The British Geriatrics Society (BGS) is the membership association for healthcare professionals specialising in the care of older people. We have more than 4,600 members working in all professions across acute, primary and community care to provide healthcare for older people. Our mission, as set out in our Strategic Plan 2023-26, is to improve healthcare for older people. One of our five strategic objectives is ‘to promote research into older people’s health and healthcare, and the application of evidence-based knowledge to clinical practice across the continuum of care’.
BGS research objectives
The BGS is keen to support high-quality research which builds an evidence base to make a meaningful positive impact on the lives of older people. We are focussed on research that has a clear pathway to impact that informs clinical practice and public health measures to improve the health and wellbeing of older people. We want to collaborate with research institutions and funders to promote better understanding of the importance and value of research, and to drive the research agenda relating to older people’s health and healthcare. We are particularly keen to support the delivery of high-quality clinical trials, and we advocate for equity of inclusion. Specifically we look for ways in which older people, particularly those with frailty, multiple long term conditions, cognitive impairment and dementia are proactively enabled to participate in research, in order that research findings are generalisable to the older adult population.
BGS policy on support for research centres
The process below sets out how the BGS proposes to use its brand and expertise in association with research centres. It details how we will offer BGS endorsement to research centres who meet the criteria set out below. We will publish this policy on our website and communicate through our members that we are open to requests for such endorsement from research centres in the UK who contact us. We believe this to be a mutually beneficial way of enhancing the profile and status of relevant research that has an impact on the quality of care for older people, and helping the BGS to achieve its research objectives. Centres which the BGS endorses will be named on the BGS Research Hub.
Process for research centres to request endorsement by BGS
The process for securing BGS endorsement of research centres’ programmes of work related to ageing and older people’s healthcare is set out below.
BGS endorsement for research centres
We welcome opportunities to endorse research centres through use of our brand and network to help build research capacity, support delivery and realise impact. We encourage centres of research excellence to apply to us for endorsement or other forms of collaboration. In establishing such arrangements, we seek to engage with centres where there is a critical mass of researchers engaged in research on ageing and older people’s health; where there is teaching and mentorship for early career researchers; where there is a focus on multidisciplinary research; where new funds are being attracted by the quality and relevance of the research; and where there is demonstrable research impact, whereby findings have been translated into improvements in care for older people. We encourage BGS members who are active in academe and research to consider this opportunity. Applications may be from centres which are new or well-established.
Assessment process for requests
The BGS Research and Academic Development Committee (RADC), chaired by our Vice President for Academic Affairs, will appraise requests for BGS endorsement from research centres. Our support will generally take the form of endorsement (use of a statement ‘This research centre is endorsed by the British Geriatrics Society’ and our logo on their website). It will not generally include financial support or BGS communications support, beyond publicising the endorsement on the BGS website. Requests for more specific support or collaboration, such as the involvement of BGS clinicians on expert groups or joint funding of fellowships, where the BGS would need to take into account reputation, capacity and resource implications, will only exceptionally be considered.
Terms of support
If the BGS agrees to offer support in one of the forms above, applicants will be asked to adhere to our brand guidelines and to make the BGS aware of how they intend to use our name, brand and logo. Our support is for a time-limited period (generally up to 4 years), with a review at two-yearly intervals. Where endorsement has been agreed, centres can cite BGS support in future funding applications where the aims of the work clearly align with the BGS’s research objectives. They should ensure the BGS is notified in advance of their intention to mention the endorsement and use standard wording which the BGS will supply. They can acknowledge BGS endorsement in funding applications and must include acknowledgement of BGS support of the centre in any published research papers which are relevant to older people’s healthcare. The endorsement is given for the work of the centre as a whole rather than to individual research studies.
Outside this arrangement, we do not routinely partner with applicants on research funding bids. It is not assumed that centres we endorse would be treated as preferred bidders for any projects that the BGS might commission, and we would always undertake open procurement processes.
Making a request
If you are interested in seeking BGS endorsement for your research centre, please send us an overview of your request, no more than 2 sides of A4 long, covering the following:
- Your name and job title
- The research institution(s); when the centre was established; its focus, size, funding.
- The centre’s record of academic and research achievements related to ageing and older people’s healthcare.
- Research capacity; people; leadership; teaching; support for early career researchers.
- Research impact related to older people’s health and healthcare, including publications and clinical application.
- Status, reputation, influence.
- What support are you seeking from the BGS and why?
- What benefits for both parties do you see from a relationship with the BGS?
Assessing requests
The BGS Research and Academic Development Committee will decide whether the BGS will support an application for endorsement from a research centre, taking into account any possible conflicts of interest. It will assess submissions against the following criteria:
- Relevance of the research programme to older people’s health and healthcare
- Calibre of the centre in terms of stage of development, reputation, publications, influence
- Research impact
- Inclusion of older people in research
- Record on strengthening research capacity
- Reputational implications, cost, BGS capacity implications
Requests for BGS support should be sent to Joanna Gough, Quality and Research Manager: j.gough@bgs.org.uk. They will usually be considered at the next meeting of the BGS Research and Development Committee, and feedback will be given.
