Meeting the Needs Research: RAF personnel and veterans needed to take part

The ‘Meeting the Needs’ research project is now recruiting serving personnel to share their experiences to help support Royal Air Force and Royal Navy veterans, personnel and their families.

The RAF Benevolent Fund and Greenwich Hospital are undertaking a joint and large-scale research project to understand the scope of support required to meet the needs of serving and former Royal Navy and Royal Air Force personnel and their families. The study is now open to RAF and Royal Navy serving personnel and their partners to participate, after launching to the veteran community at the end of June.

The research will deliver an up-to-date assessment of the size, shape and demographic profiles of both Services, with an equal focus on the serving and former serving populations to ensure future funding is directed towards anticipating and meeting their needs effectively up to 2040.

The evidence collected will help unlock the needs of serving and non-serving personnel and their partners to understand their requirements and examine the impact of socio-economic trends on the family unit.

RAND Europe is appointed to undertake the research and is looking for participants for a survey and research interviews. If you are a serving or former member of the RAF, RN or RM (Regular or Reserve), or a partner, your unique experiences and insights are invaluable to us.

Participation is entirely voluntary and anonymous, and everyone who participates can enter a prize draw to win up to £250.

Serving personnel and partners – how to get involved

If you’re happy to take part, you will be asked to complete an online survey (20-30 minutes). You can also then participate in a follow-on interview with the research team (~1 hour).

To participate, complete the survey here (for serving personnel) or here (for serving partners), or contact the RAND Europe research team:
•    Email at mtn_research@randeurope.org 
•    Project website (here)
•    Telephone Tristan Kreetz (RAND researcher) at +44 1223 942268.

Veterans and partners – how to get involved

If you are a former Service member of the RAF, RN or RM (Regular or Reserve), or the partner of a former Service member, you are invited to participate in an online interview to discuss your experiences and share your thoughts about issues facing families like yours.

Ahead of the interview, RAND will also ask you to complete a pre-interview questionnaire. The pre-interview questionnaire will take between 10 and 20 minutes to complete, and the interview will take approximately 60 minutes of your time.

If you are interested in taking part, please contact the RAND Europe research team via email at mtn_research@randeurope.org, via the project website (here), or telephone the Project Leader, Linda Slapakova, on +44 1223 942219.

RAND Europe is appointed to undertake and deliver the research over an 18-month time frame, and the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund and Greenwich Hospital are jointly funding the project. A final report will be available in early 2025.