New Project Director was involved in Government-commissioned review

Armed Forces veteran, Alex Cooper, who worked on Lord Ashcroft’s Veterans’ Transition Review, has been appointed to the role of Project Director for the establishment of the Veterans’ Research Hub (VRH) at Anglia Ruskin University.

The Veterans’ Transition Review, published in February 2014, was commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron to look at what could be done to improve the experience of service personnel when they leave the Armed Forces and return to civilian life, and to improve understanding amongst the public, employers and policy makers about their transitions and what veterans can offer.

The VRH was established by Anglia Ruskin University’s Veterans and Families Institute (VFI) following recommendations in the review and was jointly funded by the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) and Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC. Alex Cooper, who was in the Army for 23 years, will be taking up his new post in November and will lead the project, which will collate research on issues facing the Armed Forces, veterans and their families and make it accessible to policy makers, service deliverers and the wider public.

During his time in the Army, Mr Cooper served in several locations across the world including Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan and, on leaving in 2013, he became involved with the Veterans’ Transition Review. He has worked subsequently as a consultant and columnist on transition and has been employed in emergency planning in the nuclear industry. He is also a member of Serve On, a voluntary resilience organisation with a strong veteran membership.

Mr Cooper said: “It is an honour to have been appointed as Project Director of the VRH. Since leaving the Army I have maintained a strong interest in the wellbeing of veterans and this is an opportunity to support understanding, policy and provision to improve the lives of our former military personnel.”

Enhancing research on military veterans is a challenging but exciting task and I am looking forward to building links with other organisations to get the job done.”

Ends

Notes to Editors

Anglia Ruskin University

  • Anglia Ruskin is a modern, global university with 35,000 students from 177 countries studying with us across four continents.
  • 12 of our research areas across our five faculties were classed as world-leading by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014.
  • Our graduate prospects are among the best in the UK, with 9 out of 10 starting their career or in further study within six months.
  • We have three main campuses, in Cambridge, Chelmsford and Peterborough.
  • Anglia Ruskin University is the Times Higher Education’s Entrepreneurial University of the Year.

For more press information please contact:

Jon Green on t: 01245 684717, e: jon.green@anglia.ac.uk

Jamie Forsyth on t: 01245 684716, e: jamie.forsyth@anglia.ac.uk

 

About the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT):

For further information on Forces in Mind Trust, please contact Talia Cohen at The PR Office on tcohen@theproffice.com / mobile:  07887 512 840 / direct dial: 027 284 6957.

  • FiMT came about from a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund (The Fund), Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities) and other charities and organisations. FiMT continues the Fund’s long-standing legacy of support for veterans across the UK with an endowment of £35 million awarded in 2012. Since 2004 the Fund has given more than £88 million to programmes supporting veterans http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/.
  • The aim of FiMT is to provide an evidence base which will influence and underpin policy making and service delivery in order to enable ex-Service personnel and their families to lead successful civilian lives.
  • FiMT awards grants (both reactive and proactive) and commissions research along three key themes: Evidence, Innovation and Collaboration. All work is published to a high standard of reportage to add to the evidence base from which better informed decisions can be made. Read more about those FiMT have helped and reports they have published at the links below: