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Service users' involvement was one of the supplementary objectives in the Supporting People monitoring framework. This article looks at what it might mean in practice. In common with other providers of support services, Southern Focus Trust has seized the opportunity presented by the framework to review its policy and practices. The report produced, Sharing the Driving, describes the progress made by a major regional provider, with some lessons that may be of wider value.

This paper is the result of a workshop delivered by the authors at the National Development Team for Inclusion's 2009 conference. It examines the role of older people within the transition towns movement and suggests that the skills and knowledge that many older people possess are vital to the changes that must be made as we seek more sustainable lifestyles.The paper presents a variety of current projects where older people have been integral to teaching skills to younger generations. It outlines the suggestions that delegates at the workshop put forward and invites practitioners working with older people to consider the potential for their further involvement in transition initiatives.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the development and implementation of the Older People's Strategy for Wales and the role of the Older People's Commissioner for Wales; and to identify lessons for other countries that are considering different approaches to implementing ageing strategies.

Round table discussions were held with key people involved in the development and delivery of the Older People's Strategy, the work of the Older People's Commission, plus the paper draws from some of the relevant literature.

There is evidence of the successful implementation of aspects of the Strategy and also and an overview of the role and work of the Older People's Commissioner. Scope for further and future improvement is apparent.

The paper endeavours to set out the key factors for a successful policy and practice approach to developing effective ageing strategies and public services for older people.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how asset-based community development (ABCD) can be used to build inclusive, connected communities that intentionally value the contribution of older citizens.

ABCD was used as an approach to enable older people to transform their neighbourhood and make them a better place to live for all ages. The paper describes this approach and goes on to illustrate how it has been applied in three neighbourhoods using case studies.

The case studies show that by using ABCD, connections can be made between people, associations/clubs, businesses and services, to achieve the aspirations the citizens have for their neighbourhood. The contribution of older citizens to community life is valued and the risk of isolation and loneliness reduced.

The three case studies presented in this paper are unique in that they have applied ABCD with older people taking on the role of community builders and connectors.

Programmes to promote alcohol awareness and harm reduction in the general population often take an atomised approach, encouraging individual drinkers to understand their unit intake and adjust it accordingly. Although many public health practitioners harbour doubts about the value of this approach, few clear alternatives have emerged. The purpose of this paper is to provide such an alternative.

Alcohol Concern’s Communities Together project was rooted in the idea that drinking patterns can only be understood in their social context. It was an attempt to take seriously Harold Holder’s injunction to “cease to focus narrowly on the individual and begin to adopt broader community perspectives on alcohol problems”. The project applied Asset-Based Community Development methods, handing a large degree of control over to the participants, drawing on their own talents and enthusiasms, and recognising their autonomy and their authority as experts in their own lives.

The project outputs have been described as “community development with an alcohol twist”. They included a range of activities and events that created inclusive and non-judgemental spaces for people to think about alcohol and draw their own conclusions. It was also a lesson in humility for those of us who like to consider ourselves as the experts in public health: we had to learn that we did not have all the answers to questions about other people’s lives.

The project indicates that community development may be a valid alternative to more traditional and more didactic approaches to alcohol harm reduction.

The project may provide an innovative and flexible model that could be applied in various communities in order to address alcohol misuse in an engaging and undogmatic fashion that helps people take more control of their own lives.