Who took part in the project?
The project was led by University College London (UCL) and we were privileged to be working alongside seven almshouse charity partners as well as the University of Suffolk.
Our partners were:
- United St Saviour’s Charity, London
- Sir Josiah Mason Trust, West Midlands
- Durham Aged Mineworkers’ Homes Association, County Durham
- Whiteley Homes Trust, Surrey
- Southwark Charities, London
- Legacy East Almshouse Partnership, East Anglia
- Bristol Charities, Bristol
Our partners comprised very large and very small charities, who manage urban, suburban and rural homes in diverse geographic settings. Our oldest partner charity was founded in the 15th century and the most recent in the 21st century. And the partners continue to extend this historical provenance. A new almshouse with 57 homes opened during the research project and future almshouses are being developed.
What was the research aim?
The project was not an evaluation. The aim was to look for examples that seemed to work, from the viewpoint of residents, operational or senior staff or trustees. The research used qualitative methods, that is, we conducted interviews, focus groups and site visits, and were not looking for statistical sampling. As such, the findings are not intended to represent all almshouses or all our research partners. The findings in the Knowledge Hub present examples that were experienced by some of our interviewees as effective in some way. It is important that findings are not taken out of context to make claims for all almshouses or all accommodation for older people.
How was the project conducted?
The study was conducted between February 2022 and July 2024 with most data collection taking place between Summer 2022 and Autumn 2023. As such, the restrictions of the Covid pandemic were largely in the past but the events were recent enough for people to comment on how their community had dealt with the changes.
- We conducted interviews with 49 residents and held focus groups with a further 16. We interviewed 13 trustees, 13 senior staff, 3 other sector experts, and 8 operational staff (a total of 102 contacts). Some of the participants had experience with multiple charities which extended the data set beyond the seven partners.
- We carried out document analysis on the charity websites, resident selection processes and annual reports.
- We made 15 site visits to collect information on buildings and the built environment.
- We drew on the guidance of a Residents Advisory Group of 11 almshouse residents from four of our partner charities, and of a Professionals Advisory Group for the project of 21 members with expertise in housing, law, almshouses and EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion).
- In the interviews, we examined three forms of resilience and their interdependencies: (1) community or social resilience, (2) resilience in the built environment and (3) resilience in almshouse charity governance.
We analysed the data gathered to look for themes that were relevant for resilience. We discussed how what we found related to or could be additionally understood by previous research. We drew out Learning Points for Resilience from our analysis and discussions.
Who funded the work?
The project was funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust (DMT). Beyond a constantly supportive presence, DMT took no direct part in this research.
