What do senior centers need to enhance their image, attract clients and funders, and gain the attention of lawmakers? One critical answer is research — credible evidence that the work they do makes a real difference in the lives of older adults.

NISC and NCOA are committed to enhancing the field of senior center research. We promote and participate in cutting-edge research to advance senior centers — and serve as a clearinghouse for research from around the country.

Explore Research

• Facts about Senior Centers
• Senior Center Standards and Accreditation
• Impact of Senior Centers
• Senior Center Programs and Collaborations
• Senior Center Directors, Participants, and Non-Participants
• Senior Center Marketing and Outreach
• Senior Center Design
• Senior Centers and the Environment
• NISC Research
• Award-Winning Research
• Conference Presentations
• Bibliography of Senior Center Research

Facts about Senior Centers

• Senior Center Fact Sheet
• California Commission on Aging Senior Center 2009 Literature Review

Senior Center Standards and Accreditation

• Accredited Senior Centers: A Snapshot

Impact of Senior Centers

• Understanding the Impact of Senior Community Center Participation on Elders' Health and Well-Being 
• Performance Outcome Measures Project
• Senior Center Evaluation Toolkit

Senior Center Programs and Collaborations

• An Evidence-Based Program at a Senior Center?
• Center Goes 'Without Walls' 
• Senior Center, Student Nurses Partner for Healthier Older Adults
• Aging Gracefully with Defensive Hands
• Senior Centers and the Senior Companion Program: A Natural Fit
• Center Partners with Students to Brighten Seniors' Lives
• Training Helps Senior Centers Advance Volunteer Opportunities
• Homecoming Services: San Francisco Senior Centers Help Hospitalized Seniors

Senior Center Directors, Participants, and Non-Participants

• Senior Center Planning Project, Lycoming/Clinton Bi-County Office of Aging 

Senior Center Marketing and Outreach

• Attitudes of the Over-50 Crowd
• Tomorrow's Senior Center: Dynamic, Accessible, and Perhaps Not Even Called Senior 

Senior Center Design

• Design and Renovation of Senior Centers — Fundamental Issues 
• Let's Rethink Design: Invitation to a Revolution
• Lou Walker Senior Center: Model Senior Center
• The Fordham Hill Oval Committee on Elders Thrives in Tiny Confines 
• Building Designed for Aging in Place Wins Contest
• Teaching Young Designers How to Design for Aging

Senior Centers and the Environment

• Wisconsin Center Goes Green with Electric Vehicle

NISC Research

• Senior Center Research: Is the Phrase an Oxymoron?
• NISC Members Only: New Models of Senior Centers Task Force Report

Award-Winning Research

• Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century

Conference Presentations

• New Models for New Times: 21st Century Senior Centers: Speaker Sandi Johnson
• New Models for New Times: 21st Century Senior Centers: Speaker Peter Thompson
• Senior Center Sites for Successful Evidence-Based Programs: Speaker Chris Pollet
• The Business of Aging: Speaker Dan Taylor
• Everything You Wanted to Know About Senior Centers — But Were Afraid to Ask: Speaker Jay Morgan