GOALD for researchers

Promoting research and outcomes
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GOALD was run collaboratively by the and the research group, as well as in partnership with the ²ÝùÊÓƵ’s Centre for Health Technology (CHT). 
Funding came from via the . 
GOALD was partnered with three national strategic partners: , , and seven local community groups: , ; , , , and . 
We also worked with 12 care homes, four in Scotland and eight in the South West. You can find a list of the GOALD partners on our partners page. 
Over the course of the three-year project, the research team recorded the different groups’ experiences of digital resources and assistive technologies and then shared their findings with business partners – small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – to develop new technologies, product ideas and test design concepts.
The work was aligned to the ²ÝùÊÓƵ's existing EPIC project and the University of Stirling’s and expanded on the networks within them both.

Phase 1

 Phase 1 of the project was multifaceted, it involved:
  • working with our seven local community groups and 12 care homes to recruit them as partners on our project, to later help recruit older and younger people for the Intergenerational Co-production Groups (ICGs) in Phase 2
  • identifying innovative technologies which could be used to encourage greater physical activity in older people, to be tested by the ICGs
  • establishing an advisory group made up of care home staff and community group members to advise on all aspects of the project from research methods, promotion and webinar content to technology suitability for older adults and the ICGs.

Phase 2

In Phase 2 we began to recruit our older and younger participants, working closely with our community groups and care homes to create Intergenerational Co-production Groups. These ICGs became a pivotal resource for the project.

ICG participants had opportunities to engage in various experiences focused on physical activity, sports, reminiscence, health and wellbeing, many of which involved the use of novel digital health technologies. The ICG's tested and fed-back on the experiences, and helped develop and improve the ideas to best support their health and wellbeing. We encouraged engagement of businesses to participate in the co-production process, receiving valuable feedback from ICG's on their interventions or technologies, meaning experiences will better suit the needs and desires of the potential end-users.

As part of our learning from Phase 2, we sought to build on best methodological practice for establishing intergenerational connections using the internet and technologies. This was valuable knowledge to support social connectedness and reducing loneliness through remote means.

Phase 3

In Phase 3 we presented our research findings, paying particular attention to the health outcomes of ICG participants. We hope that this provided a valuable resource for SMEs and researchers looking to find innovative eHealth solutions to older people’s needs.

Phase 4

In Phase 4, new prototypes from SMEs and our researchers were tested and their effectiveness measured.

Phase 5 

The last phase of the project, Phase 5, saw the dissemination of our findings. 

Contact us

If you would like to get in touch with our researchers about the GOALD project please contact: