Strategic Research Agenda for Ageing Well

Office for Ageing Well is committed to supporting knowledge producers to address research questions of policy, practice, and community relevance, by focusing on the social and structural determinants of ageing well.

In April 2021, the Centre for Health in All Policies Research Translation (CHiAPRT) was engaged to develop research priorities for ageing well. CHiAPRT produced Developing the Research Priorities for Ageing Well in South Australia: A Strategic Research Agenda (PDF 853KB), which identifies a range of priority research areas to help address questions of policy and community importance to be used by anyone generating or translating knowledge.

The research priorities were co-developed with over 100 participants representing a range of knowledge producers and users, citizen representatives, policy actors, practitioners, and local thought leaders. The process used an interactive, stakeholder-driven approach to ensure that stakeholder views, practice wisdom and expert knowledge informed the research priorities.

From this has come the Strategic Research Agenda for Ageing Well in SA (PDF 410KB), which aims to focus and unify efforts towards evidence generation, increase efficiency and impact of research funding and ensure that research activity is relevant and useful for policy and practice.

Impact Research Grants for Ageing Well

Impact Research Grants for Ageing Well 2024-2025 are now closed.

Assessment is underway and applicants will be advised of the outcomes in due course.

Impact Research Grants for Ageing Well encourage researchers from a variety of disciplines to undertake innovative independent research that generates new evidence and builds knowledge to address the social and structural determinants of ageing well to influence policy and practice.

Grants are offered in two streams:

  • 2 x Seed Grants each to the value of $25,000 for two research projects of up to 12 months duration.
  • 1 x Major Project Grant to the value of $100,000 for a research project of up to 24 months duration.

In 2024-2025 the priority research questions fall under the pillar of ‘Sense of Community – People’.

Impact Research Grants for Ageing Well Recipients 2023-2024

Two groups of researchers from Flinders University and a research partnership between Flinders and Torrens Universities were awarded Impact Research Grants for Ageing Well funding totalling $150,000 in 2023-2024.

Researchers are considering questions of community and policy importance relating to the ageing well pillars of ‘Social inclusion’ and ‘Life-course’ in South Australia’s Strategic Research Agenda for Ageing Well.

Flinders University researchers partnering with Torrens University is using a major project grant of $100,000 over two years to explore through focus groups with older migrants and refugees from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and service provider interviews, how alternative approaches to ageing help to safeguard rights and encourage social inclusion.

Flinders University researchers are focussing on the health, care and wellbeing of older prisoners, using their $25,000 seed grant to codesign an aged care facility model for prisoners. To shape this they are mapping services, infrastructure, and innovation at South Australia’s Yatala Labour Prison.

A third group of Flinders University researchers is using its $25,000 seed grant for the New Tools for Tackling Ageism pilot project, coproducing and assessing the effectiveness of a series of educational videos for community programs and campaigns to reduce ageism.

See the full list of recipients of Ageing Well Community and Research Grants 2023-2024 (PDF 208KB).

Inaugural Impact Research Grants for Ageing Well Recipients 2023

Impact Research Grants for Ageing Well were inaugurated in 2023 when the Strategic Research Agenda for Ageing Well was launched.

Flinders University received a Major Project Grant of $100,000 over two years, to examine how homes can be modified to better support people to age well, maximise their participation in meaningful activities, and reduce their support needs.

The University of South Australia (UniSA) received a Seed Grant of $25,000 over one year to partner with the Animal Welfare League (SA) and Levande Lightsview Retirement Village to codevelop innovative team approaches to animal care.

UniSA received a second Seed Grant of $25,000 over one year to partner with Care Finder Housing Specialists and Believe Housing SA to examine and better understand the transition between loss of home ownership and the receipt of housing assistance.

Office for Ageing Well and the CHiAPRT, which is jointly based at Health Translation SA and School of Public Health University of Adelaide, continue to work closely with grant recipients to enable older people to participate in the research to guide ageing well policy and practice.

If you require further information, contact:

Office for Ageing Well
Email: ageingwellresearchgrants@sa.gov.au
Phone: 08 8204 2420