By 2050, the number of people aged 85 and over is projected to double in size.
But those extended years are not always spent in good health. In fact, on average people aged 65 today will only live just over half of their remaining life without disability. This impacts not only their own quality of life but the lives of those who love them, the NHS and the need for long-term care.
That’s why we launched the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) healthy ageing challenge in 2019.
Transforming lives
This report marks the half-way point. It demonstrates the enormous momentum we are achieving. Our ambition is to transform the lives of millions within a decade.
We are encouraging and funding innovation across a broad range of themes, enabling people to remain:
- active
- productive
- independent
- socially connected across the generations for longer.
Our innovation projects illustrate a complex landscape. They span sectors including:
- housing
- care
- leisure
- financial services
- digital innovation
- energy.
We’re funding projects that deliver sustainable impact at scale, many of them designed alongside older people themselves.
Our ground-breaking research is generating insights from the arts, humanities, and social sciences to help businesses understand the opportunities emerging from healthy ageing.
We are proud of our impact, but there is much more to do to reduce disparities in healthy life expectancy. Guidance from our advisory group and citizen representatives is making that ambition a reality.
Get involved
If you’re a company, organisation or researcher interested in research and innovation in healthy ageing, then why not:
- follow us on LinkedIn
- follow us on Twitter
- subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Top image: Credit: SolStock, E+ via Getty Images
George MacGinnis graduated in engineering and was commissioned into the Royal Engineers, seeing service in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Bosnia before making a move into healthcare management.
He was seconded into the NHS National Programme for IT as the lead for assistive technology. He subsequently worked in the UK and internationally on healthcare improvements.
In 2019 he joined UK Research and Innovation as the Healthy Ageing Challenge Director.
Connect with George on LinkedIn.