Scientific challenges in ageing research: The UK Research Councils' contribution

Ian Diamond, Economic and Social Research Council, UK

As with many countries in the world, the UK is ageing at a relatively fast rate. It is universally acknowledged that this provides many challenges (and opportunities) for UK society. Some of these challenges such as increasing need for health care or for the management of pensions are well known. Others such as the contribution of volunteering to the economy are less well understood. There are eight Research Councils in the UK which cover the entire science base from the Arts and Humanities to Particle Physics and have a joint budget approaching £3billion per annum. They work together through a partnership, Research Councils UK. One of the key research areas in which the Research Councils work together is ageing. This paper first reviews some of the major contributions of the UK Research Councils to ageing research and then describes the major challenges which will be addressed over the next few years.