Meeting the housing needs of military veterans: exploring collaboration and governance

Abstract

Veterans in the UK seek help from numerous, diverse organisations to navigate the housing system, in contrast to countries such as the US and Australia, which operate dedicated Veterans Administrations. Collaboration between organisations to support veterans is non-mandatory, yet influential on housing outcomes. This study utilised network governance theory to examine how local partnerships affect veterans’ housing pathways. The research approach involved five in-depth, area-based case studies across different housing contexts. The research contributes new findings on the positive impact of local partnerships and develops a conceptual model of veterans’ housing pathways, focused on collaboration. The study revealed a step change in partnership-working since the introduction of the UK Armed Forces Covenant in 2011, with the absence of mandatory collaboration requirements having nurtured trust-based network governance. The findings suggest this has been effective for veterans in housing need, but there are potential risks in terms of sustainability of voluntary partnerships and the temptation for central government of more hierarchical approaches.