The Healthy Ageing Programme is one of the NHSA’s longest established networks. It has recently concluded a successful project with Amgen, the Northern Bone Health programme, and has previously been involved in the promotion of the EU Active and Healthy Ageing Reference Site initiative.  

The Northern Healthy Ageing Network meets quarterly to consider bid opportunities, policy development and to engage with other clusters. In addition to NHSA member organisations and UKRI and NIHR representatives, the network also includes significant representation from Canadian universities and organisations.  

Working with Innovate UK, the NHSA’s Healthy Ageing programme has co-ordinated a successful funding application to Innovate UK to develop the UK-Canada AgeTech Innovation Exchange. 

The NHSA was instrumental in bringing together partners including the Department for Business and Trade; the four northern Academic Health Science Networks and AGE-WELL and CABHI from Canada. 

The NHSA is the project lead and is managing the programme, which includes a competition open to UK and Canadian companies working in AgeTech.  

Successful SMEs from the UK will participate in an international exchange visit to Toronto and the winning Canadian companies will visit the North in June, with a broader virtual support programme also in place. The programme has been successful, receiving over 60 applications. 

The Cognitive Frailty Interdisciplinary Network (CFIN) presents another example of the NHSA’s Healthy Ageing Programme facilitating investment into the North. The idea and consortium for CFIN was originally developed within one of the NHSA Healthy Ageing Network meetings and went on to be funded by the BBSRC/MRC as one of eleven Interdisciplinary Ageing Across the Life Course networks, aimed at transforming ageing research in the UK. Led by Lancaster University, the CFIN aims to explore the behavioural, social and biological determinants of cognitive frailty, looking at the underlying biological mechanisms.  

The NHSA continues to be involved in CFIN via the External Advisory Group.