How can a relatively small fund maximise impact in its next decade

Forces in Mind Trust’s Head of Policy, Caroline Cooke looks at how a relatively small fund can maximise impact in its next decade –

 

As the Covenant Fund starts its second decade what advice would you give it? 

As the Armed Forces Covenant Fund marks the start of its second decade, now is a good opportunity to pause and reflect. The creation of the fund in 2015 was an important and welcome milestone for the Armed Forces community and has since gone on to provide much needed support through its tailored programme of funding.   

Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) was created by the National Lottery Community Fund in 2011 with an endowment of £35 million to be spent over a 20 year period.  FiMT’s mission is to enable ex-Service personnel and their families to make a successful and sustainable transition to civilian life.  We do this by funding evidence generation that influences and underpins policy making and service delivery. When we first began, the lack of evidence on what makes a successful transition was striking, and our early years were focused on helping to fill the evidence gap in order to strengthen knowledge and be better equipped to influence changes in policy and practice.  The creation of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund four years later was a significant and welcome development.  Our missions and funds are different but complementary.     

Before offering advice for the future it is worth reflecting on some of the significant challenges the UK is facing. The landscape in defence and security is evolving at a pace, which will create new challenges and opportunities for the armed forces community.  Traditional military careers will evolve and become less linear.  Moving in and out of the military will become more commonplace.  Financial pressures on individuals and on public services will continue.  As a funder we’re acutely aware of our role in ensuring that our resources are spent for maximum benefit at a time of rising need, and in taking a long-term, independent view of the environment in which the Armed Forces community exists.  We see this as essential for the fund too, and it can only be achieved with sound evidence to underpin funding decisions.  

With all of the pressures that society faces in the coming decade, our advice is to avoid plugging holes that will keep returning if the fabric beneath is weak, and instead to be bold.  As a relatively small funder that delivers significant impact, we have a ‘top five’ on our wish-list for the Armed Forces Covenant Fund.  These are to: 

• focus on prevention, and try to get upstream on issues that stand in the way of removing disadvantage 
• support projects that are capable of contributing to systemic change so that the needs of the armed forces community are baked into national policy frameworks instead of being an after-thought 
• fund local initiatives that provide evidence capable of influencing from the ground up 
• continue to encourage closer collaborative practice to help ensure better networked support that offers a more streamlined experience for those seeking help 
• build in and incentivise best practice in development of data, raising awareness among funding applicants of the power of collecting meaningful data that better informs and influences national decision-makers and opinion- formers.