n4A engAGED

The challenge

In 2017, The U.S. Administration on Aging, which is part of the Administration on Community Living (ACL) released a funding opportunity to create a national resource center for social engagement and older adults that would support the national aging network. N4A, the National Association of the Area Agencies on Aging, invited OATS to be a key partner in this project along with national leaders in social engagement from across the country: Lifetime Arts, Generations United, and National Center for Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes.

The strategy

Identify and share lessons from our field of expertise in order to increase ACL’s and the national Aging Network’s understanding of what constitutes good practice for promoting and supporting social engagement among older adults and to expand the reach of the Aging Network to more effectively serve older adults through social engagement in the areas of civic engagement, creative expression, intergenerational opportunities, and lifelong learning, and technology.

The solution

OATS hosted a national virtual “think tank” event to get input from key stakeholders, aging organizations, and older adults about strategies that the Aging Network can employ to broaden the opportunities for social engagement of older adults. Then, together with n4a and the key partners, developed “engAGED: The National Resource Center for Engaging Older Adults.” engAGED is a national effort to increase social engagement among older adults through a variety of activities. engAGED has identified and disseminated information about emerging trends, resources and replication strategies that the Aging Network can customize for use in their communities and is working to develop and support a national strategy for educating and informing the Aging Network about innovative social engagement approaches and programming targeted toward older adults. This work is hosted on the website OATS developed with the partners: engagingolderadults.org