A public sector organisation in the UK was preparing to take over the delivery of services to a large and dispersed user community of hundreds of thousands of service users, and needed to understand the lived realities of those users before assuming responsibility.

What we established

We designed a mixed method programme that combined a national survey with qualitative interviews and filmed in-home conversations. The approach traced how individuals engaged with relevant services at the point of transition into civilian life, and how those interactions evolved over the years and decades that followed. Findings were drawn together to give a rounded picture of needs, frictions and expectations across the full user journey.

What changed

The incoming organisation was able to step into the role with a grounded understanding of the people it would be serving, rather than relying on assumptions inherited from previous arrangements. It could prioritise the touchpoints that mattered most to users, anticipate where support was likely to fall short, and shape its operating model around evidence drawn directly from those with experience of the service.