Chair-Elect, ERA, Swansea University On behalf of the 2009 ERA conference organising committee

The 2009 BSG-ERA annual conference was held in Cardiff and attracted over 40 delegates from across the UK, Europe, USA and beyond. The event in Cardiff coincided with the 10th anniversary of the National Assembly for Wales and was an exciting opportunity to showcase Wales’ achievements in policy developments and initiatives relevant to older people.

The first day was held in Cardiff Bay at the home of the National Assembly for Wales. Delegates were given the opportunity to tour The Senedd building, which was designed by one of the world’s leading architects Lord Richard Rogers. The Senedd building was designed to signify great cultural significance in Wales and reflect the country’s growing democratic maturity as well as achieving high standards of environmental performance. The second day was held at the historic City Hall, an Edwardian building which once served as the centre of local Government.

First to address the conference was Deputy Minister for Social Service, Gwenda Thomas who spoke about the Strategy for Older People in Wales. The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to ensuring policy developments reflect the needs of an expanding ageing society and improve the quality, quantity and responsiveness of services for older people in Wales.

Professor Judith Phillips then addressed the conference and spoke on ‘Innovation, Interdisciplinarity and Impact: Why Translating Research into Policy and Practice Matters’. Here Judith explored the various contexts of research and the challenges in bridging the practice/ policy research gap. Following Judith, Ruth Marks gave an overview of her responsibilities and increasing legislative powers as the first Commissioner for Older People in Wales.

The ERA business meeting was next on the agenda and was well attended by delegates who offered lots of ideas which generated discussion as to how ERA could better serve and increase its membership. A number of members volunteered their time and skills and so it is with eager anticipation we now look forward to driving ERA forward with a committed and engaged team.

The first day of the conference was brought to a close with a wine reception at which delegates could interact and network with a range of invited guests such as assembly members and various representatives of organisations representing the interests of older people across Wales. Delegates then had the opportunity to relax and unwind at the conference dinner which was held at a local restaurant.

The second day of the conference commenced with Andrea Nicholas-Jones, a leading figure in the Welsh Assembly’s Older Person’s Long Term Care and Policy Directorate. Andrea offered a discussion of the Strategy for Older People in Wales and shared her thoughts and ideas on how developing closer links between research, policy and practice will influence the ageing experiences of older people in Wales.

The remainder of the day was devoted to the ERA presentations apart from a session on networking delivered by Professor Vanessa Burholt of Swansea University. This session offered delegates the opportunity to benefit from Ness’s vast experience in National and International collaboration as well as the chance to reflect upon how we network and optimise our ‘impact factor’.

The emerging researchers who presented their papers to the conference represented different academic institutions and disciplines within the field of ageing. A range of interesting and enlightening topics were ably delivered with each presenter being given the opportunity to receive personal feedback from other delegates. Each delegate was given the opportunity to provide constructive feedback to each presenter via an evaluation form. These forms were collected by the organisers and distributed to the presenters at the end of the conference.

It was a particular pleasure to welcome new friends and colleagues from overseas. Patrick Doyle, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Amanda Sokan, University of Kentucky, USA and Finbar Markey, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Dublin each made a special journey to the UK to support our conference and our special thanks and appreciation are extended to them.

Last but by no means least, the closing minutes of the conference was given over to President-Elect of the BSG, Professor Mim Bernard who offered ‘Ten Top Tips’ on how to translate research into policy and practice. Mim’s interesting and insightful advice included developing an overall communication strategy as well as knowing your audience and when to look for support and further training.

Overall feedback suggests the conference was a success despite some minor disappointments around the catering arrangements of the second day! The presenters reported that the opportunity to receive confidential and immediate feedback on their presentations was particularly useful and will be repeated at future ERA conferences.

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who participated and supported our conference, in particular Kelly Fitzgerald and Paul Nash and the BSG Executive committee. We now look forward to planning specific ERA events at BSG Bristol this year as well as our next ERA conference. Therefore if anyone would like to volunteer to host ERA 2010 then I would be delighted to hear from you.