New Participation Charter Aims to Strengthen the Voice of Older People

Older people are a growing proportion of Ireland’s population and bring extensive knowledge, experience and insight to our communities. Yet decisions about policies, services and supports that affect their lives are not always shaped by their direct participation.

A new Participation Charter, developed by Age Action and the Irish Senior Citizens’ Parliament with support from Community Foundation Ireland, provides a practical framework for strengthening the voice and influence of older people in public policy, services and community life.

The Charter was informed by a national consultation involving 764 older people and supported by a dedicated Research and Evidence Base. It responds to concerns including consultation taking place too late, a lack of feedback, repeated engagement without visible outcomes, and practical, communication and digital barriers to participation.

A shared standard for the age sector

Organisations working with older people play an essential role in representing their interests, delivering services, supporting participation and bringing lived experience into public debate.

The Charter provides these organisations with a shared standard for considering not only whether older people are consulted, but also how their participation is organised, whose voices are included and whether their contributions influence decisions.

It establishes ten principles:

1. Meaningful Participation

2. Inclusive and Accessible Participation

3. Early Involvement

4. Lived Experience as Evidence

5. Participation Should Influence Decisions

6. Feedback and Visible Outcomes

7. Collaboration and Collective Voice

8. Transparent and Accountable Representation

9. Sustained Participation

10. Participation Should Promote Civic Engagement, Rights and Dignity

Together, the principles encourage organisations to move beyond one-off consultation. Older people should be involved early enough to help identify priorities and shape policies, services and solutions.

Participation should also reflect the diversity of older people. This requires organisations to consider barriers related to disability, mobility, communication, income, location and digital access, while making particular efforts to reach people whose voices are less frequently heard.

Putting the Charter into practice

The Charter is designed to be used as a practical reference when organisations are planning consultations, developing or reviewing services, preparing policy and advocacy positions, establishing representative structures or involving older people in strategy and governance.

Before beginning a participation process, organisations can ask:

• Are older people being involved early enough to influence the outcome?
• Have accessibility and practical barriers been addressed?
• Are we hearing from a diverse range of older people?
• Have we explained what participants can and cannot influence?
• How will we communicate what changed as a result of their contributions?

The Charter also encourages collaboration across the age sector. Better coordination can reduce duplication and consultation fatigue, strengthen the evidence presented to decision-makers and support a clearer collective voice.

Good participation does not mean that every recommendation must be implemented. It means being transparent about the purpose and scope of engagement, listening respectfully, recognising lived experience as evidence and explaining how decisions were reached.

Although developed specifically to strengthen the participation of older people, the Charter’s principles may also be valuable to other organisations seeking to improve how they involve the people and communities affected by their work.

The full Participation Charter, Charter Summary and accompanying Research and Evidence Base are available at mosaicsocialimpact.ie/participation-charter and ageaction.ie/advocacy

Read it. Share it. Use the ten principles.