Forces in Mind Trust has awarded £16,125 to Shared Intelligence to produce an updated Armed Forces Covenant Toolkit.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise by the nation that those who have served in the Armed Forces, and their families, are treated fairly. The Armed Forces Covenant Toolkit was developed during the first iteration of the Our Community, Our Covenant series back in 2016, and has been used by local government and other public services as a guide to implementing policies and practice that uphold the Armed Forces Covenant. The last iteration of this toolkit was published in 2022 alongside the Decade of the Covenant report.

Since then, several changes to the public services landscape have reshaped support for the Armed Forces community, such as the implementation of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty(1), which places a legal requirement on local government to pay due regard to the principles of the Armed Forces Covenant. The new toolkit will be informed by the ongoing Our Community Our Covenant and Beyond(2) interviews with stakeholders, the full findings of which are due to report in autumn 2025. As part of the update, the team will convene an expert group, made up of local Armed Forces co-ordinators, to help define the scope and direction of the update to ensure that it as useful as possible for local authorities in helping them to deliver their commitments under the Covenant.

Tony Blake, project director for the Toolkit from Shared Intelligence said “Whilst working on the Our Community Our Covenant and Beyond project, we have heard how important the Covenant Toolkit has been for public services in upholding the promise of the Armed Forces Covenant. However, as the context changes, the Toolkit needs to adapt and be updated to address the evolving needs. We are delighted to be able to deliver a new Toolkit to ensure public services are well-informed whilst they deliver support to ex-Service personnel and families transitioning to civilian life.”

Michelle Alston, Chief Executive of Forces in Mind Trust said “The Toolkit has proved to be a valuable tool in helping to empower local authorities to build awareness and understanding of their local Armed Forces community and to ensure they are not disadvantaged by service. We are therefore delighted to fund this update to build on the progress made and help improve delivery of the Armed Forces Covenant, working towards our goal of enabling a successful and sustainable transition for all ex-Service personnel and families.”

  1. The Armed Forces Covenant Duty is a legal obligation on certain public bodies to pay due regard to the Covenant principles when exercising certain functions. Guidance on the Duty is available here.
  2. The Our Community, Our Covenant and Beyond project is led by RAND Europe in partnership with Shared Intelligence and Meri Mayhew Consulting