A new data
platform has used anonymised data from charities to map how and where the Armed
Forces community interact with support services providing a clearer insight
into who is seeking support and what support they need.
The MONARCH (Map of Need
Aggregated Research) project, led by Northumbria University and funded
by Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT) and the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust, is a
first of its kind database that is now available to charities, policymakers and
the public. Previously it was difficult to develop a clear picture of who was
contacting Armed Forces charities for support and why individuals often seek support from multiple
charities who use different systems to
record and manage their data.
MONARCH has helped demonstrate how unifying data from
charities can help provide greater insight.
Through advanced data techniques MONARCH securely anonymises
individuals whilst minimising the chance that they are counted multiple times
when they have been supported by multiple organisations.
The result is a clearer picture of where, how many, and who
in the Armed Forces community is seeking support from charities in the UK. The
platform is fully interactive, allowing users to filter data by demographics,
military service and specific need. Geospatial filters cover country, region,
local government area, NHS and Integrated Care Board areas, so the same dataset
can serve national strategists and local planners.
Professor Matt Kiernan, Director of Northern Hub for Veteran and Military Families’ Research at Northumbria University, said: "Developed by the Northern Hub for Veterans
and Military Families' Research at Northumbria University, MONARCH gives the
first ever clear picture of how veterans are using the services provided by the
Armed Forces Charity sector, and the needs that those organisations are
addressing.
"MONARCH
is the first project to address the data problem of double counting caused by
the almonisation of services across multiple providers within the Armed Forces
Charity Sector. It offers a methodological solution to the double counting that
has long distorted the picture of service usage and need, and it is the first
platform in the armed forces sector to report accurately on how service users
use charity services, what needs they use them for, and where in the country
they access them. It is also the largest aggregated dataset ever produced in
the sector, and the most comprehensive source to date on service usage, showing
what is delivered, to which demographic groups, and in which parts of the
country.”
An initial evaluation found that users valued the ability to
bring information from different sources together and explore it by location.
It also identified improvements needed to make the platform easier to use and
its findings easier to interpret.
Anna Wright, CEO of the Armed Forces Covenant Fund Trust – one of
the funders of MONARCH’s development - said: “This tool is completely unique,
responding to a huge gap in national data around the needs of the veteran
population. Until this tool, it simply wasn't possible to get a sense of the
scale and type of charity support being sought and received by veterans in
different parts of the country, and to look at how those patterns change over
time – it's an important addition to the picture for those working to support
the armed forces community.”
Michelle Alston, Chief Executive of Forces in Mind Trust,
said: “Charities hold valuable evidence about the people they
support but bringing that evidence together has been difficult due to the
complexity and size of the Armed Forces landscape. MONARCH shows what
collaboration can make possible. It provides a greater insight on where support
is needed and has helped encourage an important conversation about data quality
for the Armed Forces community. We are immensely grateful to the charities that
have contributed their data to this project to make it possible.”
The accompanying reports to the project highlight the
methods used, how records can be linked whilst protecting identities, how the
combined data can reveal patterns and examine the factors associated with
former Service personnel seeking help. To find out more and how you can access
the platform please visit the Northern Hub for Veterans and Military Families.
