In this final instalment of a four-part series, we prepare to bid a fond farewell to our CEO Susan Kay who heads off into retirement next week. Her successor, Katy Saunders, has been working alongside her for some time already and is primed to take the helm.
At the Vivensa Foundation, we believe in funding people as well as projects. That’s why we started the Capability Development Programme – to give community-led organisations working with older people the tools they need to succeed: practical learning, leadership development, strategic thinking time and a £15k grant to put their ideas into action.
Here are a few of the ways in which the Academy is providing support to encourage nurses, allied health professionals and care home staff into research.
Thank you to everybody who submitted an application to the first round of our Joint Undergraduate Research Placement scheme with the British Geriatrics Society. Applications were assessed on a range of criteria which were set out in the call …
This is the third instalment of our four-part conversation series with outgoing Chief Executive Officer Susan Kay (SK) and her successor Katy Saunders (KS). In the last article, they talked about how collaboration serves to de-risk change – by avoiding duplication and wasted effort and building organisational resilience. They expand on the discussion here, focusing on the importance of sharing learning openly and understanding risk appetites in supporting innovative change.
We spoke with Mariana Borsa, recently appointed Assistant Professor and group leader at the University of Basel, and Stuart Gray, Professor of Muscle and Metabolic Health at the University of Glasgow, about what it’s like to sit on our Research Grants Committee.
On 19 November 2025 we hosted our Early Career Researcher event at the Building Centre in central London. There were posters, research showcase speakers and a panel discussion.
We developed a values-aligned investment framework. This would help us understand how aligned the values of the investment managers and those of the underlying investments were with our own.
In this second of our four-part conversation series, outgoing Chief Executive Officer Susan Kay (SK) and her successor Katy Saunders (KS) discuss collaboration. And in particular, how it serves to de-risk change.
We have developed a values-based framework for investment, and while we are not claiming to have got it 100% right, we are a step on from simply talking about it. By sharing some key learnings from our journey, we hope to help others move their ideas forward too.
We, along with five other charitable foundations have issued a public invitation to investment service providers: propose a bold portfolio for an investment of up to £50m that prioritises positive social and environmental impact for future generations.
Following our fifth round of Ignition Fund awards we have provided general feedback for those who were unsuccessful.