The grant will provide training to over 600 early career professionals in dementia over a 15-year period in the US, Ireland and across the world. It combines a two-year Fellowship Programme and a Scholarship Programme ranging between one month and one year.
On the Ground
The Fellowship Programme has been designed to train and support individuals from diverse fields including, but not limited to, clinicians and scientists. The aim of the programme is that participants will emerge with an independent clinical, policy or research career. They will have the skills required to become regional and national leaders in brain health and dementia care. Some will conduct dementia research. Others will deliver health and social care programmes. All will be expected to tranform policies and practices and to implement new models of care. At the core of their work will be the GBHI core values of equity, opportunity, scientific curiosity and respect.
The Scholars Programme is also designed to train people from a broad spectrum of disciplines – including health professionals and scientists, but also policy people, artists, journalists, lawyers or entrepreneurs. All will be passionate advocates for older people.
The programme is extremely ambitious. According to The Atlantic Philanthropies President and CEO Christopher Oechsli (2016), the overall aim of both programmes is to support people with the “courage, conviction and capacity to produce systemic change that promotes fairness, opportunity, dignity and inclusion, benefiting particularly those who face unfair disadvantages and vulnerabilities.”
