 50 years. An idea development workshop was held to develop these ideas and select participants onto the full programme of support. Selection criteria favoured ideas that were genuinely innovative, did not duplicate existing community services and had the ability to be scaled and replicated across Scotland. The enterprise development programme was co-designed with and for older people; considering the practical implications of how to develop an idea, sharpen the vision and give participants confidence. Participants undertook five days of group training over four months, with the focus on developing business skills in a peer setting and prototyping ideas within their communities, to ensure ideas were well tested. Experts provided training on enterprise, marketing, finance, legal issues and presentation skills.

The group sessions also gave participants the chance to network with their peers, share experiences and build confidence, as well as creating an operational plan and building a business case to turn their ideas into action. Mentors with experience in social innovation were allocated to each participant, acting as a critical friend and ally to provide constructive feedback throughout the programme. On completion of the programme, participants presented their refined venture to an expert panel to gain up to 10,000 of grant funding to test and prove the concept in the community. All innovation funding was awarded on a competitive basis and the average investment was 5,000. The investment finance was co-funded by the Scottish Government. All of the ventures were thereafter provided with one-to-one aftercare support by the social entrepreneur support organisation, Firstport, for six months after the programme ended to encourage the long-term sustainability of their venture.

Who took part?

Participants were ordinary people with regular day jobs, who often were carers for their grandchildren or older relatives, and had concerns about their future financial security. Nesta found these ordinary people to be pretty special. The participants did not see themselves as social entrepreneurs they saw a problem, gap or opportunity in their community which caused them to take action and to try to change things for the better. Many participants had recently experienced a life-changing event or a change in circumstances including bereavement, redundancy or retirement. Participants each had quite different motivations for getting involved, which included earning income, learning new skills, to have a positive impact on their community or to create a legacy for their family.

Findings July 2012

www.nesta.org.uk

03

Participant backgrounds

7 22 26 4 26 15
% % % % %
Full time work Part time work Self Employed Unemployed Volunteer part / full time Retired

Female team leaders accounted for almost two thirds of the total participants: Male 29%

Female 71%

Over 60% of participants were in their 50s: 50 59 years old 64% 60 69 years old 26% + 70 years old 10%

Participants came from both rural and urban areas from across Scotland. In year 2 there were more remote rural participants on the programme, with some travelling over 7 hours from remote areas to training workshops.

04

Age Unlimited Scotland

Programme achievements and impacts

Participants rated the training and support highly. On completion, 90% of participants said that the support programme helped them feel much more confident about their venture idea. Participants found the programme stimulating and rewarding, gaining new knowledge and skills to get their enterprise moving. Although many participants were initially attracted to the programme due to the start-up funding on offer; refinement of the original idea and affirmation that they were on the right track by experts and their peers was seen as a great confidence booster and on completion 70% of participants felt that confirmation that their idea had the potential to be developed, was equally important as the funding.

The programme encouraged collaboration with other public and voluntary sector providers - 90% of awardees have now engaged with Local Authorities in Scotland; 90% with local community groups and 40% with NHS. When asked what is the most important benefit your venture is providing to your community?, awardees reported the following benefits for their communities as detailed in this graph.

30% 20% 20% 10% 10% 10%

Reducing social isolation

Bringing the local community together

Supporting volunteering

Providing a new or enhanced community service

Helping people in the community to cope better with daily living

Improving the health of other people

Findings July 2012

www.nesta.org.uk

05

Key strengths of the programme

1 2 3 4

The programme developed both the person and the idea simultaneously through building confidence levels and by developing their business skills.

5 6 7

The workshops focused on encouraging participants to develop sustainable business models rather than relying on public funding. This required a change in mind set but aimed to encourage viable business models.

Nesta reached out and worked directly with people in their 50s and 60s, rather than relying on agencies/charities to reach participants we marketed directly to this age group and this proved successful.

Mentoring benefited the mentee and mentor both parties developed their listening and business skills and found the process rewarding.

AUS supported a mature set of people who might not otherwise have developed their idea. The progamme enhanced their skills, sense of purpose, self-belief and instilled confidence to get their ventures up and running.

The Nesta approach used terminology which was sometimes new to participants, such as prototyping, outputs, impacts and outcomes. These terms were introduced early in the programme to support the participants in moving forward with their projects.

The training materials, workshop activities and methods of working were thoroughly tested with the target audience (people 50+) over 2 years. The materials were found to be valuable, helping novice social/ community entrepreneurs develop their idea in manageable steps.

8 9

The groups bonded well in both years, strong peer networks have formed beyond the duration of the programme.

The social ventures have longevity potential and many have been extended throughout their communities or with local authority support.

06

Age Unlimited Scotland

Learning from the programme

730 days of learning

Through this 2 year programme, we feel the following considerations should be taken into account when designing and delivering an enterprise initiative for people in their 50s and 60s:

3 4 5

Creating a new venture was an emotional journey for most participants and care must be taken to ensure the journey and the pace is balanced, not overwhelming, but achievable.

Participants often had a range of personal circumstances to contend with, such as family and health issues that impacted on their own time. As older social entrepreneurs are often not seeking to build a career from their social enterprise, they may not have a great deal of time to devote to its development.

Teams of individuals where the responsibility for the venture could be shared were generally more resilient and successful than sole entrepreneurs.

The strengths of these enterprises lie in their community roots and in the ability of the social entrepreneurs to unlock resources and discover new opportunities. However, as so much depends on the personal involvement of the founder, there is often a limit to the extent to which the enterprise can be replicated and/or expanded to other areas as the driving force may not have the ambition or resources to scale the venture.

Volunteers are seen as vital by all ventures mobilising local resources through building strong bonds with volunteers, helps develop the capacity of the wider community. Awardees reported that they have each engaged around 12-20 volunteers in the delivery of their services so far.

On the whole, participants werent interested in developing a scalable venture over a wider area, most participants ( with one exception) wanted to remain micro-scale and focus on engaging their own community in the activity.

Findings July 2012

www.nesta.org.uk

07

Sharing learning Although AUS could be considered a relatively small scale pilot, with the full impacts of the programme needing to be tracked over a longer-term for full impacts; we believe this programme has demonstrated there is potential to consider new forms of productivity in later life, particularly activities which promote and encourage social entrepreneurship using the skills and expertise of older people. Nesta is now working with partners to share our learning and is developing a guide which will support older people with our tried and tested approaches in developing a community/social enterprise venture. If you would like to discuss this work please contact: scotland@nesta.org.uk

08

Age Unlimited Scotland

Ena Brown The Hub Cafe East Kilbride

Overview Ena Brown had a varied working life as a teacher, social worker, later working in newspapers and customer services, before retiring. Her life changed dramatically when a number of close family members died suddenly within a year. After attending a course at Strathclyde University on change after retirement Ena decided to take up the Age Unlimited Scotland challenge. The venture The Hub now welcomes between 40 and 60 older people every Thursday, with a varied programme of entertainment ranging from guitarists and choirs to tracing family trees and bingo. With a strong intergenerational focus, the project also brings together young and older people through visits from young musicians and school groups. Enas style of entrepreneurship has enabled her to successfully negotiate with and secure local resources a hall to meet in; transport for her weekly clientele; a group of entertainers; and a willing group of volunteers to help organise the entertainment, bake cakes and serve refreshments. There are 6 regular volunteers and an additional 10 who help out on an occasional basis. Age Unlimited Scotland support AUS gave Ena the knowledge and skills she needed to get her enterprise moving, which in turn provided her with the experience to develop and grow her venture. Ena has developed a network of like-minded people that she can call on for advice, support and help. On a personal level the programme gave Ena a tremendous boost in confidence and pride in what she has achieved. She has also expanded her personal networks both nationally and internationally. Ena was awarded 5,000 in June 2010. This funded incredibly practical items to get the service up and running. Achievements to date The main success has been the impact of the Hub on the people who come every week. The opportunity has broken down barriers and encouraged social integration for older people who were previously housebound. Ena met counterparts from all over the world at a voluntary ventures conference in Vienna organised by Strathclyde University. She has skyped with colleagues in Poland and Spain who are keen to set up similar schemes and in March 2012 around 24 of the conference delegates visited The Hub in East Kilbride.

You feel youre bringing the community together, providing a service that people really enjoy and a meeting place where they can strike up friendships with people they have never met before.
The vision and opportunity Enas vision was to bring older people in the community together for weekly entertainment and so the Hub Caf was born. A community caf situated in a local church hall with entertainment for the retired men and women in East Kilbride and the surrounding area. Attendees pay a small fee for tea, cake and entertainment and to cover operational costs, the caf is run by volunteers and remaining funds from ticket sales are ploughed back into the venture. East Kilbride has 22,000 people over the age of 55 living in the area; many of whom feel isolated and have few opportunities for socialising. Ena chose the church hall as a venue for its great location as it is situated in the heart of the local community, with a railway station, day-care centre, retirement home and sheltered housing all nearby.

Plans for the future The project has already had a great deal of success and has turned over 50% more profit than projected in their cash flow predictions in their first year. Activities at the Hub are publicised weekly in the local newspapers, television and several community groups display the Hubs entertainment programme on their websites or on their premises. Ena has exceeded all expectations with her community caf and demand is increasing all the time. Her challenge going forward is how she can make the enterprise sustainable now there is a large group of older people looking forward to their weekly entertainment sessions. South Lanarkshire Council is keen to set to up four similar schemes as part of its NHS-funded Seniors Together programme.

Findings July 2012

www.nesta.org.uk

09

Rosie Nicol Better Balmedie, Balmedie www.betterbalmedie.org

Overview Rosie Nicol found out about Age Unlimited Scotland by accident when she picked up a leaflet on a visit to Edinburgh and started on the programme within days of retiring from her job with Aberdeen City Council. Rosie is one of around 12 local residents who had set up Better Balmedie in August 2009 after a village survey by Aberdeenshire Council identified enthusiasm for such a group. The vision and opportunity Rosie, a keen gardener, focused on the environmental aspect of improving the village, particularly the sheltered housing complex Eigie House, as many residents had lost their own gardens when they moved in. Better Balmedie aimed to get older people involved in improving their local environment, sharing gardening knowledge, taking exercise and a more active role in community activities and environmental projects. It also wanted to encourage greater interaction between the generations in the village. Rosie saw a chance to fill the void left by cuts in public sector spending:

The venture Better Balmedia has around 30 members plus a few ad-hoc volunteers. The group does not have a formal structure, such as a committee, and meetings are informal and open to anyone even the treasurer is known as Kathys Kitty. The group has worked with Balmedie Leisure Centre, Belhelvie Community Council, Aberdeenshire Council social work departments community service team, the Duke of Edinburgh Award and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, who trained their walling repair team. The local primary school is also involved, with visits from the eco committee and plans to set up an eco-garden at the school. Age Unlimited Scotland support Rosie feels the whole of the AUS programme helped: I cant imagine any other funder would have given so much support. The training was very good and helped to work our plans for the future. I found the whole process very energising and motivating, if hard work at times. Peer support was also important, along with the enthusiasm of the Nesta team: Meeting other people who had ideas was really good and seeing how different things could apply to very diverse projects. Nesta awarded the project 4,300 which paid for a lawnmower, raised flower planters at the sheltered housing complex, now maintained by the residents, and a bench enroute to the local co-op to encourage them to venture into the community, reducing their isolation. It also paid for insurance and website design - the website is now maintained by volunteers. The funding also helped buy a Polytunnel which volunteers installed in April 2011. The Polytunnel is used for growing plants for the groups projects and vegetables to raise funds. Better Balmedie also encourages other village groups to use it for example the Leisure Centre and the private nursery have grown plants there and the local school children have planted sunflowers there.

Achievements to date The main achievement is maintaining the project over the past three years. A few of the many things Better Balmedie has done so far includes: cleared and leveled overgrown land behind the villages leisure centre, planted thousands of bulbs, plants and seeds, built and maintained planters, containers and benches around the village, trained volunteers to repair a dry-stone wall beside the football courts, created the Better Balmedie website, and installed water butts for recycling rain water. Future plans Annual membership costs 10 or 1 for each meeting and plant sales are held at local events. Future fundraising plans include a plant appeal asking local residents to make a small donation to maintain the work already done around the village. Raised awareness, helped by the BB website, has also paid dividends. Local organisations such as the golf club, the community magazine and Dobbies Garden Centre have also made contributions to the project. Members want to develop a community garden, sensory garden, allotments and a community composting facility. The group would also like to establish a more efficient way of watering plants and generating light and heat, perhaps through solar panels, wind generation or other form of sustainable power. Other future plans include extending and maintaining public walks around Balmedie and working with Aberdeenshire Council to develop and improve a network of paths in the Magic Woods nearby. The volunteers also hope to put their dry-stone walling training to good use repairing and rebuilding more walls around the village. Something has happened in the village there is an awareness of Better Balmedie and what we do, The Polytunnel has become a focal point. Its a wonderful feeling when you go up and see things growing and people working together.

We noticed less general maintenance, fewer grass cuts and there was land in the village that no-one knew who owned, and the council wouldnt take responsibility for. My background is in the voluntary sector and on social work projects and my attitude is there is a solution to everything.

10

Age Unlimited Scotland

Margaret Boyd Dragon Monkey, Fort William www.dragon-monkey.co.uk

Overview Margaret Boyd worked for the University of the Highlands and Islands, co-ordinating their rural learning centres, before taking early retirement and found herself ready for a new challenge.

Being in my 50s and having always enjoyed a challenge, I decided to give it a go with input and encouragement from friends and family.
The vision and opportunity The Dragon Monkey project aimed to develop low-cost activities to encourage the over 70s to take regular exercise in the fresh air and to think creatively. It also aimed to be selfsustaining without requiring constant funding, each aspect is looked after by a volunteer. Margarets vision was to create a storyline and imagery to form a brand which could be incorporated into activities, capturing the imagination of young and old alike, providing opportunities for intergenerational activity. The project used existing facilities and natural assets in the rural area - a local golf club, the Dragons Tooth Golf Course, and low level walk to develop a scenic nature trail. Margaret got buy-in from the club owners who have been very supportive of the project. The venture Dragon Monkey provides the over 70s with a range of physical and creative activities which have a direct connection with the Dragons Tooth Golf Course and the mythical Dragon Monkeys. A quirky back story guides visitors through the activities: The creatures, a cross between a monkey and a dragon, used to live on the Dragons Tooth Mountain, which gives its name to the golf course.

When the new owners bought the golf course, the Dragon Monkeys relocated to the monkey puzzle tree close to the Club House. The mischievous creatures seize stray golf balls and turn them into golf stones, which they hide in the most unexpected places for visitors to find along the trail. The over 70s helped to design the Nature Trail Quest, contributed to the Dragon Monkey childrens story sheets and the design and making of the Dragon Monkey characters for sale. There is also a volunteer Buddy scheme: Walking buddies accompany anyone who doesnt want to walk on their own and golfing buddies take the older 70s for a hole or two of golf. Age Unlimited Scotland support The support received from Age Unlimited helped Margaret to get the venture started and assisted Margaret to refine her idea so she was able to move forward with it. The training was well-structured, professional and business-like which was important for me. I wouldnt have put the time and effort in if it had been too touchy-feely. Nesta awarded Dragon Monkey 4,500 which they used to employ a local illustrator to create the nature trail boards, create a website, introduce a golf buddy offer, offer memory lane treats for the over 70s, and create Dragon Monkey characters, which are sold for a small profit. Achievements to date Margaret believes their biggest success is the memory lane aspect of the project. Volunteers took a recently widowed man in his 80s back to the area where he grew up and created a DVD based on images from the day and a range of pictures he provided. This film is a snapshot of local history and has created a significant amount of interest in the area, also providing the man with many happy memories. He has since bought a DVD player and now regularly shows the film to visitors.

This project has also been successful in creating family activities - three generations can enjoy the nature trail, with the older relatives sharing their knowledge of wildlife with the children. Finally, the project enables older people to continue playing golf who might otherwise have given up, as they are encouraged to come and play a few holes through the golfing-buddy initiative. Plans for the future The project aims to be self-sustaining through sale of the Dragon Monkey items and fund-raising activities. This is helped by sales generated through My Creative Fort William, a new website initiative for creative people in the local area. A social history section is also being included in the website which Dragon Monkey will contribute to. Trail sheets can be downloaded from the website at minimal cost. Charges for the golf buddy offer are kept low (currently 3 per round) and the club lends clubs for free. Margaret plans to attract new volunteers with IT skills to develop the website and update the trail sheets. The volunteers believe there is huge potential for this project to be developed. They intend to focus on the memory lane treat aspect of the project, and although it only reaches small numbers of the over 70s, they believe the positive impact on those involved makes it very worthwhile. Laurence Young Dragons Tooth Golf Course director says: We have been delighted to work in collaboration with the Dragon Monkey project It has added another dimension to the range of activities and attractions of the site. The project has delivered real value.

Findings July 2012

www.nesta.org.uk

11

Mamie Donald Third Age Computer Fun Edinburgh www.thirdagecf.org.uk Age Unlimited Scotland Findings July 2012
Overview A self-professed computer addict who gained her computer studies degree at the age of 60, Mamie had previously worked part-time as a secretary at a local church, ran a mail order business, and also taught Scottish dancing. It quickly became clear the more relaxed approach suited older people better than conventional classes as they could work at their own pace. They can go over the same tutorial until they have a firm grasp of it and not be restricted by the pace set by others. The venture Third Age Computer Fun now runs six Computer Clubs for the over 50s in Edinburgh. The majority of attendees are over 60 and some over 90 years of age. The volunteers also run groups in sheltered housing developments. Clubs are run for two hours weekly, with an annual membership and drop-in fee. Members can learn the basics or improve on the skills already obtained. Students are encouraged to bring their own laptops making it easier for them to continue at home. Home tuition: Volunteers also visit the housebound. This group benefits hugely from the internet as they can shop, bank, get library books and even order their repeat prescriptions online for the chemist to deliver. However, this is also the hardest-to-reach group as they are cut off from the outside world. Visits have also been extended to a local nursing home. Non-English speaking groups: Tutors and volunteers ran taster sessions for elderly carers, who dont speak English. They learned how to email and use Skype in five weeks. The groups were conducted in the various South Asian languages and in Chinese at the Minority Ethnic Carers of Older People Project in Leith and the Pilmeny Development Project. Over 200 older people have taken part some go away satisfied having got the basics, then return as they need more knowledge; others continue to attend each week.

Having the chance to develop my idea has enabled those of my generation for whom computers are a no-go area to learn just how they can enrich their lives.
Mamie Donald www.thirdagecf.org.uk

The vision and opportunity Mamie realised that older people would love to learn basic computing skills and her vision was clear, to: Enable older people to learn computer games to build their confidence and skills to start using a computer and the internet Demonstrate how they could extend this to other uses, using Skype and email to see and talk to relatives, shopping, banking, downloading music and TV , follow interests such as photography and play games with their grandchildren Introduce the housebound or lonely to a wider circle of people and experiences, reducing their social isolation Encourage families to pass on their old computer to an elderly relative so that they could find out the advantages of being online. 60% of over 65s have never used the internet and only 32% access it regularly. Mamie came up with the idea of computer clubs for older people.

Age Unlimited Scotland

Findings July 2012

Age Unlimited Scotland support The after-care support with Community Enterprise Scotland has helped, along with the workshops particularly to develop a clear vision for the venture: The vision exercises using your imagination to picture what your venture might become has made a big difference to the project, with the aim of extending it Scotland-wide. A total of 8,753 was awarded by Nesta. This was used to buy laptops, employ club leaders and develop a marketing campaign, including a professionally designed logo, leaflets and posters. Mamie acknowledged marketing was her weak point:

Achievements to date Members have learned to play online Scrabble, solitaire and cards which has enabled them to make friends all over the world. Attending the classes has encouraged the older people to interact via online games and also improves their mental health. The wide range of games available online means that there is something for everyone; one of the members, who previously was a World War Two fighter pilot particularly loved a simulation flight game because it was so accurate and realistic. In 2011, Mamie won the Heralds Society Award for Older Peoples Project of the Year. Plans for the future The group hopes to expand their activities throughout Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland. For example, integration clubs where teenagers learn with older people in the school holidays are being planned. Also, discussions are taking place to join with isolated elderly people elsewhere in Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands, and a carers organisation in Ireland to chat and play computer games online.

It was essential that this looked like a professional organisation from the beginning.
The project has around 30 volunteers: several are out-of-work IT staff. An added bonus is seeing how their confidence has grown since they started volunteering.

Age Unlimited Scotland Findings July 2012

About Nesta Nesta is the UKs innovation foundation. We help people and organisations bring great ideas to life. We do this by providing investments and grants and mobilising research, networks and skills. We are an independent charity and our work is enabled by an endowment from the National Lottery. Nestas head office is in London and our Scottish programmes are managed and delivered by the Scottish team based in Dundee. To find out about our current activities in Scotland visit: www.nesta.org.uk/scotland Visit: www.nesta.org.uk/ageunlimitedscotland Email: scotland@nesta.org.uk

Having the chance to develop my idea has enabled those of my generation for whom computers are a no-go area to learn just how they can enrich their lives.
Mamie Donald www.thirdagecf.org.uk