The aim of this project is to support and assist communities with the gathering of baseline information to define "age-friendliness" and help them create an action plan to address barriers and increase age-friendly features in their communities.

In an age-friendly community, there is a culture of inclusion shared by persons of all ages and ability levels. Policies, services and structures related to the physical and social environment are designed to support and enable older people to "age actively", that is, to live in security, enjoy good health and continue to participate fully in society. According to the WHO, an age-friendly community is one that provides support and opportunities in eight areas: outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; respect and inclusion; social participation; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community supports and health services.

To make communities in Manitoba more age-friendly, the Government of Manitoba has partnered with the Centre on Aging at the University of Manitoba, the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, seniors' organizations, community leaders, service providers, and public officials. The first round of communities that were invited to become part of this process is listed below.

• Arborg (Town)
• Cartwright (Village)
• Elkhorn (Village)
• Gilbert Plains (Town)
• Gladstone (Town)
• Macdonald (RM)
• Morris (Town)
• Pinawa (Local Government District)
• Roblin (RM)
• The Pas (Town)

• Portage la Prairie (City)

• Gimli (Town)

To learn more about age-friendliness, these communities attended a two-day summit in Portage la Prairie in February 2008. Speakers offered a variety of perspectives on the importance of developing age-friendly communities, and research findings from communities who participated in age-friendly initiatives were highlighted.

In the fall of 2008, a second call went out to Manitoba municipalities inviting them to apply to become part of the Age-Friendly Manitoba Initiative. Seventeen communities were chosen. These second-round communities came together for a day-long workshop on age-friendliness in Brandon, Manitoba in November 2008.

The second-round communities involved in the age-friendly project include

• Armstrong (RM)
• Brandon (City)
• Carman (Town)
• Crystal City (Village)
• Dauphin (City)
• Dufferin (RM)
• Franklin (RM)
• Gillam (Town)
• Gretna (Town)
• Morden (Town)
• Ritchot (RM)
• Rossburn (Town)
• Shoal Lake (RM)
• Springfield (RM)
• Ste. Rose du Lac (Town)
• Stonewall (Town)
• Virden (Town)

All 29 communities participating in the age-friendly initiative were invited to a workshop entitled 'Communities Connecting: Leading the Way in Winnipeg on March 6, 2009. The morning included presentations by members of participating age-friendly communities and staff members. Afternoon sessions were more interactive and gave communities the opportunity to share information and take part in group discussion.

A third call went out to invite communities to participate in the Age-Friendly Manitoba Initiative in late spring of 2009. These 21 new third-round communities were invited to an intake workshop on June 25, 2009 in Winnipeg.

The third-round communities involved in the age-friendly project include

• Beausejour (Town)
• Carberry (Town)
• Dunnottar (Village)
• Edward (RM)
• Eriksdale (RM)
• Flin Flon (City)
• Hamiota (Town)
• Morris (RM)
• North Cypress (RM)
• Notre Dame de Lourdes (Village)
• Pilot Mound (Town)
• Riverton (Village)
• Roblin (Town)
• Selkirk (City)
• Siglunes (RM)
• St.Francois Xavier (RM)
• Victoria (RM)
• Wawanesa (Village)
• West St.Paul (RM)
• Winkler (City)
• Winnipeg (City)

The fourth call went out to invite communities to participate in the Age-Friendly Manitoba Initiative in early fall 2009. These 16 new fourth-round communities were invited to an intake workshop on November 16, 2009 in Winnipeg.

• Alexander (RM)
• Brokenhead (RM)
• De Salaberry (RM)
• Erickson (Town)
• Glenboro (Village)
• Hamiota (RM)
• Louise (RM)
• Minitonas (Town)
• Shoal Lake (Town)
• Snow Lake (Town)
• St. Laurent (RM)
• Steinbach (City)
• Swan River (RM)
• Thompson (City)
• Treherne (Town)
• Coldwell (RM)

Six additional communities were invited to participate in a workshop and joined the Initiative on March 17, 2011 in Winnipeg.

• Argyle (RM)
• Strathcona (RM)
• Lac du Bonnet
• Minitonas (RM)
• Powerview-Pine Falls (Town)
• Victoria Beach (RM)

Many of the communities have formed an Age-Friendly Advisory Council/Committee. Some communities have also participated in a community consultation meeting. The goal of these meetings is to assist communities in identifying how age-friendly the community currently is and to prioritize issues that will help communities form action plans to make them as age-friendly as possible.

Working closely with each community's Age-Friendly Advisory Council/Committee, meetings involve the participation of about 20 individuals including seniors of all ages, service providers, community leaders, and business members. Participants are divided into small groups, and questions on the eight age-friendly dimensions guide the conversation. Participants are then asked to reconvene and prioritize issues. Individuals also complete a questionnaire to provide another perspective on the age-friendliness of the community. A summary of findings from the community meeting and survey are prepared and shared with the community's Age-Friendly Advisory Council/Committee.

The following summary is an example of priorities chosen by some Manitoba communities during the community consultation session.

The Communities section of this website also offers information and tools that communities might find helpful as they move toward becoming more age-friendly.

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Research Objective: To develop indicators to measure age-friendly characteristics.

The study builds on the WISER project (Principal Investigator: Dr. Alexander Segall), a longitudinal study of health promotion. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 3935 adults in 1998/99, 1500 of whom were re-interviewed in 2002/03. One thousand and fifteen (1015) individuals aged 45 and older were interviewed a third time in 2007/08 and asked a variety of questions designed to address the eight domains of an age-friendly community. This study will help us develop psychometrically sound indicators of age-friendliness. A brief summary of results can be found in WISER Study—Phase Three (pdf).

Research Objective: To increase our understanding of what makes a community age-friendly through a participatory process involving older persons within communities.

The CURA team used participatory photovoice research techniques in four communities in Manitoba to investigate older persons' perceptions of an age-friendly community. As part of the research, seniors took photographs of their communities to represent their daily reality, and the challenges and strengths of the community which impact quality of life for older persons. Through group discussions, seniors identified attributes within their community that make it age-friendly and those that detract from age-friendliness. The team investigated priorities and actions to improve age-friendliness and challenges to be overcome. A broader vision is that through participation in the photovoice study, community members would take action within their communities to further age-friendly goals and increase inclusion of age-related concerns in all community-level decision

At this time, focus groups have been conducted in three communities in Manitoba. Please click on the links below to review summaries of findings from each of the groups:

• Carman
• Dauphin
  
• Winnipeg

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Research Objective: To describe the experiences of two Manitoba communities in becoming more age-friendly.

This project is designed to track and describe how two 'pilot' communities that participated in the WHO Global Age-Friendly Cities Project (Portage la Prairie) and the Canadian Age-Friendly Rural/Remote Communities Project (Gimli), respectively, begin to implement age-friendliness within their respective communities. Of particular relevance is how each community utilizes the learning that took place during the earlier focus groups and which has been summarized in a report provided to each community. This proposed research will describe community level goal setting and decision-making processes in relation to age-friendliness, identification of challenges faced and how they are addressed, documentation of successes in improving age-friendliness, and indicators that positive changes are occuring within the community.

The process of implementation will be observed and described by study researchers acting as participant observers through attendance at local age-friendly advisory group meetings. Researchers will also conduct periodic telephone interviews with individual members of the age-friendly advisory groups to discuss various issues that emerge as the group moves forward with an age-friendly agenda.

Research Objective: To determine how age-friendly communities in Manitoba currently are from the perspective of municipal government.

This project will provide information as to where communities currently stand in terms of age-friendliness from the perspective of local government. An instrument previously used in the United States to survey communities (The Maturing of America: Getting Communities on Track for an Aging Population), which was also used in British Columbia, was adapted for the present purposes. The survey is designed to address domains of age-friendliness, with questions focusing on whether particular programs or services are available in the community and, if so, what role the municipal government plays in administering and funding them.

A survey (using both mail and web-based approaches to maximize the response rate) conducted with one hundred and thirty (130) municipalities in Manitoba (towns/cities and rural municipalities) was completed by Mayors or Reeves or municipal staff (i.e. Chief Administrative Officer).

Results from the Age-Friendly Communities Survey have been compiled into a report: "Age-Friendly Communities in Manitoba: Report on Survey Findings" (View the full report in PDF).

Also available is a four-page summary (PDF) of the survey of Manitoba Municipalities.