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Impact and engagement

Our network brings together research, policy and practice to improve support for Armed Forces families and their communities. Explore the network’s research outputs, policy influence, stakeholder engagement and events, and how this work is helping to inform evidence-based approaches across Defence and wider society.

Strategic impact

The BMFC Network is helping to position support for Armed Forces families and communities as an essential component of both family wellbeing and Defence capability. Through engagement with policymakers, Defence organisations, charities, service providers, and military families themselves, the network contributes evidence that informs approaches to recruitment, retention, operational readiness, family wellbeing, and national resilience.

The network is particularly advancing discussion around the adoption of a Defence-wide "Think Family" approach, recognising that policies affecting serving personnel also affect partners, children, and wider family systems. Research findings and stakeholder discussions are helping shape conversations about how family considerations can be embedded within Defence policy, planning, and service delivery.

Whole-society engagement

A distinctive feature of the BMFC Network is its commitment to building a whole-society response to supporting Armed Forces families and communities. The network actively engages with:

  • Ministry of Defence
  • Armed Forces Families Federations
  • Armed Forces charities and welfare organisations
  • Local authorities and community organisations
  • Researchers and universities in the UK and internationally
  • Armed Forces personnel and family members with lived experience

Policy and practice influence

The network's research and engagement activities have contributed to:

  • National discussions on military family policy and support services.
  • Knowledge exchange between researchers and Ministry of Defence officials.
  • Creation of evidence reviews, policy briefings, stakeholder consultations, and collaborative funding applications.

Stakeholder Engagement Activities

The BMFC Network places stakeholder engagement at the centre of its research model, bringing together researchers, policymakers, military leaders, practitioners, charities, funders, and individuals with lived experience to co-produce research and maximise impact. Military families and community stakeholders are involved throughout the research process, from priority-setting and project design to dissemination and impact activities. Engagement activities are designed to ensure that research priorities align with real-world challenges facing Armed Forces personnel, families, and communities.


Key engagement events include:

  • Launch of the Birmingham Military Families and Communities Network: Meeting the Needs of UK Active Duty Armed Forces Families at a Time of Geopolitical Uncertainty (14 November 2025).
  • Supporting Armed Forces Families at a Time of Geopolitical Uncertainty national policy and research event (10 July 2026).
  • Producing evidence reviews, policy briefings, and knowledge exchange outputs tailored to the needs of Defence policymakers and service delivery organisations.
  • Supporting collaborative development of funding proposals with academic, governmental, healthcare, and third-sector partners to address priority issues affecting military families and communities.

Through these activities, the BMFC Network is developing a sustainable research-policy-practice community that supports evidence-informed decision-making and improves outcomes for Armed Forces personnel, families, and communities.

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