Research Community

Catherine is a Senior Research Data Scientist at RAND Europe whose work primarily focuses on applying statistical modelling to data on the Armed Forces community, such as forecasting the size and demographics of the Armed Forces community out to 2040, estimating the cost and prevalence of poor transitions from the Armed Forces and understanding the interactions of Armed Forces children with the social care system. Catherine’s research has focused on understanding and supporting the Armed Forces Community across a wide range of issues since 2022, with projects for the Ministry of Defence, Royal British Legion, RAF Benevolent Fund, Greenwich Hospital, the OVA and FiMT.

The Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community is an independent centre funded by Forces in Mind Trust and run by a consortium of RAND Europe and King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) at King’s College London. The centre provides an accessible and authoritative evidence base exploring the transition from military to civilian life, to inform policy and practice affecting ex-Service personnel and their families in the UK. It also functions as a community hub for the UK Armed Forces research community, connecting researchers, policy makers, and service providers, to support the forging of joined up working and collaboration, and build pathways to impact. This is achieved through various outputs, including but not limited to, a accessible online research repository, informative themed research and policy summaries and primary research exploring key themes impacting the UK ex-Service community. 

The Centre for Military Women’s Research (CMWR)’s core mission is to inform and improve the well-being of women in the military and Veteran community through world-leading collaborative research and evaluation. Their work highlights women’s experiences, issues, and support needs and the centre is dedicated to fostering co-production with members of the military community and collaboration with partners and stakeholders.

The College for Military Veterans and Emergency Services (CMVES) conducts impactful research focused on improving educational access and wellbeing across the Armed Forces community. Its work includes a regional Military Spouse Project, which explores the lived experiences of military spouses and partners, identifying barriers to education, employment, and social mobility. 

Fernando is a Lecturer in the Department of Computer at Swansea University. While in the United States, he was a President's Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Minnesota, and obtained a PhD degree in Informatics from the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University. His research investigates the use of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research methods with vulnerable populations to design technologies with them rather than for them in both in-person and online/remote settings. His research uses surveys, interviews, observation, as well as co-design methods under the lenses of value-sensitive and speculative design to involve stakeholders in the design and development of a more ethical, inclusive, and equitable technology from the very beginning and throughout all the stages of the design process. Ultimately, he strives for amplifying the voice of those who are impacted by technology and allowing researchers and practitioners to be aware of potential negative impacts that such technologies may have on end users and stakeholders.

Dr O’Malley is a Senior Lecturer in Social Policy and Crime at University of York. She has a long-standing interest in military welfare issues generally, and has undertaken research with homeless Veterans and the Veteran charity housing sector. This includes ongoing work on evidence collection for Riverside Group’s development of a housing 'roadmap' for the Armed Forces Community. She is also the Chair of the Expert Advisory Board for the Centre for Evidence for the Armed Forces Community. 

Dr Moira Bailey is a part time Lecturer, freelance Consultant and Researcher at the Robert Gordon University. Her interest in Veteran research came about as a result of her being a member of the Veteran family - her late husband was a Royal Navy Veteran who had mental helath issues arising from his service. Her son also is a Navy Veteran. She was recently a member of the team which produced an independent report commissioned in 2022 by the Office of Veterans’ Affairs to explore the potential of improving female Veterans' access to support services. She is currently working on two projects for different Veteran charities to produce in depth evaluation reports. Moira is also interested in pursing further research in the female Veteran space as well as exploring the experiences of Veterans' carers. 

Dr Steve Rolfe's research in relation to the Armed Forces Community has primarily been about Veterans' housing issues following transition, and the types of services which can assist Veterans to secure and maintain appropriate housing. This reflects his wider research interests in the importance of secure housing for well-being, and the ways in which public, private and third-sector actors can support positive housing outcomes.

Jon Ablett is a PhD student at the University of Bristol investigating the relationship between Veterans and welfare in the UK, specifically as it relates to homelessness welfare provision and services. Jon’s interests lie in housing theory and policy, especially as it relates to homelessness. He has assisted on research involving homeless Veterans with Dr Edward Kirton-Darling and Professor Helen Carr. This included research on local authorities in London and whether they were offering the correct legal information to homeless Veterans on their websites and within their relevant strategies. This also resulted in a conference in London where the results were disseminated among members from local authorities, the Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee and other interested parties. 

As a social scientist within Robert Gordon University, Professor Zoe Morrison worked to further the application of business and management studies to policy driven change programmes. Her work aimed to inform leadership and human resource management theory through understanding individual experiences of change, including changing expectations of work, careers and employment, and adoption and implementation of technological innovation. Her interpretivist research agenda was curiosity inspired and theoretically driven, drawing on the sociology of work and organisations, and military and family sociologies. Zoe worked in three areas: health, defence and carbon emissions mitigation, often referred to as decarbonisation. Zoe has now moved role to be the Lead Specialist in Culture and Experience at NHS Grampian. 

The Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families Research are a multi-disciplinary team conducting integral translational research in the Armed Forces Community. The Northern Hub’s research profile is both qualitative and quantitative, covering health and social care, public health, psychology, social policy, human geography, and nursing. They consistently work to attract and facilitate collaboration across the Armed Forces sector, working with a variety of organisations across the Government, Local Authorities, NHS and Third Sector.

The Sustainable Housing & Urban Studies Unit (SHUSU) is a multidisciplinary research group at the University of Salford hosted within the Centre for Research on Inclusive Society in the School of Health and Society. SHUSU seeks to understand complex social issues and work towards social justice and environmental sustainability. They engage in research that highlights the processes, outcomes and impacts of marginalisation on individuals and communities. 

The work of SHUSU reflects the complex and interconnected social and environmental challenges faced by contemporary society. These challenges include ensuring fair access to housing, equitable welfare systems and services, population mobility, positive social relations within communities, ageing populations, environmental sustainability and inclusive growth.