Forces in Mind Trust has awarded £357,574 to SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity to work with the University of Stirling to evaluate the impact of casework delivery in the Armed Forces community.

The evaluation will use data from SSAFA’s Armed Forces Casework Service to build a better understanding of beneficiary needs, casework services, and the collaborative partnerships that underpin them. SSAFA delivers the service in partnership with other military charities, benevolent funds and other organisations, allowing for funding to be pooled and ensuring that those who seek support receive the right help. Data from this collaborative service offers a unique window into the needs and collaborative response to, the Armed Forces community.

It will also collect and analyse demographic data from Census 2021/22 and the Ministry of Defence to build evidence that is beneficial for the whole sector.

Semi-structured qualitative interviews will be conducted with beneficiaries to understand the personal impact of casework support, and with casework staff and volunteers, to help identify which aspects of the service deliver the greatest impact.

The findings will examine risks and opportunities relating to the casework service: recommending mitigations to risks and analysing the change readiness and resilience of the casework service.