Dementia Support Line
Dementia Network Plus
Alzheimer’s Society is proud to have partnered with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to support a £5.5m investment in four Dementia Network Plus research grants.
What is the Dementia Network Plus initiative?
The Dementia Network Plus initiative is a strategic investment that brings together four individual networks of multidisciplinary researchers, policymakers, professionals and lived experience experts that will provide leadership and knowledge exchange across a variety of sectors.
Unique to the initiative, each network has its own ‘plus funds’ a pot of flexible funding to develop, distribute and run opportunities for smaller projects and other activities throughout the lifetime of the award. These funds will help bring individuals and organisations into the network and grow further connections.
This initiative will drive positive change for those affected by dementia by focusing research efforts on the most important topics of inequality, dementia prevention, early diagnosis, and dementia workforce.
Associate Director of Research and Innovation at Alzheimer's Society, Richard Oakley, said:
"It is amazing to see such collaborative spirit driving research that tackles the biggest challenges for people affected by dementia. These Network+ teams bring together academic, professional, and lived experience experts, to share knowledge and experience.
They’ll work to develop innovative solutions across a range of important topics from care and diagnosis to inequalities within the workplace. We’re excited to see how these communities build and deliver much needed solutions to people affected by dementia.
Director of Research at ESRC, Dr Jen Gold, added:
ESRC is committed to bringing social science research evidence to bear on the most pressing challenges. Our partnership with NIHR/DHSC and the Alzheimer’s Society, to fund these networks, will boost work to tackle inequalities, prevent illness, and, with people increasingly likely to be in work when diagnosed, enhance the experience of work for people with dementia.
About ESRC:
ESRC funds world-leading research, data and post-graduate training in the economic, behavioural, social and data sciences to understand people and the world around us. Their work helps raise productivity, address climate change, improve public services and generate a prosperous, inclusive, healthy and secure society.
Network Plus Awards Overview
Empowering a Meaningful Life for All
Start date: April 2024
Duration: 48 months
Project lead: Catherine Evans, King’s College London
The project will create an innovative collaboration between dementia care, social care and palliative care, with community partners and people with lived experience of dementia.
People with dementia want to live a meaningful life and want to engage with valued and purposeful activities. However, people from ethnically diverse groups, in poorer areas, rural areas, and those with severe dementia can often struggle to access the appropriate care needed.
The EMPOWER Dementia Network aims to identify priority areas for change. Working with policy makers, practitioners, and the public, they want to develop solutions to change societal attitudes on living with dementia, and to change health and social care policies to address inequalities in care for people living with dementia.
A national network focused on addressing inequalities in dementia diagnosis and care and building capacity
Start date: April 2024
Duration: 60 months
Project lead: Clarissa Giebel, University of Liverpool
The project focuses on bringing together a diverse group of people with academic, professional, and lived experience and expertise of dementia to discuss and co-develop solutions to tackle inequalities in dementia diagnosis and care.
This Network aims to develop solutions to barriers in dementia diagnosis and care and impact clinical and social care practice to remove those barriers.
By closely working together with people living with dementia and unpaid carers, as well as care professionals and Third Sector organisations, the Network will create a Community of Research and Practice to find solutions to inequalities, linked to knowledge mobilisation internships and pilot projects. Their solutions include delivering key policy and practice guidance, alongside submitting evidence to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia. This will be part of a wider strategy to communicate research findings to a range of audiences and policy makers who will focus on implementing the findings and recommendations.
Sustainable Prevention, Innovation and INvolvement NETwork (SPIINNET)
Start date: April 2024
Duration: 48 months
Project lead: Chris Fox, University of Exeter
The project aims to identify ways to reduce people’s risks of dementia and improve their experiences of living with dementia.
The Network aims to deliver a programme of activities including workshops, training events and meetings to raise awareness about dementia and prevention. The group will work closely with early career researchers and community members and will engage with people from diverse communities to bring together existing research evidence including resources for preventing dementia, so that they will be accessible to many different groups of people.
The network model will involve diverse communities. They will aim to understand how different experiences and cultures may affect people’s actions to prevent dementia. Knowledge and resources will be exchanged between different groups of people to generate innovative new ways of strengthening services and communities. This will reduce the risk of dementia and help implement and evaluate innovations, especially for under-represented groups.
Through this work, the network aims to create a transformative change for people affected by dementia.
Working with Dementia
Start date: April 2024
Duration: 60 months
Project lead: Louise Ritchie, University of the West of Scotland
The aim of this network is to shift our current understanding of working with dementia, drive positive change, and open new horizons to enhance work experiences for those affected by dementia.
The Working with Dementia Network will create a research network that includes the views and real-world experiences of people living or working with dementia. This network aims to play a pivotal role in reducing the social and financial inequalities associated with dementia in society.