Meet the Expert: Professor Gerri Matthews-Smith
Welcome to 'Meet the Expert', our news series that brings you informative interviews with Armed Forces researchers, policy makers, and service providers. Read on to learn about current work, aspirations for progress and future work, and insights into expert perspectives on key issues impacting ex-Service personnel and their families.
In this issue, we interviewed Professor Gerri Matthews-Smith, the founder and Director of the Centre for Military Research, Education and Public Engagement at Edinburgh Napier University and leader of the Scottish Armed Forces Evidence and Research (SAFER) network. Gerri's research focuses on three key disciplines: human and organisational development, management, and well-being.
1. Please tell us about your background and how you came to be involved in work relating to the Armed Forces Community.
I am currently employed as a research professor at the Business School at Edinburgh Napier University. I am the founder and Director of the Centre for Military Research, Education and Public Engagement, the lead for the new Scottish Armed Forces Evidence and Research (SAFER) network, the lead for the International Veterans Education and Employment research network and the University Lead for Military Research. I have a strong record of collaborative research within the arena of Armed Forces studies and a demonstrated record of knowledge exchange and building strong research and practice relationships regionally, nationally, and internationally.
From my school days, I have a love of literature, specifically poetry. This was influenced by my father, who was extremely knowledgeable in war and soldier poetry. When I started to work at Edinburgh Napier University Craiglockhart campus, I was intrigued by the fact that the campus used to be a war hospital and that two of the key soldier poets met while recuperating there. The presence of a war poets museum in what was already a recognised Gold Covenant University made us question why we were not doing more for those currently serving, those who Served and their families. Through support from the principal, I wrote the proposal to develop a centre based on the concept of looking back and looking forward. This proposal would respect prior history whilst appreciating the contrast to today's challenges for our Armed Forces personnel and their families.
A key driver for me is using reliable evidence to drive change, so I wanted to develop an outward-facing research centre, working with practice and enhancing educational opportunities for the Armed Forces community. Our first big study was a Scotland-wide transitions study funded by Forces in Mind Trust, and from there, we developed strong practice links resulting in large studies around the Armed Forces child, ex-Service personnel mental health and well-being, suicide, social prescribing, and the needs of ex-Service personnel within the unscheduled care systems. Our centre has gone from strength to strength and now links with all key stakeholders working with the Armed Forces community across Scotland, nationally and internationally.
2. What research projects are you currently working on, and how do they fit into the bigger picture of understanding and supporting the Armed Forces Community?
The majority of my research studies are embedded in practice and are about making sustainable change, evaluating the outcomes, and contributing to policy and policy change. As a matter of course, I bring together key stakeholders and those with lived and living experiences to form an advisory panel for all studies conducted in the centre. This allows strong dialogue to take place throughout the study, to report initial findings and to seek advice where appropriate. I also work closely with a number of ex-Service personnel within the advisory panel. Rather than this being sporadic, we are now developing strong links and working relationships with different ex-Service personnel groups on all our studies. These connections ensure our investigations are shaped by the voices and views of ex-Service personnel. A key aspect of this activity is providing feedback to the groups on what we have done with the information they have provided.
My current studies include both a practice development and research component. I work in partnership with NHS Lothian on three key studies. The first relates to the Veteran Places Pathways and People (VPPP) grant programme where I work strategically and within a research role. The second study relates to ex-Service personnel suicide and the final one which we have just started is about both developing and building the evidence base around out of hours services for ex-Service personnel and their families. Another focus of our work is related to ex-Service personnel in prison, which came out of the transitions study. As a direct outcome, we commissioned a doctorate to follow up on the initial findings in this group. Through the Thrive Scotland partnership, I was invited by the Defence Garden Scheme to sit on their advisory group related to their transformational longitudinal study on green prescribing.
In addition to these studies, I work in partnership with Graham Short Association of Directors for Education Scotland (ADES) and Carolyn MacLeod, National Education and Transitions Officer for Armed Forces families, children, and young people in the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland. We completed our first study Rallying to the the Flag which identified the current needs of 12,500 Armed Forces children in Schools across Scotland. The outcomes of this study led to our current Scotland-wide study on special education needs among the children of Armed Forces families. All these studies are about building sustainable practice developments and embedding evaluation processes. In turn, this will lead to better outcomes for Armed Forces personnel and their families.
3. What other research or policy areas relating to the Armed Forces Community are you especially passionate about or feel need further attention? Please expand on this and tell us about them, as much as you can.
I firmly believe in the resilience of the Armed Forces child. It is vital that we recognise these children are not vulnerable per se but that the environment in which they live and go to school needs to recognise and respond to the specific circumstances of these children's lives. There is a danger that we label these children as 'different or vulnerable' rather than address the shortcomings within the systems where they live and through which they are educated.
More work needs to be done to understand the experiences of Armed Forces spouses and partners and to provide opportunities for their development through both educational and employment opportunities. Despite wrap-around childcare availability, the lack of actual nursery places mitigates against this group. There is a stronger working relationship between further and higher education in place now in Scotland through ADVANCE. However, more needs to be done to deliver on to bases or into community centres allowing qualifications to be achieved in a flexible and realistic mode. Empowering this group through more educational opportunities supports Serving partners while at the same time allowing both parents to be employed in higher-level jobs.
4. What are your future aspirations for the impact and utilisation of your work/research?
18 months ago, I was funded by the Veterans Foundation to develop the Scottish Armed Forces Evidence and Research (SAFER) Network from which Scottish Higher Education Institutions, the NHS, and key military personnel and stakeholders can identify and develop potential new working partnerships and facilitate interactions. The SAFER Network promotes undertaking research of high quality, focusing activity in areas of research strength and existing expertise; enhancing research capacity by improvements in the military research infrastructure and developing research skills in the field; being relevant to the needs of the Armed Forces Community in Scotland and now internationally through the International Veterans Education and Employment Network (IVEEN). We now hope to partner with other UK Armed Forces research centres, having already linked with the FiMT Research Centre, to ensure comprehensive evidence is shared for policy and practice development.
Our doctoral students are the future of our work and need to be supported to develop strong links and partnerships locally, nationally, and internationally. All our doctoral students in the centre are either ex-Service or Serving personnel. We see this as a real opportunity to harness the expertise and skills gained through Service and grow these into doctoral level thinking and practice. Ideally, these advanced skills could benefit developments within the Armed Forces. We are also proud to currently employ ex-Service personnel as research fellows following the completion of their doctoral studies with us.
5. What do you think are the key challenges impacting current Veterans and their families, and how do you think research and/or policy can be best used to address them?
Several of our transition studies have highlighted the complex nature of both Serving and ex-Service personnel life and the challenges faced in socialising back into civilian life. It is not enough to listen to the voices of ex-Service personnel; this must be followed by targeted action. We know there are many groups and charities that support ex-Service personnel, but change only occurs when intervention is planned, long-term, evaluated and sustainable. The rising cost of living means both parents need to work. However, the nature of the life of the Armed Forces spouse or partner often mitigates against full-time employment opportunities.
6. What do you think will be the leading challenges for the next generation of Veterans, and how do you think research and/or policy can be best used to address them?
We have begun to see more early Service leavers within the Armed Forces. However, there is also a recognition that the Armed Forces are no longer a lifelong career, and so ex-Service personnel of the future need to be empowered to visualise their life beyond Serving in terms of employment and career. For many younger ex-Service personnel, who have not seen active Service the term Veteran may not be one they relate to. Society too often imagines this group by the stereotype of someone old and combat experienced. This perception needs to change, and the responsibility falls on both society to develop their perception and the Armed Forces themselves to promote people in such a way that society recognises the numerous contributions they make.
Researchers are responsible for presenting an accurate and balanced perspective on the outcomes of their studies. Claims are too often made from small, inaccurate study samples and present a picture that may be skewed in one direction. The study frequently refers to 5-10% of the Armed Forces population, and while the outcomes may be accurate, this pays no attention to the 90% of the population who are doing ok. It is also important to place outcomes in context, and that research compares outcomes from Armed Forces populations with general community populations. A final challenge for future researchers is to follow up on recommendations from their studies to ensure that their research leads to a meaningful impact.
7. Can you tell us about the methods you tend to use in your research, and why you gravitate towards these kinds of approaches?
Since 1997, I have consistently held leadership roles in research development and management. I have held several strategic research leadership roles within The Business School including Director of the Home and International Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) Programmes and Director of Research. I have supervised over fifty-five home and international doctoral students to completion as the Director of Studies and acted as an external doctoral examiner nationally and internationally. I, therefore, use a combination of research designs and methods. My experience as a doctoral supervisor means I can draw from phenomenology, phenomenography, realist evaluation, and constructivist grounded theory. Moreover, I have worked on lab-based research and quantitative research designs incorporating surveys and experiments. To me, the research design is dictated by the research question.
8. Given unlimited funding and time, what would be your dream piece of research to undertake involving the Armed Forces community?
Wow! What an opportunity! The best evidence outcomes come from longitudinal studies that employ mixed methods and are conducted over several years. Across the UK, studies rarely occur in a true partnership mode. It makes sense for teams to conduct studies within their environment where they have strong working relationships with practice. My ideal study would be to lead a group of four research teams, one from across each part of the UK, in one UK-wide investigation related to family transition and the impact of the Armed Forces on both partners and specifically on service children.
Using the same data collection tools and drawing from recognised local samples, each team could take responsibility for their area. As data is collected, it is analysed using the same agreed analysis process. The context of each part would be different, but an analysis conducted by those familiar with the environment would lead to a more insightful process, particularly with qualitative methods. As each team is familiar with their key stakeholder groups, the opportunity for inclusion would be higher, as would the potential for a strong response to data collection. The potential to grow a partnership working process would also be enhanced. If only!
Many thanks to Professor Gerri Matthews-Smith for sharing her insights.
Catch us next month for another interesting and informative interview with an expert from the Armed Forces Community.
