Birmingham Military Families and Communities (BMFC) Network

Established at the University of Birmingham, the network responds to growing national and international recognition that Defence capability depends not only on those who serve, but also on the families and communities that sustain them. The network is founded on a simple but powerful principle: when one family member serves, the entire family serves.

Military families experience unique challenges associated with Service life, including deployments, frequent relocations, disruptions to education and healthcare, employment challenges for partners, family separation, and transition to civilian life. The BMFC Network brings together researchers, policymakers, Defence stakeholders, charities, practitioners, and individuals with lived experience to generate evidence that informs policy and improves support for Armed Forces communities.

A distinctive feature of the network is its focus on the relationship between family wellbeing and Defence capability. Building on Birmingham's unique position as a centre for military-related healthcare, rehabilitation, and Defence-related research, the network fosters interdisciplinary collaboration across education, health, psychology, social sciences, policy, and military studies. Through research, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge exchange, BMFC seeks to strengthen understanding of military family life, support operational effectiveness, improve recruitment and retention, and contribute to long-term national resilience.

• Advance interdisciplinary research to improve understanding of the relationship between family wellbeing, operational effectiveness, workforce sustainability, recruitment, and retention across Defence.
• Generate evidence to inform Defence policy, public services, and community-based support systems for Armed Forces personnel and their families.
• Strengthen collaborations between researchers, government departments, Armed Forces organisations, charities, practitioners, and community stakeholders.
• Support the development of a Defence-wide "Think Family" approach that embeds family considerations throughout policy, planning, and decision-making.
• Promote a whole-society approach to supporting Armed Forces families through partnerships with education, healthcare, local government, employers, voluntary organisations, and community groups.
• Increase awareness of the vital contribution made by Armed Forces families to national security, Defence capability, and societal resilience.
• Support the development and evaluation of evidence-based services and interventions that reflect the diversity of contemporary military families and their changing needs across the military career lifecycle.
• Identify priorities for future research through stakeholder engagement, knowledge exchange, and policy-responsive priority setting.
• Enhance national and international research capacity and establish the University of Birmingham as a leading centre for research on Armed Forces families and communities.