Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) has today launched the Challenges as part of an updated grant making approach, focused on turning evidence into lasting change for former Service personnel and families.

Grants of up to £250,000 are available for applications to the Challenges. FiMT particularly welcomes collaborative proposals that bring together organisations from within and beyond the Armed Forces sector to create lasting improvements in policy, practice and services.

FiMT Challenges

The four FiMT Challenges are:

  • Identifying and responding earlier to unmet need: improving how systems identify people and changing needs earlier, so that support can be provided before needs escalate
  • Supporting better transition through earlier and more tailored support: helping services deliver proactive, personalised support for those most at risk
  • Sustainable cross-sector collaboration: creating consistent, sustained pathways and processes that improve integration across organisations and sectors
  • Embedding Armed Forces awareness in mainstream services: ensuring everyday services routinely recognise and respond to the needs of the Armed Forces community

The Challenges have been developed using FiMT’s evidence base, insight and engagement with the sector. They focus on areas where the problems are increasingly well understood but where further progress is needed.

FiMT is looking for proposals that build on existing evidence and demonstrate a clear route to practical implementation or change. This could include testing new approaches, improving systems or services, or developing models with the potential to influence wider policy and practice.

FiMT is not seeking projects that are primarily focused on generating new evidence or increasing understanding of an issue without a clear route to practical impact, or projects seeking continuation funding for existing services.

Turning evidence into change

The Challenges form a central part of FiMT’s updated grant making approach for 2027–2031.

FiMT was established in 2011 as a 20-year, time-limited Trust with a mission to enable former Service personnel and their families to make a successful transition to civilian life.  Over the past 15 years, FiMT has worked with researchers, policymakers, charities, practitioners and the Armed Forces community to build evidence and understanding of successful transition. This evidence has helped inform policy and service provision and improve understanding of the experiences and needs of the Armed Forces community.

As FiMT enters the final phase of its planned life, its mission remains unchanged but its approach is evolving. FiMT will increasingly focus its funding on applying existing evidence, supporting innovation and collaboration, and helping to create systemic change that can deliver benefits beyond individual projects and beyond FiMT’s lifetime.

Michelle Alston, Chief Executive, Forces in Mind Trust,

“As we enter the final phase of our work, our commitment is to making transition to civilian life the best it can possibly be for the whole Armed Forces community. That mission remains at the heart of our work, but how we approach it is evolving.

“Over the past 15 years, working with brilliant partners, we have built a substantial and authoritative evidence base about transition from military to civilian life. We have an opportunity to focus on using that evidence to help make change happen.

“Our four FiMT Challenges focus on persistent barriers where the evidence tells us further progress can be made. We want to hear from organisations with ambitious, practical ideas for tackling them – particularly ideas that bring together the right partners from within and beyond the Armed Forces sector.

“Our mission remains the same: to make transition to civilian life the best it can be for former Service personnel and their families. Through these Challenges, we want to turn what we know into lasting improvements in the systems, services and support people experience.”

Full details of each Challenge, including eligibility and assessment criteria, are published at fim-trust.org/challenges. Initial applications assessed as a strong fit will be invited to submit a full proposal.