The Averil Osborn Memorial Fund was established by the British Society of Gerontology to support innovative research and dissemination projects which directly involve older people and to spread understanding and good practice. Since the fund’s establishment in 1995, 30 projects have been funded.

Averil Osborn was born in 1944 and trained as a scientist before turning to public policy issues. She had a sharp analytical mind, with a scientist's healthy scepticism for received wisdom, and was always ready to question existing ideas and ways of doing things to promote improvements in society. The work that was to develop Averil's reputation as a social gerontologist began in 1975 when Averil became a research officer in the Lothian Region Social Work Department. She is described by colleagues as 'a superb professional who always set herself exactingly high standards'. She is also remembered for her warmth and gentle humour. In 1982, Averil moved to Age Concern Scotland as Assistant Director for Training and Development. Here she was able to address and bridge what she regarded as disturbing gaps between research and policy and practice. In the 1990s she joined the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which provided a further avenue for her commitment to change. Averil collaborated with many people in the public services, academic world and voluntary sector, many of whom researched especially challenging issues in social policy. She remained throughout deeply committed to action research. For her, the energy and money invested in social research were only well spent if its results were widely disseminated, informed public debate and catalysed policy change.

All Averil’s work was founded on a genuine respect and admiration for the older people with whom she came into contact. For Averil, older people were not just passive subjects, whether of care services, planning or research, but active participants eminently able and willing to determine their own destinies. She was one of the first gerontologists to champion an active role for older people in all stages of the research process, from determining the research questions, through research design, data collection, analysis and dissemination. She understood that this is ultimately a question of power: who decides what matters; who sets the agenda; who asks the questions; and who decides what things mean. Averil saw participation as a fundamental right. It is for this reason that the Averil Osborn Fund places such a strong emphasis on the direct involvement of older people in the research it funds.

Averil embraced the highest standards of professional integrity and performance and expected them from those she worked with. She is remembered with deep affection and admiration. Averil Osborn died in July 1994.

Anthea Tinker’s kind contribution to this article encapsulates Averil’s vision, and the rewards of that vision:

“I first got to know Averil when she started on her career as a social gerontologist in the mid 1970s. From that time, and in the various jobs that she did, she pursued a single minded objective of ensuring that research always had a practical effect. She saw the value of translating research into policy and practice before the term ‘knowledge transfer’ became fashionable. Indeed she would probably have smiled sardonically (for she did not suffer fools gladly) at such a technical term for such a simple concept. In all her work older people were at the heart of her concerns. Her sudden death in 1994 caused her many friends to mourn at the loss of such a contributor to gerontology and to the cause of older people. When I gave a tribute to her at the following BSG conference it was clear from what people said to me afterwards that her memory was not going to be forgotten. The Averil Osborn Fund was born and I am sure she would have been delighted, though somewhat taken aback, that her name would be associated with a prize.”

There is probably no better way to demonstrate the benefit of the fund than to give an example of the most recently completed project funded by the award. Aspire (Housing and Personal Development Services) were granted a sum to investigate the impact of a support service for previously homeless men in Glasgow. The service (Maxwell) delivers individually tailored developmental support to eight older men who have been homeless and have been living in hostels in and around Glasgow for most of their adult lives. The aim of the research was to investigate the health gains of those who had access to the Maxwell service and to assess the impact of the service on their quality of life and citizenship, so that policymakers and planners could be informed accordingly. The research was designed and conducted in full partnership with the participants, who established personal timelines to identify key life events against which they self-rated their health. This in turn was analysed in terms of how this directly impacted on their quality of life and citizenship. In summarising the findings, the fund holders wrote:

“Maxwell residents reported vastly improved health in all respects and enhanced vitality, and as a result, now enjoy a high degree of personal contentment and a fuller sense of citizenship”

A key requirement of project funding is dissemination, and presentations of the findings from this project will be made by the participants themselves to stakeholders in Glasgow.

A few further examples of the many projects funded by the Averil Osborn award include the Homes and Housing Project where older people living in rural Wiltshire used photography and image making to explore ideas about housing issues; a combined quantitative and qualitative study exploring issues related to the use of mobile phones by older people (University of Manchester); the Elder Mediation project (EMP) which aimed to help older people to enhance their own decision-making capacities, and the Age Concern Cookstown initiative where a team of older people conducted a survey on the needs of approximately 700 older people living in a rural district in Northern Ireland.

Future Directions
In continuing the ethos of the Averil Osborn fund, the awards panel hopes to be able to raise the visibility of the award to secure more donations, and thus to be able to support more projects. In keeping with the British Society of Gerontology policy in enhancing their web presence, the awards panel will be re-evaluating the Averil Osborn awards section on the website. In particular it is anticipated that findings from completed projects will be made available for members to read.

For further information, please contact Sue Venn, Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, 01483 689292, s.venn@surrey.ac.uk . Or members of the awards panel:

Clive Newton, Chair, Age Concern England
Sue Venn, Secretary to the Panel, University of Surrey
Robert Peacock, Edinburgh
Susan Tester, University of Stirling
Tony Warnes, University of Sheffield
Kate Davidson, University of Surrey