The Dutch National Care for the Elderly Programme was an initiative organized by the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) between 2008 and 2016. The aim of the programme was to collect knowledge about frail elderly, to assess their needs and to provide person-centred and integrated care better suited to their needs. The budget of EUR 88 million was provided by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports. Putting the needs of elderly people at the heart of the programme and ensuring their active participation were key to the programme’s success. The programme outcomes included the establishment of eight geriatric networks around the medical universities with 650 organisations and the completion of 218 projects. These projects, involving 43,000 elderly people and 8500 central caregivers, resulted in the completion of 45 PhD theses and the publication of more than 400 articles and the development of 300 practice toolkits, one database and a website, www.beteroud.nl. The Dutch National Care for the Elderly Programme has since developed into a movement and continues under the consortium Ageing Better, made up of eight organisations. Through the use of ambassadors, Ageing Better promotes the message that ageing is not a disease but a new phase of life.