King's College London and RAND Europe consortium selected as preferred bidder to run the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre from 2022

Forces in Mind Trust has announced who has been selected as the preferred bidder to manage the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre from 2022-2027.

A consortium of RAND Europe and the King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR) at King’s College London has been selected as the preferred bidder to manage the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre from 2022 – 2027.

The Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre was established in 2017 alongside the Veterans’ and Families Research Hub at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) under a 5-year grant agreement. Under this agreement, ARU has developed and established a novel capability and provided extensive support, advice and guidance across the UK and internationally. Following an open request for expressions of interest and a competitive tender process, the RAND Europe-KCMHR consortium has now been identified as the preferred bidder to manage the Research Centre for the next five years by the Forces in Mind Trust Board of Directors.

The selection panel was led by Forces in Mind Trust Directors Adrian Bell, Nick Roberts and Katie Alpin and also included Jessie Owen, Director of the Office for Veterans’ Affairs.

Nick Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of Travis Perkins plc and Vice-Chair of Forces in Mind Trust, said:

“I would like to thank the team at Anglia Ruskin University for the expert advice and guidance they have provided to researchers and organisations across the UK and internationally over the last 5 years.

“We were hugely impressed by the RAND Europe and King’s College London consortium bid and we are looking forward to working with them in the coming years to further develop the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre into an internationally renowned centre of excellence.”

Professor Nicola Fear, Director of the KCMHR at King’s College London, said:

“We are looking forward to building upon the Centre’s current achievements to ensure tangible positive change for Veterans and their families across the whole of the UK.”

Adrian Bell, Chief Executive of Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, said:

“Given my day job, I have a direct interest in ensuring that research leads to positive change for ex-Service personnel and their families. I was impressed by the high-quality proposal and presentation from RAND Europe and King’s College London during the tender process, and look forward to seeing the centre build upon Anglia Ruskin University’s strong management of the Research Centre.”

Katie Alpin, Head of Strategic Insight at Which?, said:

“As a new Director at Forces in Mind Trust and given my previous role as Head of Research and Policy at the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute I was keen to be involved in the retender process. The proposal from RAND/King’s was particularly strong on evidence of converting research into impact; on evidence of strong networks both inside and outside the Armed Forces Community; and on their future sustainability strategy, which is so important to us as a spend-out Trust. I am looking forward to seeing the Research Centre deliver on these areas, and more, in the coming years.”

Mike Ellicock, Chief Executive of Forces in Mind Trust, said:

“I am grateful to Anglia Ruskin University for their hard work building the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre to where it is now, providing a valuable service for a range of audiences across the world. I am now looking forward to working with Anglia Ruskin University and the new team from the RAND-King’s consortium in the coming months to enable an effective transition and to ensure that we build upon the firm foundations that have been established since 2017.”

Ruth Harris, Research Group Director, Defence, Security and Infrastructure at RAND Europe, said:

“We are delighted to be working together as RAND, KCMHR and FiMT to continue to deliver the Research Centre’s current outputs whilst developing the Centre over the next five years.”

The Research Centre tender process, which began in January 2021 and involved two stages, followed Forces in Mind Trust’s procurement procedures. A conflict of interest was declared by two Board members, who therefore had no involvement in the assessment process and who will not be present in discussions with the preferred bidder at any stage. A full register of interests is available on the FiMT website.

For more information, please contact Patrick O'Brien (Senior Media Officer).