OPRSI Ltd (Older People Researching Social Issues) is a co-operative consortium registered as a  Limited Company and created by a group of older people.

 The founder members  of OPRSI studied in 2001 for the Certificate in Research Methods  on a course sponsored jointly by the Department of Applied Science at  the University of Lancaster and the charity Counsel and Care. The course included participation in a research project which was published in 2003 under the title  "Homing in on Housing: a study of Housing Decisions of People aged over 60", published by Eskrigg Social Research. The intention of the course was to empower older people to help them to make their voice heard by having the skill to research. These older people were to be research associates rather than advisors. It was the difference between research participation and user participation.They learned to share their knowledge, experiences and skills competently and confidentley. Determination and perserverence and high standards were needed but this approach to the research process  enriched the quality of the results of this first piece of research during which 189 in depth interviews were conducted by the group that was to become OPRSI Ltd.

These high standards of research have been maintained by OPRSI. Collectively, the original members now have a considerable amount of experience following work in collaboration with other professional and academic researchers.

Over the last eight years OPRSI has been involved nationally in workshops in health and research development at the invitation of NHS, Help the Aged and Age Concern (now Age UK). OPRSI have have worked with The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Shaping our Lives, SOLNUN and INVOLVE, FOLKus and have completed a Knowledge Review Assessment at the request of SCIE.

 OPRSI collaborated with the Health Care Commission, the Audit Commission and Commission for Social Care Inspection in the review of the progress against the National Service Framework for Older People. This framework sets national standards to ensure that services of a high quality are available for all  older people. OPRSI worked with the three commissions in running the focus groups throughout England which were an important element of the inspections. The aim of the group discussions was to obtain older peoples views of the existing local services for older people and to assess the progress of the NHS.  The report found that services had improved since March 2000 but this improvement was not consistant throughout the country  and improvement in some areas had been slow. (Living Well in Later Life  - Health Care Commission March 2006).

OPRSI designed and held and reported on focus groups, in association with Effective Partnerships, as part of a commission by Ayrshire Councils, Ayrshire & Arran NHS, and the Ayrshire & Arran Alcohol and Drug Action Team.

 In a commission by Cumbria Social Services Dept.  the OPRSI team ascertained the outcomes of the Homecare Re-enablement service and the Generic Homecare Service. The Homecare Survey concerned Best Value review and zoning implementation. The research examined the impact the changes of procurement arrangments had on service users experience of the service through semi-structured interviews with users and carers.

A further,  in depth, wide ranging, qualitative piece of research was undertaken for Cumbria Social Services with the aim of reflecting older peoples thoughts and views about the services they received on discharge from the hospitals covering Cumbria. OPRSI  felt it was important that relevant issues could be raised and that views be obtained from  individuals normally excluded from mainstream consultation.

In association with Prof. Roger Clough of Eskrigg Social Research Limited,  OPRSI have  completed a number of research projects. The first was a one year project for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on ‘Older People as Researchers’ . A  further project for the same Foundation with Prof. Clough was  on ‘Unmet Need for Low Level Support’. For Barchester Homes OPRSI worked with Prof. Clough to evaluate the  programme of "Fitness with Care"  in their  care homes. OPRSI aimed to get a sense of the experiences of people (residents, staff and relatives) in relation to physical activities.

OPRSI has worked with the Office of Fair Trading on issues affecting older people. The OFT takes the view that for any purchesing decision, the consumer should be able to find sufficient and appropriate information to allow him or her to make a well informed purchasing decision. Case studies were gathered by OPRSI about the experiences of older people who faced the task of going through the process of moving into residential care on their own without the support of relatives who could gather information and its evaluation for them  One of the concerns was there may be a lack of transparency in relation to prices and contractual issues.

Help the Aged have produced a series of reports (Spotlight on Older people in the UK) to reveal what life is like for older people living in  one of the world's richest countries in the 21st Century. OPRSI held a series of long telephone interviews for each of these annual reports -2006/2007/2008. These covered poverty and how people cope with daily living costs, loneliness and isolation,  mobility and access to essential services; levels of satisfaction with quality of life;  the scarcity of employment and learning opportunities;  the way our society's attitudes to age have tacitly supported the institutionalised ageism within our health and social care systems. Finally in 2010, Help the Aged and Age concern came together as Age UK and published "One Voice, Shaping our ageing society".

 Since 1997 Partnership Working has been a central feature of UK policy reflecting European moves towards a drive towards an integration of  services in the field of Health and Social Care. OPRSI participated in the research undertaken by Glasgow University and examined  how individuals and organisations from all stakeholder can work together to deliver good outcomes to service users and their carers. These series of interviews by OPRSI covered several areas in England and Scotland.

In 2009 OPRSI proposed a service user controlled research project to North Lancashire Primary Care Trust naming it "Not Just Grapes and Flowers".  OPRSI, through the holding of 10 focus groups in S. Cumbria and Lancashire, have now collected the views of older people who have visited or been visited in hospital. Visitors play an important role in enhancing the well-being and care of patients. Over the years, visiting practices within hospitals have been a contentious issue. OPRSI hope to discover ways in which any improvements might be provided and good practice shared. At the end of this project a report by OPRSI will be made available through the Primary Care Trust who have funded this project.