Giving, Receiving, and Doing Together: Interorganizational Interactions in Age-Friendly Community Initiatives

Pestine-Stevens, Althea; Greenfield, Emily A.

doi:10.1080/08959420.2021.2024412

Cited by 9 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Furthermore, we found three primary types of capital that core group leaders described drawing upon to fulfill these roles during the pandemic, oftentimes in cumulative ways (see Table 3 ). Our results, indeed, reflect more readily apparent types of capital—that is, those that prior accounts of AFCIs have described, such as financial capital, interorganizational connections, volunteers, and committed champions ( Pestine-Stevens & Greenfield, 2022 ; Russell et al, 2022 ). However, within the categories of social, tangible, and human capitals, we found perhaps more overlooked types of assets that were also important.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Responding to Local Needs by Mobilizing Community Assets: Age-Friendly Community Initiatives During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2022

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Background and Objectives Age-friendly community initiatives (AFCIs) strive to make localities better for long and healthy lives by fostering improvements across social, physical, and service environments. Despite the heightened need for community supports during the COVID-19 pandemic, very little research has addressed the work of AFCIs in the context of this crisis. We aimed to develop theory on how AFCI core groups have contributed to community responses during the pandemic, as well as what contexts have influenced the initiatives’ ability to contribute. Research Design and Methods As part of a multi-year, community-partnered study on the development of philanthropically supported initiatives in northern New Jersey, we conducted qualitative interviews with eight AFCI core groups during the winter of 2020-2021. The interviews focused on the leaders’ efforts at that time, with probing questions concerning enabling factors of their community responses. We analyzed the data using an inductive coding process encompassing open, axial, and subcoding. Results The analysis indicated four distinct roles of AFC core groups: good community partner, creator, advocate, and communications broker. We further found that AFC leaders primarily drew on three types of capital—human, social, and tangible—to enact these roles, oftentimes in cumulative ways. Discussion and Implications We interpret our study’s findings and their implications by integrating insights from theories of social impact. We further highlight the importance of continued research on community-centered approaches to promote aging in community during times of societal crisis, and otherwise.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Responding to Local Needs by Mobilizing Community Assets: Age-Friendly Community Initiatives During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2022

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“…First, echoing existing studies in innovation literature and its emphasis on intermediary organizations in social capital and network-building ( Barraket, 2020 ), universities were seen to subsume a “linking” function in that they bridge relevant actors within the AFC ecosystem to create a greater impact, such as implementing novel community-based AFC interventions. This finding was echoed more recently by a study conducted by Pestine-Stevens and Greenfield (2022) , who also highlighted the function of universities as a “convener” and “connector,” and whose involvement improved the visibility of AFC initiatives. Furthermore, the “linking” function is essential, especially in contexts where intersectoral fragmentation is rife ( Lau et al, 2018 ), and aligns with existing gerontological scholarship emphasizing the need to develop cross-sector approaches toward constructing an AFC ( Buffel & Handler, 2018 ; Garon et al, 2014 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…However, the critical enabling factors in constructing an AFC were predominately generated from the West ( Suriastini et al, 2019 ). For example, although studies have emphasized cross-sector collaborations ( Black & Oh, 2022 ; Greenfield et al, 2015 ; Pestine-Stevens & Greenfield, 2022 ), studies in East Asia found that care services remain fragmented despite the efforts to foster better coordination ( He & Tang, 2021 ; Lau et al, 2018 ). Barriers include competition and mistrust among professionals (e.g., between medical and social care professionals), between private and public sectors ( Lau et al, 2018 ), limited institutional capacity of nonprofit organizations (NPOs), and resource fragmentation among different interest groups ( Lam, 2021 ).…”

Section: Barriers To Achieving Afc In Non-western Quasi-democratic So...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Universities have been regarded as intermediary organizations in literature ( Cameron, 2012 ). Recent studies on AFC also found local universities also performed an important linking function across different interest groups, which was critical to establishing collaborations ( Pestine-Stevens & Greenfield, 2022 ). All four universities performed several tasks and activities in the JCAFC ( Chui et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Hong Kong: the Jockey Club Age-friendly City Project As A Ca...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Universities as Intermediary Organizations: Catalyzing the Construction of an Age-Friendly City in Hong Kong

Chui

Chan

Cheung

et al. 2023

Innovation in Aging

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Background and Objectives The construction of an Age-friendly City (AFC) requires active contribution from relevant interest groups including older adults, non-profit organizations, and policymakers. However, given that relevant interest groups may have limited resources, knowledge, and skills, as well as unique contextual factors, they often require help from intermediary organizations – actors that aim to build interest groups’ capabilities. Our objectives were to examine the functions of universities, as an example of intermediary organizations, in facilitating the construction of an AFC, and identify critical factors that enable intermediary organizations to perform their functions. Research Design and Methods We conducted three focus groups and one individual interview with multiple interest groups including older adults and social workers from non-profit organizations and local government involved in a six-year citywide Age-friendly City project in Hong Kong. Participants were asked to share their views on the role of universities in relation to their own experiences and roles in the project. Data generated from the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Four themes pertinent to the functions of universities in facilitating development were identified: facilitating cross-sector collaborations, knowledge diffusion, interest group-building, and mediating divergent interests. We also found that neutrality and reputability are key characteristics for intermediary organizations to wield sufficient legitimacy to perform their functions efficiently. Discussion and Implications Findings underscore the important yet overlooked role of intermediary organizations in bridging and mediating different interest groups to facilitate AFC development. We advance gerontological scholarship by providing insights into the theoretical mechanisms and practice implications for intermediary organizations in fostering an Age-friendly City.

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“…Supplementary Table S1 displays the codes and subcodes that emerged across three iterative phases of coding. In summary, phase one involved open coding based on sensitizing concepts (e.g., involvement of PLWD, action teams) derived from our analytic memos and the literature [ 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Open coding involves “identifying distinct concepts and themes for categorization” and “creating initial broad thematic domains for data assemblage” [ 42 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in Implementing Dementia-Friendly Community Initiatives: Advancing Theory for Social Change

Scher

Greenfield

2023

Geriatrics

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Dementia-friendly communities (DFC) have emerged as a global movement to make communities more supportive and inclusive of people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners. This study contributes to a nascent body of research on DFC initiatives by building theory on their local implementation. Based on an analysis of data from semi-structured interviews with 23 leaders of initiatives in Massachusetts (United States), we aimed to identify key dimensions of variation in the implementation of DFC initiatives. We found that all initiatives engaged in a common set of activities, such as the facilitation of training about dementia and improving services for PLWD. Although initiatives mostly engaged in these activities in ways that targeted the community at large, in some instances, they concentrated their efforts on enhancing the dementia-friendliness of their own organizations. We describe ways in which financial, social, and human capital operate as key factors that influence the initiatives’ primary focus (i.e., the community at large or their own organization). Our findings suggest the importance of helping DFC initiative leaders more explicitly specify the focal ecological level of their efforts throughout the trajectory of their work, especially in the context of resource considerations. Results also indicate ways in which DFC initiative efforts at one systems level can support those at other levels over time.

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Giving, Receiving, and Doing Together: Interorganizational Interactions in Age-Friendly Community Initiatives

Cited by 9 publications

References 19 publications

Responding to Local Needs by Mobilizing Community Assets: Age-Friendly Community Initiatives During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Responding to Local Needs by Mobilizing Community Assets: Age-Friendly Community Initiatives During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Universities as Intermediary Organizations: Catalyzing the Construction of an Age-Friendly City in Hong Kong

Variation in Implementing Dementia-Friendly Community Initiatives: Advancing Theory for Social Change

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