The future of ageing

Terms of reference

1. To explore the ethical implications of the emerging role of biomedical science and technology in helping people live as well as possible in old age, with a particular focus on:

• a. the way that ageing is conceptualised, and the implications for policy and research;
• b. The aims of biomedical research and technological innovation in seeking to respond to the opportunities, challenges and implications of the age shift in the population; and the way that these aims, and any alternatives to them, are prioritised;
• c. the role of diverse older people themselves in driving the research / innovation agenda, and in identifying the needs to which research seeks to respond;
• d. ethical challenges specific to the conduct of research in this field, including recruitment criteria, selection of meaningful endpoints, and measures of effectiveness;
• e. issues of equity, within diverse parts of the older population, and between generations;
• f. issues of personal, familial, professional, societal, and state responsibility; and
• g. the implications of all these factors for both research and wider social policy.

2. To draft a report and make recommendations relating to policy and practice.