Lifeworks launch year-long evaluation of success & Bold animation gets nominated for a Charity Film Award

Lifework Evaluation Launch

On the 30th?November, our Development Officers, Kate and Kylie, travelled down to London to attend the launch of the RBLI LifeWorks programme evaluation at the House of Commons. This followed 12 months of in-depth and rigorous field work, focus groups,102 interviews and data analysis.

RBLI LifeWorks?is a UK-wide free, four-day programme designed to support ex-Armed Forces personnel in transitioning to civilian employment.?The evaluation explored in depth the challenges faced by veterans in their search for meaningful employment after leaving the forces. The research?revealed?that 64% of those who participated in the evaluation,?found that mental health challenges have been a key barrier to getting back into work after leaving the forces. A?further 38% said that physical disability and injury were a key barrier to obtaining meaningful employment.

The findings of the evaluation were striking, showing that 12 months after taking part in the programme 80% of veterans have moved into either employment, further education/ training or volunteering. The programme was also found to have a significant positive impact on participants confidence, self-efficacy and mental health.

"When you are struggling it takes a long time to be humble enough to ask for help. many charities tell you they will get back to you. RBLi call you right back and get you on the programme when you need it" (Lifeworks Veteran)

The event was a public launch of the Life Works evaluation held at the House of Commons, commencing with a welcome and introductions from Lord King of Lothbury. This was followed by speeches from two veterans who participated in the LifeWorks programme, sharing their own journeys and challenge's they faced adapting to civilian life and in their search for meaningful employment. Their moving stories not only closely echoed the challenges faced by many veterans and themes explored in the evaluation but also illustrated the tangible and lifechanging impact the LifeWorks programme has on individual’s lives. The event was well attended, with a diverse range of private sector organisations eager to explore ways they could contribute towards supporting veterans in their journey towards meaningful employment.

After the event Kate noted that she '?hoped that the evaluation and launch event will help to attract meaningful investment for this impactful programme. Personally, I found the field work and data analysis to be a fascinating experience.'

Unbound the Greyhound Campaign nominated for Charity Film Award

We chatted with Will Kelly from Bold Studio recently to hear about the exciting Charity Film Award nomination their animation received for the Unbound the Greyhound campaign. Will told us about the campaign and how they developed the idea for Bob the greyhound. 'OneKind came to us on the edge of a breakthrough in dog welfare, they needed to mount a campaign that would gain 20,000 signatures in support of phasing out dog racing in Scotland, encouraging government ministers to support an upcoming bill. The campaign would capitalise on decreasing demand for the activity, with outputs designed for web, out of home and print.'

We facilitated workshops with animal charities around the world to identify key audiences and their perceptions of dog racing. They noted that Scotland was identified as a renowned dog nation. The campaign messaging would build on what audiences already instinctively knew: all dogs deserve the same degree of care and respect as the ones we keep at home.??

The Creative Idea We combined statistics with a friendly, storybook format - making the facts easier to handle and appealing to audiences that had the best interest of dogs at heart. Audiences were drawn into the story and compelled to act by the hard-hitting call to action – Time to put dog racing out of its misery.

The animation used a first-person narrative, removing human politics and allowing Bob the Greyhound to tell his own story. This meant audiences could focus on the issue rather than who was delivering the message, inviting them to come to their own conclusions. They were being appealed to directly by Bob, with strong similarities??their own pet at home.

We expanded the campaign to a scratchcard; the public were encouraged to give Bob a scratch to reveal the QR code and sign the government petition, doing their bit to ‘Unbound the Greyhound’. It was handed out in pubs local to the few remaining race tracks, creating a memorable, innovative way of building support locally.

Reception? Following its launch, the campaign has exceeded its target and reached 20,300 signatories. OneKind have been invited to host events in Lush stores in Glasgow and Edinburgh and Doc Martens stores have been on board handing out scratchcards, gaining traction on the ground in city centres.

The campaign visuals were projected on to the famous (now derelict) Shawfield Stadium in Glasgow (the Greyhound Board of Great Britain’s former track). This took place during ‘Greyhound Week’ - an event celebrating the supposed “joy” to be found in dog-racing. The animations were also projected on to major buildings in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The campaign was shared in Canada, Germany, Japan, France and Australia. The digital elements allowed it to expand exponentially and OneKind/Unbound the Hound were invited to speak at the Greyhounds Around the Globe conference.?

It has garnered celebrity endorsements from Chris Packham and Megan McCubbin, whose animation post was viewed 19k times. Ricky Gervais reposted the campaign and it became OneKind’s top tweet of all time, boosting likes to 657 with 2924 engagements.' You can watch the campaign animation here and please cast a vote.