Over 100 academics, industry experts and serving military personnel came together at the Victory Services Club in London for the RAF Association’s 2025 Research Symposium.
With a theme of ‘social connection,’ the event bought together researchers from a variety of academic disciplines, alongside subject matter experts from industry, military and third sector organisations. The symposium focused not only on improving collective understanding of the RAF community, and how it is impacted by social, economic and individual life experiences, but also on identifying the community’s developing needs.
Research findings were presented on topics including the importance of social identity and togetherness, the health and wellbeing of UK military personnel, the needs and characteristics of the RAF community, the single person’s experience of the RAF, and insights into the latest RAF Families Continuous Attitudes Survey.
At the event, the Association presented its own findings from its landmark 2024 research study, Understanding the Characteristics of the RAF Community, which examined the demographics and health characteristics of the RAF community.
Laura Holding, Head of Research and Evaluation at the RAF Association said:
“As an evidence-led charity, placing evidence at the heart of everything we do ensures accountability, drives innovation and supports effective collaboration with our partners. We believe we are strongest when we work together, and that early intervention is most effective. Our goal is not only to enhance our own services through our research, but also to share those findings with other providers and organisations so that we can strengthen our collective ability to create interventions that are needed, appropriate, timely and effective.
“The Symposium represented an opportunity for the research and wider RAF community to unite, share knowledge and develop and strengthen ties that will shape how we shape and improve environments and outcomes for RAF personnel, veterans and their families. We will be making the symposium an annual event and look forward to building on the foundations of this year’s event in 2026 and beyond.”
The Research Symposium was sponsored by global defence technology company Lockheed Martin.
