PRIAE, an independent charitable institute established in 1998, is the leading body working in the field of ageing and ethnicity in the UK and Europe. PRIAE works across black and minority ethnic (BME) communities to improve health, social care, pensions, housing and quality of life for current and future generations of BME elders. The institute seeks to act as an umbrella body for voluntary and community organisations working in the area and also to influence national and European policy and encourage good practice in work with BME elders. PRIAE does this through creating and leading on a range of research and development projects which are introduced below.

SCEES (Securing Care for Ethnic Elders in Scotland)

It is well known that many minority ethnic older people in Scotland do not make use of the range of health and social care services that are available, and as a result their health and wellbeing can suffer. In a ground-breaking partnership between the Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity (PRIAE) and The Scottish Government, SCEES has been established to explore the particular barriers facing Scotland’s minority ethnic elders, and to make recommendations for improvement.

SCEES is the first development of its kind dedicated to minority ethnic elders in Scotland. It has been funded by The Scottish Government and created by PRIAE, which is the leading organisation specialising in ageing and ethnicity across the UK and Europe. PRIAE has worked in Scotland since 1998, when it helped to organise the country’s first policy event involving minority ethnic elders and carers. This generated evidence for the Royal Commission on Long Term Care for the Elderly, the findings and recommendations of which set the scene for SCEES.

An independent charitable institute based in Leeds, PRIAE acts as an international umbrella organisation and one of its key roles is to support grassroots voluntary projects that raise awareness and explore solutions to the wide range of issues affecting black and minority ethnic elders. The work of SCEES complements a large portfolio of PRIAE initiatives that target improvement in public services for older people from minority communities across the UK. Its research in minority elderly health and social care (particularly dementia and dignity) is significant, and the results will be widely disseminated to support service improvement.

“Our main aim is to achieve tangible developments, and address elders’ concerns that work like this is ‘not just more talk’,” says PRIAE founder and Executive Director Professor Naina Patel, who designed SCEES. “The SCEES project has set out to improve and manage dignified and active ageing life for Scotland’s black and minority ethnic elders, and we are very grateful for the involvement of the community members and service providers who are taking part.”

SCEES is working in three main areas: active ageing, patient-centred care and end of life issues. The objective is to gain better understanding of minority ethnic older people’s needs in Scotland, and to share best practice between health organisations and social care providers in order to improve service access, service uptake and the user experience. This reflects the Scottish Government’s over-arching agenda to promote equality and social inclusion.

Minority Ethnic Elders’ Policy Network (ME²PN)

The Minority Ethnic Elders’ Policy Network (ME²PN) is a national network of BME elders and age organisations which aims to improve policies and services affecting BME elders in health, housing, social care, employment, income and pensions. ME²PN works closely with BME voluntary organisations that are critical to elders as well as national organisations to ensure that elders are empowered through information, and are able to effectively engage policy makers at a local, regional and national level.

ME²PN was launched in April 2006 and in its first year held two successful and widely attended regional conferences. The conferences provided an opportunity for BME elders and BME age organisation managers to tell us and senior policy makers where improvements are needed.

On 18th April 2007 ME²PN joined the Mass Lobby for Age Equality at Central Hall Westminster and ensured that BME elders were well represented at this important policy event and that BME elders were able to lobby their MPs and call for an end to all forms of age discrimination.

ME²PN is giving elders and others concerned with BME elder issues an opportunity to join one of the following policy groups which reflects their interest/expertise:

• Health
• Social care
• Housing
• Employment
• Income security and pensions

As members BME elders will be empowered through high quality and accessible information. They will be invited to lobby policy makers on the key issues affecting BME elders and supported by PRIAE with information, advice, tools and opportunities.

We invite BME elders and others concerned with BME elder issues to join ME²PN and improve policies and services for current and future generations of BME elders.

To join ME²PN contact Ian Smith, Information and Policy Manager
Tel: 0113 285 5990
E-mail: ian.smith@priae.org

‘Being a Donor’ project

The ‘Being a Donor’ project focuses on donating blood, bone marrow, tissue and organs within the South Asian, African, African Caribbean and Chinese BME community members to examine both the incentives and barriers involved in registering as a blood, bone marrow, tissue or organ donor. PRIAE is offering skills training to these community members to develop a grassroots awareness-raising and health education campaign, targeting BME donors in particular. So this campaign is being created for BME communities by BME communities.

Previous campaigns in this area have been largely unsuccessful judging by the consistently low numbers of BME individuals registered as donors. This project will also investigate why these campaigns did not have the desired impact of increasing numbers significantly. Currently a number of community events are being planned across the UK to invite interested parties to attend and learn more about the project.

AIM (Ageing Actively in Minority Communities) project

The AIM (Ageing Actively in Minority Communities) project focuses on encouraging, supporting and promoting active ageing of BME elders. This initiative strives to increase the physical activity of BME elders. It will highlight the effective work already being done in this area from being active in dance, games, exercise, walking, working and simply living. This scheme also looks to widen participation by reaching those with limited physical capacity and those that may be isolated for whatever reasons.

Over the past two years, more than 60 organisations have either been interviewed or consulted about the benefits of physical activity for older people within the ethnic minority communities. PRIAE held a residential event in November 2007 and will hold a showcasing event in March 2008.

For the residential event, forty BME elders from ten BME organisations were invited to attend, which brought together a cross section of BME elders, who demonstrated their particular physical activity to the other participants of the residential and explained the health benefits of being active. For those organisations and BME elders who were not able to attend the residential event, they will have the opportunity to display their physical activities to a wider audience in the showcasing event planned in 2008.

CEMESME (Contribution of Ethnic Minority Employees to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises)

As well as working under the areas of health, housing and quality of life, PRIAE delivers innovative policy research and training under the areas of employment and enterprise. CEMESME (Contribution of Ethnic Minority Employees to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) is a project concentrating on the corporate culture of British firms regarding diversity in the workplace. The project aims to clarify the implications of diversity management on the firm’s general business performance and more specifically, on the SME’s internationalisation.

In February 2007, PRIAE launched its research study ‘Untapped Resources: the Opportunities of an Ethnically Diverse Workforce’. The research study outlined the findings derived from the survey carried out among British SMEs between 2005-2006. PRIAE’s CEMESME project research was borne out of the fact that there is much to gain from SMEs capitalising on Britain’s multicultural society. The survey is one of the first attempts to bridge the knowledge and information gap on how SMEs perform when ethnic diversity is factored in and how they view minority ethnic employees in contributing to business performance.

Lord Karan Bilimoria, the Chair of the National Employment Panel for the SMEs Board and the founder of ‘Cobra Beer’, who hosted the launch of PRIAE’s research results in February 2007 at the House of Lords, believes that diversity in his company has been key to the success of the business, now valued at £100m. He says: “It is amazing, but diversity creates a buzz”.

The impact of our research findings has been felt as demonstrated by considerable media coverage, including a large half page spread in the Financial Times reporting on the CEMESME research findings, (20th February 2007) stating:

‘The value of multicultural workplaces is disputed by most businesses, according to research by a think-tank based on interviews with almost 300 small and medium enterprises’.

‘The CBI-backed survey by the Policy Research institute on Ageing and Ethnicity - the largest to chart business views on this issue – found that while a third agreed that ethnic diversity contributed to performance, slightly more disagreed’.

PRIAE has also developed strong links with national business support organisations to practically translate its research results and assist SMEs. For example, we have piloted a Personalised International Mentoring Programme where firms can see the effect of employing an ethnically diverse workforce. PRIAE introduces minority ethnic UK and overseas postgraduate students to UK SMEs as ‘mentors’ to assist the company in developing their international business activities. PRIAE is keen to develop this initiative widely with the support of national support agencies including the CBI, which was welcomed at the launch.

An electronic copy of the research can also be downloaded from our website - www.priae.org

Footnotes:
‘The CBI welcomes the PRIAE/CEMESME research report and PRIAE’s cross-cultural mentoring initiative to meet SMEs’ needs. This is a practical and positive initiative that encourages a culture of co-operation rather than relying on enforcement through legislation’. Susan Anderson, Director of HR Policy, CBI