The North West Coast (NWC) Living Lab in Ageing & Dementia has seen considerable progress in its first year, with seven care organisation members actively engaged and plans to add an eighth. The initiative is pushing forward with research and practical applications aimed at improving care for older adults and those living with dementia.

Dr Clarissa Giebel, Senior Research Fellow and Lead of the NWC Living Lab in Ageing & Dementia, shared her thoughts on the progress: “The first year has been encouraging, with care organisations showing genuine interest and involvement. It’s clear that bringing together staff from across the social care sectors and linking them up with individual academics is vital for addressing the real challenges in dementia care.”

A major achievement for the Living Lab has been securing funding for three research internships, designed to involve care staff in active research roles. These internships, supported by EQUADEM and the NIHR ARC NWC, offer staff an opportunity to develop research skills that can directly improve their daily practice.

“By involving care staff in research, we ensure that the findings are grounded in the realities of care work,” Dr Giebel explained. “It is important that the research we conduct is directly applicable to the environments where it will be used, and for care staff to take back their learnings to share with their colleagues.”

Additionally, the Living Lab has secured its first grant incomes, which will support further co-developed research. Year 2 will focus on developing new research collaborations, increasing staff capacity, securing additional funding, and exchanging ideas with the Dutch Living Lab team.

Dr Giebel added, “We’re building on the foundation laid in Year 1, and looking to make sure that care staff feel supported to lead their own research initiatives. The relationships we’ve built will be key as we continue this work.” The recent Year 1 event included Dutch collaborators who were impressed with the high level of engagement from care organisations.

Dr Hilde Verbeek of Mastricht University is Professor of Long-Term Care Environment sat within the Department of Health Services Research and chair of the Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care shared, “We highly value the collaboration with our twin NWC Living Lab. It is wonderful to see so many enthusiastic people from research, practice and policy working together on scientific research to improve evidence-based dementia care. The exchange with us brings joy and reflection, so we can learn and together build to better support people living with dementia and their caregivers.”

Innovation Project Manager at Sevagram Frank Roost said “Visiting Liverpool with AWO Limburg was inspiring and energising. Exploring the dementia village, the innovative nursing home, and connecting with our twin NWC Living Lab revealed both striking similarities but also valuable differences. It showed how powerful collaboration across borders can be and it was especially insightful to see how innovation and research can flourish when there’s a sense of urgency, even when resources are limited.”

The NWC Living Lab in Ageing & Dementia is set to continue its work, with a focus on practical outcomes for dementia and ageing care. With support from its care organisation members and a clear strategy for Year 2, the Living Lab is poised to drive change in the social care sector.