Reducing the number of people at risk of social exclusion is a headline target of the Europe 2020 strategy. Population ageing and low economic growth pose major challenges to meeting this target, emphasising the necessity to tackle old-age exclusion. While risks of exclusion of older people are widening and deepening, damaging gaps in understanding old-age exclusion exist across Europe. Existing knowledge is poorly developed, lacks synthesis and is spread across highly disparate disciplines. This Action aims to overcome fragmentation and critical gaps in conceptual innovation on old-age exclusion across the life course, in order to address the research-policy disconnect and tackle social exclusion amongst older people in Europe. The action will engage with researchers and policy stakeholders to develop shared understandings and to direct the development of new policy and practice interventions, that can be practically and effectively implemented, for reducing exclusion in diverse European ageing societies. The Action will establish an innovative participatory, interdisciplinary and cross-European collaboration that will: (1) synthesise existing knowledge; (2) critically investigate the construction of life-course old-age exclusion (3) assess the implications of old-age exclusion across the life course; (4) Develop new conceptual frameworks on old-age exclusion; and (5) identify innovative, and implementable, policy and practice for reducing old-age exclusion. The Action focuses on economic, social, service, civic rights, and community/spatial exclusion. With deliverables that include conferences, workshop-policy events, briefing papers, early-career investigator development, and a repository of innovative practice and policy, the Action will forge much-needed new links between research and policy, enhancing evidence-based and effective innovation.
Ageing - Social Exclusion - Active and healthy ageing - participatory interdisciplinary collaboration - policy and practice innovation
