Tangible Memories: Community in Care

Lead Research Organisation: University of Bristol
Department Name: Education

Abstract

How do we build connections in increasingly ageing communities? How do we get better at sharing personal stories and oral histories in ways that build community as well as creating new academic insights? How can we harness the evocative power of lifelong objects and the communicative and archiving potential of digital technologies?

The UK population is ageing with the fastest population increases in the numbers of those aged 85 and over. It is projected that by 2035 those aged 65 and over will account for 23% of the total population whilst the number of people aged 85 and over will reach 3.5 million accounting for 5 per cent of the total UK population. These changes have wide ranging implications for our communities, our family relationships, the institutions that are important to us, and concerns related to health and well-being and social trust and isolation. The care home market is growing exponentially creating new communities of circumstance of older people coming together from diverse backgrounds and with unique experiences. Pressing questions arise about how we might create 'community' in these settings and what role oral/life history collection and sharing might play in this process.

Our technical development process will involve our interdisciplinary team working with older people to co-design a desirable interface where familiar objects themselves control the interaction. We will augment the objects by associating the oral history digitally to the object. The interface will be designed such that it will be possible for older people, in conversation with their families and/or care home workers, to 'self' curate and input their own stories with minimal interaction with the technology. The look and feel of the interface, as well as its functionality, will be co-produced with older people following an approach based on user-centric, rapid prototyping in collaboration with artists and computer scientists.

In the move to a care home lifelong objects may sometimes get lost or misplaced, given away or sold. We will work with an artist-maker experienced in designing beautiful tangible objects to produce a range of 3D 'proxies' for the objects based on categorisations developed in the early stages of the research and design process. Through ownership of the physical augmented object, each individual will have tangible control over who is able to access their memory; whether they want to keep hold of the augmented object for personal use or whether they are willing to share their object with family, friends or others in their care home or beyond it.

Bringing together an interdisciplinary team including social historians, digital artists and makers, learning researchers, computer scientists, older people themselves and registered therapists we will co-produce a set of new digital tools that will address some of the key societal challenges concerning the care and well-being of older people and the legacy of the memories and stories that they leave for future generations. We are interested in exploring the way that smart objects and the internet of things might be developed in both historical research and in democratic community building.

Planned Impact

Academics (see Academic Beneficiaries) Our research team will benefit by developing expertise and knowledge in working with older people living in care homes- a growing group of the population. For our early career researchers this will increase their chances of securing employment. The research team will also develop expertise in managing co-produced research and a user centred technological design process over a relatively long period.

Oral historians, museums and art galleries would be able to use our assets to improve the collection and communication of oral histories in relation to objects/stories in or arising from their collections and archives. Our assets would also enable them to explore self curation of stories and objects.

Health professionals: Our methodologies for collecting life histories through objects will be of interest to community health professionals such as occupational and art therapists working with older people. Care home managers, owners and staff who are struggling to cope with new regulations and guidance on person centred care and individual care planning will find our digital assets and training manuals useful in developing a robust well-being policy.

Older people and their families and friends: The project will provide them with a set of assets that will help them to share memories and leave a (digital) legacy of their lives. Sharing life stories with care home staff has been proven to improve the care and quality of life that they receive. The project will also support older people to engage with digital technologies and to consider questions around their digital afterlives.

Internet service providers and social media companies (both large and small) will learn more about older people and their families views on privacy and security after death which may inform the design of new policies and new products.

Local and community history groups: may find the sharable memories recorded useful and informative for their work.

Schools: may find the sharable oral histories useful in supporting intergenerational exchange and enabling young people to consider events and responses to them in the past in order to think about their own responses in the present and future.

Policy makers at a local and national level: will be interested in our findings related to the care of our increasing ageing population, plus concerns around digital inclusion and quality of life in relation to older people living in care homes.

Charities and pressure groups: will find data and assets that can support their work to unsettle deeply held assumptions about older people and their contribution to society and improve the lives of older people living in care homes.

Digital artists and designers: working on cutting edge tangible interface design and technical object identification methodologies will be able to access our code and project specifications.

Product designers and creative technologists interested in making technologies that are accessible for older people will be interested in our findings during our process of iterative interface design and co-production with older people.

Alive! and organisations like them will have new tools to develop their workshop portfolio and training sessions for care home staff.

Other institutions, such as prisons and hospitals might benefit from our assets and methods including hospital wards for long term sick people, such as those for people with anorexia or institutions that help people who have suffered from abuse.
 
Title Co-design of Memory Parlour 
Description Stand and Stare worked with us and care staff and residents to co-design a room in a care home as a 'memory parlour' - included a map painted as a mural, various collected artefacts and re-design of the room for collaborative, multigenerational activities. 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2015 
Impact The group of care staff, residents and local volunteers were actively involved in co-designing the room - collecting vintage hats, old vinyl and some evocative furniture in a designated room. The room has already been used for a variety of purposes including: residents meeting to enjoy a bottle of wine; a resident using the room and objects for a family party; care staff using the room for tea parties and reminiscence work for residents with more advanced dementia; and special technology workshops run by local young people to which local residents were also invited and attended. Residents and staff have described the transformative effect the objects and room design have already had on residents' ability to remember and talk about events and experiences, 'it's made a real difference, people are recalling things they couldn't before,' and the new connections that are being made through this work 'he said it was great to get out and chat to others'. 
URL http://tangible-memories.com/grand-opening-of-the-memory-parlour/
 
Title Crafting our digital future 
Description Booklet published for the V & A Digital Design weekend event. 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2015 
Impact Distributed at the event to over 2000 people. 
 
Title Installation 
Description An immersive, portable installation, utilising novel tangible technologies and a set of dissemination materials, recreating a care home setting, in which audience members were encouraged to: • engage meaningfully in thinking about community, object based story telling and tangible technologies in care home settings. • drink tea, eat cake and engage in conversation with older people, academics and community experts working with us to discuss our experiences of being involved in co-produced research where technology is being co-designed with older people. • experiment with and reflect on some of our cutting edge technological prototypes to tell their own stories 
Type Of Art Artistic/Creative Exhibition 
Year Produced 2014 
Impact The installation has already featured at two engagement events where members of the public, academics in different disciplines and policy makers were able to discuss our ideas with us and try them out for themselves. 
 
Title Interactive books 
Description Interactive books co-designed with residents living in care homes 
Type Of Art Artwork 
Year Produced 2014 
Impact Residents in care homes that we are working with have increased their confidence as they have worked along side us to develop these books. Our artists are working with us to think about how these books can become scaleable and can be used in care home settings nationally. 
 
Title Mutual Instruments 
Description A set of mutual instruments - beautiful objects designed to be held that enable two users to compose music together. This first pair of Mutual Instruments are handheld networked instruments that create a musical chatroom where the two players can improvise musically together in a structured manner and have been designed with the following intentions: 1) to provide stimulation through musical activity (even if non musician user), 2) to create a potentially isolating/comforting environment, 3) to allow for local networked engagement, 4) to remain musically coherent with minimal learning and experience, 5) to be tangible rather than screen orientated. Musically the instrument is built around a backing track that divided into musical phases which are designed to act as a framing device for the interaction which is limited to 4 buttons. In the current version each button simply plays a preloaded sample both locally and on the remote partner device. The composer can choose whether a sample is played immediately a trigger happens or for it to be snapped to the next beat. 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2016 
Impact At Brigstow showcase event much engagement with new audiences who played the instruments together. At the Teenage Cancer Trust we tested the mutual instruments and many patients and families and friends said they felt this would make an important contribution to their quality of life when in hospital, especially when undoing difficult procedures or needing to be in isolation - as it enables people to interact with others musically who might not be in the same room. 
URL http://tangible-memories.com/nature-technology-wellbeing/
 
Title Tangible Memories AHRC Centenary Film 
Description AHRC tenth anniversary film made about the Tangible Memories project. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2015 
Impact A lot of interest in the project from across the globe. Currently 256 views on Youtube. 
URL http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/research/readwatchlisten/filmsandpodcasts/tangiblememories/
 
Title To the Seaside: Tangible score 
Description "To the Seaside", an embedded tangible score developed by creative technologist and sculptor Steve Symons. This wooden prototype plays nature sounds and music when it is picked up, tapped, shaken, smoothed and generally explored through touch. The top surface is embedded with pebbles and pieces of wood and conceals the network of electronics and programming that is hidden inside. Underneath, on the base of the prototype is a discreet speaker. A tangible score is a physical computer based musical instrument where marks and other elements that make the instrument's control surface also act as some form or graphical musical notation and so suggest how it is played. In this way the tangible score becomes a very specific novel instrument for musical expression (NIME) and has a sense of sonic narrative built into its design. "To the Seaside" uses these principles to create an embedded tangible score, one where the sound processing and speaker system are integrated into the body of the score itself. The body smooth and is designed to reminiscent of sand worn wood and the playing surface is made from textures and objects that represent being at the seaside. Sandpaper, shells, small stones are all set into the wooden surface using a grey mud like compound. These objects act as the interface as they are touched and stroked. Observations showed caressing and repeated stroking of interesting surfaces as being a common habit in the care centre and these actions become the driving force in the work. Sounds are triggered by touching the surface and objects. The intention is to extend this in the next version and have a sense of narrative that is moved through by use. The aim is to create an object that can be used either as part of a directed activity and used to stimulate conversation, but also as a comforting experiential object. 
Type Of Art Artefact (including digital) 
Year Produced 2016 
Impact From fieldnotes... One of the first participants to visit us in the Garden Room was a resident who is new to Deerhurst and just settling in. Betty was a very jovial character who really enjoyed shaking the handheld prototype and touching the different textures of embedded stone and wood. On contact with her hands and triggered by the movement, the sound of seagulls started squawking at Betty. She laughed and joked that the birds must be hungry 'because we were mean and had forgotten to feed them!' 
URL http://tangible-memories.com/1144-2/
 
Description The Tangible Memories Project aims to improve the quality of life for people living in care homes through the sharing of life histories. Our team of learning researchers, computer scientists, social historians, practitioners who work with older adults, digital artists and makers are seeking creative ways, using digital technology, to attach these stories to tangible things like personal possessions, handcrafted objects or print-on-demand books.

Working with older people at every stage, these new digital tools are designed to help address some of the challenges facing people living in care homes. Through creating tangible digital resources such as memory objects and digital books we are supporting them to build stronger communities through sharing stories with each other and enabling them to leave a legacy of their memories for future generations.

We have found that harnessing the power of innovative tangible technologies in care settings can impact directly on relationships of care, on intra-generational relationships between residents themselves and on intergenerational relationships between residents and their families and friends. The 3 care homes in which we have worked (one extra care facility, one dementia care facility and one private care home with mixed residents) have seen the effects of the use of these technologies first hand and all are keen to take on our technologies and develop their use in their settings. We want to continue to work alongside them to pilot their ideas.


Significant Achievements
a) Our research and co-design work has produced a range of technological prototypes that we have tested in care home settings. Our prototypes include:
• An app that enables residents to work with families or care staff to create their own interactive life history books or group history books (with audio and video triggered by visual recognition software) ultimately linked to print on demand services
• An interactive rocking chair that enables residents to listen to audio including sounds of nature (eg the sound of the sea), poems and favourite music
• A tactile cushion which can be programmed to play favourite music or audio stories - personalized for individual residents, using visual recognition software
• The use of Virtual Reality headsets that can transport residents to places they are no longer able to visit

a) We have developed close and mutual relationships with a series of organisations, social care providers, policy makers and small businesses who want to work with us to take our ideas forward. These partners include: Age UK, Hanover Housing (social housing provider), Alive!, Stand and Stare (interactive design company), Heidi Hinder (Artist), BrunelCare and various care homes across the Southwest.
Exploitation Route Our partners in care homes are keen to create a space or room in their setting where everyone can use our technologies together. They have suggested that there is huge potential to use these spaces as 'community hubs' where children from local schools, community groups and isolated older people living in the community might be encouraged to come and enjoy a cup of tea and a chat or a more formal encounter and where residents can meet together and with others to explore their memories and discuss their current lives and hopes for the future. We are calling these spaces 'Parlours of Wonder'. Our vision is that these spaces will be run by and for residents, care staff, families and community members.

We are looking for follow on funding (and have applied to the AHRC follow on fund) for this project to develop our ideas with the care homes we've already been working with but also to extend the project reach to explore how our technologies can be cost effectively and practically used across more care settings nationally. This work will involve writing training plans and toolkits, developing sustainable staffing models, and building up a suite of approaches to engage residents, staff and those in the local community within the Parlours.

Where do we want to be in 12 months?
• We will have co-designed and produced innovative training materials and guidance for care home residents and staff, families and organisations such as Alive! activities to use our technologies and to design their own Parlours of Wonder.
• We will have developed a robust version of the app, Android and Apple, which will be freely available on iStore and through Google Play.
• We will have explored manufacturing routes for the chair, cushion and variations of these audio experiences and created either i) a DIY guide using readily available equipment from online retailers or ii) a manufacturing partnership with an existing consortium partner or a new partner (e.g. a supplier of care home equipment or specialist products for the elderly)
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Healthcare,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
URL http://www.tangible-memories.com
 
Description Our research on older people and their quality of life has been used to promote and improve policy makers and practitioners understanding of these issues in care settings across Bristol. New methods of co-design and co-production have been used to engage care managers and staff and older people themselves in multisensory activities. The work has involved co-designing innovative new tangible technologies which have led to new training programmes for care staff delivered throughout the south and south west, as well as an improvement in the quality of care, and a decrease in social isolation and loneliness in the care settings in which we have worked. Since the end of the grant we have continued to work to develop the training and the storytelling app. The models of working and digital tools developed through the research [ the Training toolkit and the Blueprint] have informed the training being delivered to care home staff across the South West region, leading to improved practice in supporting older people's quality of life in care homes, reaching over 2500 care home professionals to date. In 2016-2018 the charity 'Alive!' trained 35 staff from six care homes on how to facilitate life-story work with older people, using the Tangible Memories app (Toolkit and Blueprint). In 2017, they also delivered three Alive Active Care Forums drawing on the Parlours of Wonder research (Toolkit), reaching a further 39 care home staff. In-depth staff training has been delivered using our model to a further 50 care staff in the South West of England during 2017 and a further 2500 care staff have been trained by Alive using our methods through their regular training sessions and their online Active Care Forum. Two care homes that participated in the original research are independently continuing (as at October 2018) to put the research into practice in their settings. One is continuing their intergenerational links with the local school, while another successfully secured further funding to expand their intergenerational work, and are continuing to run Parlours of Wonder sessions and use the space for social and family activity [a]. Hanover Housing, a national provider of care homes, presented the research via a bespoke video to all 900 of its staff in 2016? and is training Estate Managers to develop their own 'Parlours of Wonder' and make use of the StoryCreator app [c]. The methods and practices developed during the research are being independently applied in new settings. In 2017, Hanover Housing extended the Parlours of Wonder project to some of their estates in Gloucestershire. Mears Care, who work in partnership with Hanover Housing, have integrated the approach into their ways of working by inviting the older people being cared for in the community into the Parlour of Wonder for sessions to improve their quality of life. Scarborough Museums are using the StoryCreator app to run a similar intergenerational project in the North East. To support wider take-up of the research insights by those working to support older people, the research team have developed digital resource including a 'Toolkit' and a 'Blueprint' from the Parlours of Wonder research and a 'StoryCreator' app from the Tangible Memories research. Between November 2017 and October 2018, there have been 52 downloads of the Toolkit and 45 downloads of the Blueprint, by professionals including social workers, nurses, care managers and occupational therapists. The Tangible Memories StoryCreator app has been downloaded 775 times between April 2015 and October 2018, over 500 of which have been international and the project website has received over 42,000 views in the same period. In Perth Australia at an industry focussed event for care providers and policy makers (2017-2018) industry partners including residential care providers, local councils, aged care at home service providers and NGOs working with older people showed a particular interest in the process adopted (in press), especially the idea of collaboration that incorporates older people and that gives them a sense of ownership of what is produced. The research team expect to see further impacts on the practice of these organisations between 2018 and 2020. In November & December 2018, 20 staff and volunteers from Bristol Ageing Better (BAB) funded projects coming together to learn how to use our creative approaches to better reach and engage people aged 85 and older. Research tells us that those aged 85+ are at particular risk of loneliness and isolation, and as such this age group is a particular focus within the BAB programme. The two workshops were run by Dr Helen Manchester (University of Bristol) and Stand + Stare. BAB produced a 'Learning Digest' as a result of the event that documents and shares the key learning from these workshops, with a particular focus on the use of storytelling and co-design. There has been significant impact from the project on organisations including those supporting older people (Alive!), an interactive design agency (Stand + Stare) and a local community development charity (BS3 Community). Alive! is the leading national charity working to enrich the lives of older people in care and train their carers. Their participation in the research projects (Tangible Memories and Parlours of Wonder) has led to improvements in the training they are able to offer and raising their profile nationally. From 2016, their training offering has been enhanced by developing a new model of training alongside mentoring, informed by the Tangible Memories research, and making their sessions more adaptable and inclusive for people with varying physical and cognitive needs. The Parlours of Wonder project featured on BBC Points West in Dec 2017 and on the main national BBC website. This was the first time Alive! have been featured on national TV so it had a significant impact for raising the profile of the charity's work to new public audiences. Increasing numbers of organisations are accessing their training as of 2016 as a result of this raised profile [a]. Stand + Stare are a small interactive/digital design company who worked with the research team to develop digital resources from the research, including the StoryCreator app, the Parlours of Wonder Toolkit and Blueprint. They have adopted the methodologies developed through the research to successfully bid for new commissions across the country, including art commissions with Fermyn Woods and a project with the library service in Devon, which has increased the revenue of their business through securing a range of high profile commissions working with objects and older people. In the last year Stand + Stare and Alive activities have continued to work together and separately on projects and ideas related to the Tangible Memories project. THey are currently working on a project related to creating a mobile installation that can be taken around to care homes to stimulate storytelling around objects.
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Creative Economy,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education
Impact Types Cultural,Societal
 
Description Bristol Ageing Better Evidence and Evaluation group
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact As a member of the evidence and evaluation group of Bristol Ageing Better I am involved in ensuring that the team employed to evaluate this £6million national lottery funded project is done with due diligence and to the advantage of the city, older people and the Bristol Ageing Better programme which is charged with tackling the issues of isolation and loneliness amongst older people in the city.
URL http://bristolageingbetter.org.uk/about/
 
Description Member of Bristol living better at every age group
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
URL http://bristolageingbetter.org.uk/news/age-friendly-city-project-update/
 
Description Brigstow Institute strategic research fund
Amount £10,000 (GBP)
Organisation University of Bristol 
Department Brigstow Institute
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2016 
End 10/2016
 
Description Brigstow Seedcorn Funding "Post-Truth Tour Guide"
Amount £5,000 (GBP)
Organisation University of Bristol 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2017 
End 10/2017
 
Description Brigstow Seedcorn Funding "Toot & Play"
Amount £4,000 (GBP)
Organisation University of Bristol 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2016 
End 10/2016
 
Description Brigstow sandbox fund
Amount £6,000 (GBP)
Organisation University of Bristol 
Department Brigstow Institute
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2017 
End 10/2017
 
Description Co-production as Craft: The Bristol City Fellowships (UoB ESRC IAA award)
Amount £118,000 (GBP)
Organisation Economic and Social Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2019 
End 08/2021
 
Description Connected Communities Festival Cardiff
Amount £12,000 (GBP)
Organisation Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2014 
End 07/2014
 
Description Connecting through culture as we age: digital innovation for healthy ageing
Amount £1,854,444 (GBP)
Funding ID ES/V016016/1 
Organisation United Kingdom Research and Innovation 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2021 
End 02/2024
 
Description Horizon 2020
Amount £112,000 (GBP)
Organisation European Commission 
Sector Public
Country European Union (EU)
Start 02/2016 
End 02/2019
 
Description Inspiring Science
Amount £2,500,000 (GBP)
Organisation Wellcome Trust 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2017 
End 11/2019
 
Description Next generation of immersive experiences
Amount £58,898 (GBP)
Organisation Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2018 
End 10/2018
 
Description Parlours of Wonder
Amount £100,000 (GBP)
Funding ID AH/N009568/1 
Organisation Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2016 
End 10/2017
 
Description Prehension Blooms: Expanding access to creative spaces for isolated people using soft robotics
Amount £6,729 (GBP)
Organisation University of Bristol 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2021 
End 12/2021
 
Description Productive Margins ESRC grant project: PI to be academic lead on project looking at Isolation and Loneliness
Amount £50,000 (GBP)
Organisation Economic and Social Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2015 
End 12/2015
 
Description Social Innovation and Elder Care
Amount £20,500 (GBP)
Organisation Worldwide Universities Network 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2017 
End 12/2018
 
Description Tangible Realities: Using objects and digital technologies to support the transition into sheltered accommodation
Amount £6,300 (GBP)
Organisation University of Bristol 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2018 
End 07/2019
 
Description Urban Diagnostics
Amount £400,000 (GBP)
Organisation Research Councils UK (RCUK) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 04/2016 
End 10/2018
 
Description Age Uk and Brunelcare research forum 
Organisation Age UK
Department Age UK Bristol
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Organising research seminars for practitioners - inviting academics to speak
Collaborator Contribution Providing administrative support Publicising the events Providing space to hold the events Publicising our own research through their networks
Impact Research seminar events in Bristol - aimed at practitioners in the care home sector
Start Year 2016
 
Description Alive! activities 
Organisation Alive Activities
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution We are working with Alive! activities as part of the research process and they are being funded to work with us on the project. However the partnership has gone much further than this and has involved them working with us on dissemination, running events and putting us in touch with networks and others who might help us to develop our work further. It is a genuine partnership in which we have likewise provided them with links to networks that they had not been aware of before, connected them with academic work in the area and acted as a critical friend to them in thinking about their own work. We are continuing to work with Alive as they are using our app in their training for care staff and in their active care forum. They are also using the app in two new locations and evaluating this for us. Alive were also our partners on the follow on funded project 'Tangible Memories: Parlours of Wonder'. On this project they worked with us to write a training toolkit for our Parlours of Wonder project, to work alongside us to coach care staff in using the model designed. We worked with them to design an approach to training care staff that would work and they then embedded this into their ongoing practice as an organisation delivering training across the South and South West. In addition they took on our model of intergenerational work and embedded this into their programming too. Our relationship with Alive in ongoing and they are partners on the new UKRI grant 'Connecting through culture as we age: digital innovation for healthy ageing.'
Collaborator Contribution We are working with Alive! activities as part of the research process and they are being funded to work with us on the project. However the partnership has gone much further than this and has involved them working with us on dissemination, running events and putting us in touch with networks and others who might help us to develop our work further. We continue to work with them as outlined above. We have also collaborated on an AHRC Follow on funding bid which we submitted before christmas but have not heard. We received funding for this award and have continued to work with them on the Tangible Memories: parlours of wonder follow on funding award. They helped us to choose 3 settings to work with in 3 different counties and then supported us to deliver intergenerational activity sessions in these settings. They also worked in partnership with us to write the training toolkit, bringing their experience of working across a range of care settings. As part of the new grant they will be bringing their expertise in digital inequality and enabling access to cultural and arts activities for older people living in their own homes during the pandemic and beyond.
Impact ESRC Thinking Futures Festival event: Care homes for the future. Nov 4th 2014 Workshops in care homes across Bristol. Active care forum events for 50-100 people. Working in a day care centre and another care home reaching over 100 more residents with the app and object orientated activities reminscence workshops. Also we produced a training toolkit together on the Tangible Memories: Parlours of wonder project and a Blueprint for how to produce your own Parlour of WOnder see https://aliveactivities.org/resources/create-your-parlour-of-wonder/ Alive have been able to develop their model of intergenerational work through their work with the Parlours of Wonder project - this has become very successful for them financially.
Start Year 2013
 
Description BBC Natural History UNit 
Organisation British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Worked with BBC Natural history unit to enable them to 'test' their VR headsets and footage in healthcare settings Links with the Bristol Oncology Centre and the Teenage Cancer trust as well as local care homes
Collaborator Contribution Provision of staff time and VR footage
Impact Artistic products New partnership with Bristol Oncology Centre
Start Year 2016
 
Description Bristol Ageing Better and the University of Bristol 
Organisation Bristol Ageing Better
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Attendance at Evidence and evaluation committee meetings Ongoing discussion around activities in care homes and how to support and encourage them
Collaborator Contribution Access to ears of policy makers for the TangiblE Memories project and it's follow on funding.
Impact Group set up to investigate possibilities related to Bristol as an age friendly city - includes policy makers, Bristol Ageing Better, child friendly city group, City of Sanctuary group
Start Year 2015
 
Description Bristol City Council 
Organisation Bristol City Council
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution We have had regular meetings with civil servants working on ideas around 'Future Cities' , adult social care and civil servants working on ideas around 'age friendly' and 'resilient' cities.This had led to increased understanding and to our research having an impact on policy.
Collaborator Contribution Civil servants have helped us to find partners and collaborators for further funding bids, helped us to understand how policy works and who to speak to around issues arising from our research. They have invited me to speak at events such as the councillors scrutiny event for ' the case for culture' in the city.
Impact Involvement and support for our bid for follow on funding to AHRC. On going work with the HEalth and Wellbeing board around teh Bristol 'One City Plan' and the health and social care activities of the plan
Start Year 2014
 
Description Social Policy department at University of Bristol 
Organisation University of Bristol
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Attended meetings of the centre for research in aging and talked about the research project, considering synergies. Offered staff there opportunities to be involved in public engagement events and to talk about their work in other forums offered through the project. Made links between the group and charitable organisations working in this area.
Collaborator Contribution Put the project in touch with other funding offers and opportunities in the local area and through other research councils.
Impact ESRC Thinking Futures Festival: Care homes of the future event. Worked with member of the School of Policy studies to organise the event and write a PolicyBristol briefing document
Start Year 2013
 
Description Socio-gerontechnology network 
Organisation Utrecht University
Country Netherlands 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution I am a founding member and on the executive committee of a newly established international network exploring Ageing and Technology - called the socio-gerontechnology network. The network is international and includes members from across the globe and includes prominent figures in the field of ageing and technology from across Europe and North America. The network is beginning to have an influence on the field of technology design for older people through challenging accepted discourses around what technology designs might be appropriate. We published an edited book which sets the scene for ageing and technology research in the next decade. The network is also working on briefing papers and I am events co-ordiantor- having un a series of online events for the network in 2021-2022 entitled 'International conversations in ageing and technology'.
Collaborator Contribution Collaborative research awards Seminars for practitioners and academics - A co-edited book and several journal special issues. Tracks and symposia at academic conferences
Impact Seminar series - INternational Conversations in Ageing and technology Co-edited book This is multidisciplinary collaboration between design researchers, HCI researchers, social scientists, anthropologists and arts and humanities scholars
Start Year 2018
 
Description Stand + Stare 
Organisation Stand + Stare
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Working alongside Stand + Stare who are interactive designers to develop their creative ideas as they work with co-design methods. Providing guidance on co-design and ethical practice in relation to life story research. In the Tangible Memories: Parlours of Wonder project Stand + Stare worked with us to: co-design an engaging community focused space in 3 different settings where older people and others can interact with evocative objects, sparking questions and new interests and use our StoryCreator app together to record and share their ideas, memories and stories. They also worked with us to co-design a DIY blueprint for any care settings to design their own 'Parlours of Wonder' and to use the StoryCreator app within them. [To include ideas for engaging older people in co-designing the rooms and interactive case studies with evaluations of the approaches taken across the 3 sites.] In addition as part of this project they further tested and developed the iPad StoryCreator app and create a brand new Android version, enabling us to reach new audiences. Both versions of the app will then be made freely available on the relevant app stores. They also took a lead in co-curating two exhibitions in London (at the Digital Design weekend at the V and A) and in Bristol at City Hall to officially launch the Parlour idea and the app with Alive! and care settings.
Collaborator Contribution Working alongside older residents in care home to co-design a process of life history work that enables them to create their own interactive book. Stand + stare worked alongside ourselves on the Parlours of wonder project to: to: co-design an engaging community focused space in 3 different settings where older people and others can interact with evocative objects, sparking questions and new interests and use our StoryCreator app together to record and share their ideas, memories and stories. They also worked with us to co-design a DIY blueprint for any care settings to design their own 'Parlours of Wonder' and to use the StoryCreator app within them. [To include ideas for engaging older people in co-designing the rooms and interactive case studies with evaluations of the approaches taken across the 3 sites.] In addition as part of this project they further tested and developed the iPad StoryCreator app and create a brand new Android version, enabling us to reach new audiences. Both versions of the app will then be made freely available on the relevant app stores. STAND + STARE also worked with us on the Productive MArgins project to co-design a space for our community actors to perform their monologues and play about loneliness, based on their data collection.
Impact Multidisciplinary involves working between educational researchers, folklorists, historians and computer scientists with this artist group. Outcomes include interactive books and audio of life history interviews.The StoryCreator app is now linked to a pay on demand service which is intended as a source of revenue for Stand + Stare as they take the app on as part of their business. The ALONELY shed has been used for a wide range of performances in a variety of locations.
Start Year 2013
 
Description University of Western Australia 
Organisation University of Western Australia
Country Australia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Invited to present a keynote presentation at an invited symposium on Ageing and New media. Also presented at an Industry Masterclass for care homes and care companies in Australia. Presented Tangible Memories methods and innovative products to international audience.
Collaborator Contribution Convening the invited symposium
Impact Currently writing a new World Universities Network project
Start Year 2017
 
Title StoryCreator app 
Description The Tangible Memories app allows you to tell stories that are meaningful to you and your loved ones, and listen back to them in easy and accessible ways. It has been designed particularly with older people and their carers and families in mind, but can be used by anyone. You can create pages that combine a photo, text and an audio recording. These can be viewed within the app or printed out. When printed, the audio recording is represented by a beautiful shell illustration. The scan function within the app recognizes the shell on each printed page and, as if by magic, plays back your audio. As well as printing out PDF pages, the shells can be printed onto other things such as cushions or lap blankets. Music is well known to be therapeutic for dementia sufferers and can be a powerful way to access memories. We have also found that people with dementia often enjoy the feel of tactile fabrics. You can use the app to link a piece of music to a shell. When that shell is printed out (this could be onto a range of materials) you can use the scan function to play back that piece of music. This enables people to create blankets and objects to touch and feel that contain play lists that are meaningful to them. - A simple design that allows you to make an audio recording, add a photo and a short quote - A function that allows you to swipe through pages you have created as an e-book within the app and play back your audio on each page - An export option, which allows you to email a PDF of each page to share with others or print out - A 'scan' function that, using image recognition, allows you to play back audio recordings from your printed pages by framing the shell illustrations within the viewfinder - Options to record audio within the app or use tracks from your iTunes library - Options to take photos through the app or add them from your photo library - As well as printing out PDF pages, the shells can be printed onto other things such as cushions or lap blankets. - iTunes file sharing, enabling the user to copy their created book from the iPad to their computer as a backup option. Copied books can also be imported onto another iPad running the Tangible Memories app. - Handy hints based on our research and experience of working with older people in care homes 
Type Of Technology Webtool/Application 
Year Produced 2015 
Impact The app is already being used in a variety of care homes across Bristol. Our partners Alive! are working with us to train staff to use the app across the South west and South east. Since June 2015 we have seen 1352 downloads of the app from across the globe. 
URL https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/tangible-memories-story-creator/id1006573343
 
Description Autumn Tea Parties 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Participants in your research and patient groups
Results and Impact Increased interest from care staff and residents in our prototypes = sparked discussion about sustainability of the project.

Care staff more involved in the project - engaging with us as a research team more.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
 
Description Bristol Ageing Better Creative Approaches to Inclusion: 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact In November & December 2018, staff and volunteers from BAB-funded projects came together to learn how to use creative approaches to better reach and engage people aged 85 and older. Research tells us that those aged 85+ are at particular risk of loneliness and isolation, and as such this age group is a particular focus within the BAB programme.

The two workshops were run by Dr Helen Manchester (University of Bristol) and Stand + Stare from the Tangible Memories Project. The key learning from these workshops had a particular focus on the use of storytelling and co-design.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://bristolageingbetter.org.uk/userfiles/files/Inclusive%20Communities%20-%20Reaching%20and%20eng...
 
Description Bristol Celebrating Age Festival 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? Yes
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Our installation was taken to a museum in central Bristol for the Bristol Celebrating Age Festival - sparking discussions with members of the public about our work throughout the day.

Established links with Age Uk in Bristol who organised the event - they have just successfully bid for £6million to work with issues around older people and social isolation across the city and have approached us to be involved in this activity.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://tangible-memories.com/celebrating-age-festival/
 
Description Cabot Institute Annual lecture 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The Cabot Institute annual lecture is a high profile event held each year by the University of Bristol Research Institute - The Cabot Institute. This year explored 'LEarning to Live as an Urban Species' and I was invited to present with two other academics. The lecture drew on my experience and understandings of 'care' and their relevance to contemporary urban life.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cabot/events/2019/annual-lecture.html
 
Description Care homes of the future event 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? Yes
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Planned the event with other academics and charitable organisations - invited panel included policy makers, practitioners and other academics working in different disciplines.

The panel itself spoke afterwards and we are committed to taking the work forward as a 'Manifesto for Change' to the city council and others.

Approached by a member of the Bristol Aging Better partnership with a view to being involved with their work as they proceed with thinking about issues around older adults and social isolation across the city
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://www.bristol.ac.uk/fssl/festival/
 
Description Cities for All Ages group 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Building on the intergenerational work we developed during the Parlours of Wonder project I worked with a group of key influencers in the city to set up a group called "Bristol: A City for All Ages". This group worked on the development of a week long series of events around Bristol concentrating on intergenerational work. One of these events was a research focussed event in which I convened a group of practitioners and researchers to talk about their work to an audience of influential civil society organisations, academics and policy makers.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Connected Communities Festival Cardiff 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? Yes
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.)
Results and Impact We designed an installation of a care home and demonstrated our technologies. We offered tea and cake. We invited older residents from the care home settings in which we are working who came along with care staff to the event. We spoke with other academics, policy makers and funders about our work throughout the 2 days of the festival event.

Care staff and residents who came along had a better idea of the technological prototypes and the purpose of the project and their place within it.
Other academics and community collaborators running similar projects had an introduction to the project - we have been contacted to be part of exhibitions and to give further presentations as a result of this activity.
A video was made at the event which has been widely viewed http://tangible-memories.com/page/2/
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://tangible-memories.com/ahrc-connected-communities-festival-cardiff
 
Description Festival of the future city 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Presented on a panel debating Age Friendly Cities at the Festival of the Future City held in Bristol. Did a media interview after the event. Sparked questions and thoughts on 'All-age friendly' cities which is feeding into the current Bristol City Council work and the Bristol Ageing Better work (funded by the National Lottery to look at social isolation and loneliness - £6million)
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://www.ideasfestival.co.uk/seasons/festival-future-city/
 
Description Industry Masterclass 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact IN a recent visit to the University of Western Australia I was asked to present to a group of care home managers and care companies on the work of the Tangible Memories: Community in Care and the Tangible Memories: Parlours of Wonder projects. As a result I am now working with an academic and these care provider partners to write a further international funding bid.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2017
 
Description Materialities of age and ageing 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact The event targeted everyone interested in ageing & technology, specifically policy makers, new researchers and professional practitioners . The seminar aimed to reflect upon the use of different concepts of materialities in ageing research and discuss prospects and problems in their empirical application
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Memory Parlour opening event 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact We worked with one of the care homes to co-design a 'Memory Parlour' in their setting. Attended and spoke at the grand opening event of this parlour. Photographs and a write up were presented in the magazine of Hanover Housing a social care provider.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://tangible-memories.com/grand-opening-of-the-memory-parlour/
 
Description Pervasive Media Studio Lunchtime Talk - 2nd Oct 2014 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Talk sparked discussion around technological prototypes and ideas

After the talk the team were approached to find out more about our work.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://www.watershed.co.uk/pmstudio/events/fri-05092014-100pm
 
Description Policy briefing: Care homes need urgent review 
Form Of Engagement Activity A magazine, newsletter or online publication
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Wrote a policy briefing for PolicyBristol entitled 'Care homes need urgent review'. Published by Policy Bristol. enabled interdisciplinary writing with colleague in social policy.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://www.bris.ac.uk/media-library/sites/policybristol/documents/Care%20homes.pdf
 
Description Public facing website 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Our public facing website developed during the Tangible Memories project - with more than 50,000 hits and frequent requests for further information.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018
URL http://www.tangible-memories.com
 
Description Radio show appearances 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Two interviews on a local community radio station - received interest from public in the local area.

following first interview we were asked to contribute to another radio show on the station
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
 
Description SWDTC ADvanced Training programme 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact South west Doctoral advanced training programme 2 day workshop event entitled, ' Critical perspectives on creative and participatory research methods.
A two-day workshop for doctoral researchers who are already using or have decided to use creative research methods drawn from visual, arts-based, performative, participatory and narrative forms. The focus was on providing expert input from across the SWDTC institutions in order to:

1. Provide hands-on workshop experience of how to use particular methods and how to analyse data that emerge;
2. Develop networks across the SWDTC of doctoral researchers and academic staff who are experienced in creative methods in order to build confidence in researchers to better articulate and justify approaches and to share methodological expertise in an emergent community of practice;
3. Provide reflective spaces for doctoral researchers supported by academic staff to consider utility, efficacy and ways of judging rigour and value of creative methods in research;
4. Offer critical theoretical perspectives on creative methods that extend doctoral researchers' abilities to narrate and justify their choice of methods.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description Tangible Memories end of grant event 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact At the end of the Tangible memories project we held a day event in a City centre location. It was attended by 80 people who came from various professional and personal backgrounds and included older people, carers and others living in care homes we had worked directly with. Academics and postgraduate students working in similar areas, local and regional creative and digital businesses, local policy makers, civil society organisations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://tangible-memories.com/conference-visual-by-the-talented-mr-sam-church/
 
Description The role of creative interventions in fostering connectivity and resilience in older people 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation on the Tangible Memories project within an AHRC funded seminar series. The event was held at the University of Newcastle and the audience included older people, arts practitioners and representatives from museums and galleries.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
 
Description U3A events 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Regional
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Sparked enormous discussion and debate and great interest from an audience of older adults committed to self organising learning experiences and interested in getting involved in research

After the talks (we did 2 in 2 different locations) the organisers and members of the National Executive of this nationwide organisation emailed us to reiterate their desire to support our work in any way that they can. Be hope to develop this partnership in the future.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014
URL http://tangible-memories.com/u3a-kings-stanley/
 
Description Victoria and Albert Museum Digital Design Weekend 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Tangible Memories prototypes were showcased at this event - a high profile exhibition over a weekend at the V & A museum in London. The theme of the event was on citizen design, engagement and participation. We presented our installation (funded by the Connected Communities Festival 2014) and our working prototypes. Over the weekend we spoke to policy makers, post graduate students, other academics, businesses and charitable organisations and others - over 500 people over the weekend event. Through this we got some interest in our ideas from other academics. For instance, Santander Bank were interested in our interactive rocking chair. Numerous design students wanted to discuss designing for older people with us from a variety of backgrounds including those working with digital technologies and those interested in craft.
A publication, "crafting Our Digital Futures" was produced in which the project was featured - this will be realised under a Creative Commons license shortly.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2015
URL http://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/news-learning-department/digital-design-weekend-2015
 
Description • Case study presentation at the RCA for MIDAS' Agenda Setting Workshop (Methodological Innovation in Digital Arts and Social Sciences), 'Interdisciplinary insights into the digital and embodiment', 30th May 2014 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.)
Results and Impact Case study presentation at the RCA for MIDAS' Agenda Setting Workshop (Methodological Innovation in Digital Arts and Social Sciences), 'Interdisciplinary insights into the digital and embodiment'.
The talk sparked questions and discussion and led to ongoing discussions with members of the team and academics/artists interested in similar ideas.

Approached to find out more about the project from participants who were largely academics working in a similar field
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2014