Foundations for a high-quality service

Volunteer Community Researchers

UWE evaluation report on BAB Community Researchers. This report explores how BAB have involved older people as volunteer researchers and evaluators. It provides an overview of their role, their activities and achievements to date and the lessons learnt from their involvement in the evaluation process.

Learning from volunteer peer-researchers in 5 Ageing Better programmes. In May 2019, BAB facilitated a shared learning event with 5 of the 14 Ageing Better programmes. This report shares the learning from this event, while the summary document outlines the 5 key findings.

Babbers Radio Show 

Learning and recommendations from the Babbers Radio Show, a weekly community radio show run by and for people aged 50+ in Bristol.

Involving older people in decision making 

We asked our partners to reflect on how older people are currently involved in the decisions made within their projects and organisations. We also asked them for their ideas about how this could be improved.

Reaching and engaging older people who are LGBT+ 

Learning from two workshops led by The Diversity Trust aiming to ensure that those who work with older people feel confident in reaching and engaging people who are LGBT+. The workshops were co-developed with individuals aged 50+ who identify as LGBT+ as well as BAB’s LGBT+ Community Development Officer for Older Adults.

Reaching and engaging older people with dementia 

This Learning Digest presents the key learning and ideas from two workshops run by Bristol Dementia Action Alliance.The aim of these workshops was to learn more about how organisations and individuals can reach, engage and include older people with dementia within their community activities.

What has worked well when reaching and engaging older men? 

In August 2019, projects within the BAB programme came together to reflect and share their learning about engaging men aged 50 and over. This topic was chosen because, across the programme, there have been significantly fewer male participants than female participants. This report outlines the key learning.

Reaching and engaging older carers 

Learning from workshops run by Carers Support Centre in conjunction with Bristol & Avon Chinese Women’s Group (BACWG). BAB want to ensure that staff and volunteers working with older people in Bristol feel equipped to identify older carers, to make their projects inclusive for older carers, and to be more aware of the support available for them.

Reaching and engaging older Somali women in Bristol 

This Learning Digest presents the learning, discussions and ideas from two workshops which explored how to better reach and engage older Somali women in Bristol. These workshops were run by Midnimo Women’s Group, a self-organised local community group formed in 2017 for Somali women.

How have BAB projects used technology to reach and engage people aged 50+? 

This report explores how BAB projects have used technology to reach and engage people aged 50+. What has worked well and why? What advice do they have for others?

Inclusive communications 

In March 2018 BAB's Communications Network received training on inclusive communications and discussed their experiences of this. Here we share this learning and provide you with tips on how to make your communications more inclusive.

Initial learning about making your project more accessible and inclusive 

Looking to make your project more accessible or inclusive? Read our initial learning from other BAB projects to help you reflect and improve.

Engaging older people with sight loss, hearing loss, dual sensory loss or experience of substance misuse 

Staff and volunteers across the BAB programme came together to learn how to make their work more inclusive and accessible for older people with sight loss, hearing loss, dual sensory loss or experience of substance misuse. Led by Sense, Bristol Drugs Project and the Centre for Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Using a storytelling approach to reach and engage people aged 85+ 

Research tells us that those aged 85+ can be at particular risk of loneliness and isolation. This Digest shares learning about using a storytelling approach to engage with this age group. Led by the University of Bristol and Stand + Stare from the Tangible Memories Project.

Finding older people to take part in your project 

Finding potential participants and encouraging them to take part in your project can sometimes be a challenge, especially when aiming to involve those who are experiencing loneliness or isolation. We've compiled some tips and learning from BAB projects.

Working in partnership with other organisations 

Partnership working is central to the entire BAB programme. Here we share the learning from across our projects about successful ways to work alongside other organisations, from the very beginning of a partnership through to the end.

Older volunteers within the BAB programme 

This report looks at older volunteers in the BAB programme. What have BAB projects learnt about involving volunteers aged 50+?

Supporting volunteers 

Many of our projects involve volunteers, and they often play a key part in a project’s effectiveness at tackling loneliness and isolation. Here we share our learning on how to support your volunteers and get the best from them

Using our Common Measurement Framework (CMF) evaluation questionnaires 

Learning from across our projects so far about the best ways to complete BAB's CMF evaluation questionnaires, including practical tips and preparations to make in advance.