HIGHLIGHT CPC- Connecting Generations Centre

The Connecting Generations Centre (CGC) will examine the ways different generations are connected and how these connections shape, and are shaped by, social, demographic and economic change. Society benefits when different generations combine and help each other. With this in mind, the overall aim of the Centre is to improve society now and in the future by paying close attention to the role that intergenerational activity plays. To improve society, we need a clear picture of how living standards are changing for people in different generations. We need to understand how social and economic shocks, such as recession, job insecurity, Brexit and COVID-19, impact the generational groups differently. We also need to know how the generations support each other by, for example, exchanging wealth, knowledge, time, and housing, and understand their relative political and social influence. By increasing our knowledge, we can identify the groups that are most likely to need support. Different generations provide financial, emotional and practical support to each other across the different stages of their lives. This support is usually given at different times of people's lives: when leaving home, moving in with or separating from a partner, having children, entering and leaving work, continuing to live independently in the community, or moving into residential care. These major life events do not happen in isolation; they are affected by, and have an impact on, our health, economic living standards, social networks and personal resilience. They can vary by our migrant status, ethnicity and where we live or come from. Research within the CG Centre will focus on all these areas, and our findings can be used to form efficient and effective social policy, and aid commercial innovation. The CG Centre comes at a crucial time in the history of our society. Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic make the Centre's work of understanding existing and foreseeing emerging inequalities even more urgent. The wider global issues of environmental degradation and climate change add to our concerns about what we leave behind for future generations and how they might manage in altered environmental conditions. The current government's 'levelling up' agenda made a promise to spread prosperity and opportunities. Brexit and the restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic have affected, and will continue to impact on, different generations and groups in various ways. The outcomes of these 'shocks' to our social and economic function could make it increasingly difficult for levelling-up aspirations to be fulfilled. We will need to implement targeted, evidence-based policies. To provide this crucial research evidence, the new CG Centre will bring together experts from the Centre for Population Change (Universities of Southampton, St Andrews and Stirling), the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science (University of Oxford) and the Intergenerational Centre at the Resolution Foundation. The multi-disciplinary team are world-leading experts in demography, gerontology, economics, geography, political science, social policy, sociology, computer science and statistics. Our research will be put into action through our strong partnerships with the Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, the Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Deal and by working with national and local government, POST, third sector organisations and business contacts. By directly addressing government areas of research interest, including the Ageing Grand Challenge, our work will offer answers to the critical questions of the day. Our vision is for the CGC to have a positive impact on intergenerational relations. Our hope is that by looking closely at how the young, old and those in mid-life are getting on in our society, we can bolster intergenerational solidarity and fairness at a critical moment, positively influencing all our future prospects.