The Uses of Research Sponsored by the Administration on Aging (AoA). Case Study No. 6. The Home Equity Conversion Project.

This case study, one in a series of research efforts designed to examine the utilization of the Administration on Aging's research, describes the different types of uses of findings of the Home Equity Conversion Project (HECP), which developed ways of converting home equity into usable income. The first chapter describes the project and overviews HECP's research, development, and promotion efforts. The next chapter reviews, through illustrative vignettes, uses of the project by: (1) federal, state, and local policymakers (integration or input into federal and state legislation, provision of assistance, and materials at the local level); (2) six pilot projects (supported by technical assistance, research support, in-kind contributions, and direct grants); (3) the private sector (development of investment packages, presentations on the topic to private firms, and advice to elderly people about conversion options); and (4) the media. Chapter C examines the HECP experience in terms of six propositions for successful utilization: extensive social networking, interventions to boost utilization, vigorous information dissemination, synthesis of previous findings into the research, existence of a large audience of policymakers and practitioners with interest in the topic and a desire to do something about it, and confirmation of study findings by other researchers. Appendixes include information on project products and additional vignettes. (YLB)