Download Terms of Reference for Call 1

Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland
Ageing Research Grants Programme
Terms of Reference for Call 1
CARDI
CARDI is a not for profit organisation developed by leaders from the ageing field
across Ireland (North and South) including age focused researchers, academics,
statutory, voluntary and community sector representatives with support from The
Atlantic Philanthropies. It is overseen by a Steering Group and hosted by the
Institute of Public Health in Ireland.
Mission
“To advocate for and advance the ageing research agenda by identifying,
coordinating, stimulating, and communicating strategic research on ageing and older
people as a means to improve the lives of older people in Ireland (North and South)
especially those who are disadvantaged.”
Purpose
CARDI has been established to provide a mechanism for greater collaboration
among age researchers, for wider dissemination of ageing research information and
to advance a research agenda relevant to the needs of older people in Ireland
(North and South). Operating at a strategic level and in an advisory capacity, CARDI
will focus on promoting research co-operation across sectors and disciplines and will
concentrate on influencing the strategic direction of research into older people and
ageing in Ireland. It has been strategically positioned around the following four
areas:

Identifying and establishing ageing research priorities relevant to policy and
practice in Ireland (North and South);
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
Promoting greater collaboration and co-operation on ageing research in order to
build an ageing research community in Ireland (North and South);

Stimulating research in priority areas that can inform policy and practice relating
to ageing and older people in Ireland (North and South);

Communicating strategic research issues on ageing to raise the profile of ageing
research in Ireland (North and South) and its role in informing policy and
practice.
Context
Ireland’s population is ageing. One million people aged 60 and above now live on
the island of Ireland. By 2031, it is expected that Northern Ireland’s percentage of
older people will increase to 28% and the Republic of Ireland’s to 23%. The largest
increase will be in the older old; the number aged 80+ is expected to triple by the
same date. But while life expectancy has increased, it is not clear that life without
disability and ill health has increased to the same extent. A growing number of older
people may be facing the combined effects of a decline in physical and mental
function, isolation and poverty.
Policy makers, service providers and older people alike recognise the need to create
a high quality of life for our ageing population. This challenge can be met by solving
the problems relating to healthy ageing, reducing inequalities in later life and
creating services that are shaped by and appropriate for older people.
An ageing population provides an opportunity for research in a wide variety of areas
relating to older people, not just in health and social care but engineering,
technology, housing, transport, economics, planning, sociology and psychology,
among others. To be most effective greater cross-sectoral and inter-disciplinary
collaboration and co-operation will be required across the island of Ireland.
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CARDI Grants Programme
Aim
To advance the ageing research agenda in Ireland, North and South.
Objectives
 To support and enable cross-border and inter-disciplinary research
collaboration on ageing and older people;
 To stimulate research activity on the needs of older people within a policy and
practice context in Ireland;
 To increase the capacity of the ageing research community in Ireland.
Priority themes
We welcome research proposals under the themes:
I.
Health
Healthy ageing is affected by a wide range of factors and it is important to
understand the connections between these e.g. physical and cognitive
capability, psychological and social aspects and biological aspects.
Improvements in physical, social, economic and mental well-being can reduce
demands on health and social services in the future and make better use of our
decreasing working age population and associated finite resources.
Understanding healthy ageing is vital because the contribution that older people
will make to society both economically and socially will be of increasing
importance.
II.
Inequalities
Significant inequalities pervade the island of Ireland. Tacking the varied
inequalities which affect people in later life requires greater attention, not just
in terms of maintaining employment into older age or income adequacy in
retirement, but also of considering the various social, psychological, health and
environmental conditions that lead to and reinforce inequalities among older
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people. Policies that tackle inequalities are increasingly being formulated and
implemented on a cross-departmental basis and require inter-disciplinary
research evidence.
III.
Policies and services
There is a growing recognition that research is required to inform the
development of policy, services and decisions that affect our ageing population,
whether living at home or in care settings. Services should promote their
inclusion in society, ensuring they feel valued as planners and consumers, not
just as recipients of services. Critical examination is needed in areas such as
health, care, housing, transport, culture and recreation to ensure society
delivers services to and for older people in a way that meets their needs.
These themes, which emerged from research and consultation by CARDI, reflect the
main priorities expressed by older people and their organisations, by researchers and
policy-makers. An over-arching principle of all three themes is that the voice of
older people must be heard in research. Another is that the aim of research is to
improve the quality of life of older people through improved health and services
(themes I and III), especially vulnerable, disadvantaged or excluded older people
(theme II).
The themes can be seen as independent or over-lapping. In the consultations, for
example, models of care arose as a health issue but consultees also referred to
inequalities in care provision and access to good care services. Empowerment, the
desire for independent living, mental health, ageism and poverty are other examples
of subjects that span all three areas.
The themes can best be viewed through the lens of several disciplines; different
strands of research on ageing and older people must be brought together by
researchers from different subjects. Likewise research will benefit from crosssectoral working through partnerships involving the public, private and not-for-profit
organisations. (See ‘Approach’ below.)
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Principles
CARDI is guided by several principles:

An Ireland (North and South) focus;

The importance of research to address key issues facing older people,
particularly those most disadvantaged, and an ageing population with relevance
to policy-makers and practitioners;

Support for inter-disciplinary and cross-sectoral strategic research on ageing and
older people;

A commitment to working in partnership to meet the strategic research needs of
older people and an ageing population;

Encouragement to share learning, ask questions and listen to develop Ireland’s
ageing research agenda;

A commitment to communicate results in a clear and accessible manner;

Ensuring the voice of older people is recognised as an integral part of advancing
the ageing research agenda in Ireland;

Promotion of the dignity, value and contribution of older people and an ageing
population.
Approach
Proposals may take many forms including:

Empirical, feasibility and speculative studies;

Small scale research;

Translational research;

Analysis of existing data sets;

Development of inter-disciplinary and/or cross-border research networks.
In Call 1 we particularly welcome the development of inter-disciplinary and crossborder research networks.
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Ageing is quite a new research subject in Ireland (North and South) and, apart from
branches of science and medicine, is still in its infancy. It is increasingly being
recognised that ageing is a complex process with no single discipline answering all
the questions that arise. Using the three themes above, CARDI will support the
development of cross-border inter-disciplinary research networks with a policy and
practice focus. These networks can link existing areas of research and develop new
ones in order to find complementary research proposals and interest areas that can
take advantage of any forthcoming funding opportunities.
Resources
Call 1 awards will typically be for up to €15,000 for projects with a maximum of 12
months duration but exceptionally may be up to €50,000 for a project lasting a
maximum of 15 months.
We expect to spend approximately €200,000 in Call 1, made up of about 15 awards
of up to €15,000 and one of up to €50,000.
CARDI money comes from charitable sources and will not incur any University
overheads.
Additional support
It is possible that some applicants will have access to additional contributions to
their work from their own institutions or from other sources. Proposals with this type
of support are welcome and are encouraged as a means of achieving added value.
Submission
Proposals should be made on the application form which can be downloaded from
www.cardi.ie/grantprogramme
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Eligibility
Proposals may be submitted by individuals or groups from academic, private, nonprofit and voluntary and community sectors.
An applicant is allowed to submit only one proposal to Call 1 as a Principal
Investigator (PI), but someone who is a PI on one proposal may be named as a Coinvestigator (CI) on other proposals.
CARDI cannot accept simple re-submissions of previously submitted proposals.
CARDI does not fund students for PhD study.
Publication and support
Award holders will benefit from assistance in publishing and disseminating their
work. CARDI will organise the editing and publication of a series of executive
summaries of projects it supports and findings will be reported on the CARDI
website. CARDI will encourage the dissemination of results in peer-reviewed
publications. We will also provide help to understand and translate research into the
policy and practice context.
Criteria
Proposals should involve cross-border and inter-disciplinary collaboration. They will
be assessed against the following criteria:

Quality of the application;

Relevance to one or more of the priority themes;

Relevance to policy and/or practice affecting older people;

Feasibility of the study within timescale and budget;

Opportunities arising out of the research e.g. to attract additional funding or
develop into a larger study;

Involvement/engagement of older people;

A cross-sectoral approach (public, private and not-for-profit);

Building research capacity by involving new researchers.
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In the event that the budget for proposals which are both cross-border and interdisciplinary is not fully allocated, CARDI will give preference to applications which
are either cross border or inter-disciplinary; it may then consider any other proposals
using the criteria listed above.
Deliverables
The successful applicants will be required to deliver the following:

Presentation of research at a CARDI event e.g. seminar/conference;

Submission of a research report (uploaded to CARDI website);

Brief document written for non-researchers on implications;

Submission to relevant journals/magazines, including peer-reviewed or scientific
journals or CARDI publication
In the case of grants for research networks, appropriate deliverables will be agreed
between CARDI and the applicant.
Awards - the review process
The CARDI staff team will initially examine applications for eligibility and pass eligible
proposals to the Grants Panel, which will request peer review at its discretion.
The Grants Panel will have final jurisdiction over decisions. Unsuccessful applicants
will not be given feedback.
Ethics approval
Appropriate ethical approval must be received for research involving human subjects
from the University or other institution that people are applying from. In all cases,
whether or not ethics approval has been given, CARDI will need to be assured that
both proposals and research projects as they progress meet high ethical principles.
See ethics guidelines on www.cardi.ie/grantprogramme.
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For a full list of questions and answers from our grants programme briefing
sessions in January and February 2009 and received by email and telephone go
to: http://www.cardi.ie/grantprogramme
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