Community Interest Company
Participate Grant Research Project
The University of Bath awarded grants to community organisations and charities to work in collaboration with the university on a small research project. The aim of the grant was to involve ordinary people in academic research so they could understand and enjoy the process, with a useful result for the organisation.
We made an application via the two-stage process and were awarded £7100 to research our impact on the people who have taken part in our work. We were partnered with Dr Megan Robb, a qualitative research specialist and lecturer in the Department of Social and Policy Sciences.
This report is a review of this work and our outcomes.
Project outcomes:
When Carers first work with Invisible Army, they are hoping to raise awareness and increase understanding of unpaid care among the public, their own friends and family, medical professionals and legislators. They would like more financial support; otherwise, they would like to be more visible in society, and they would like more recognition for their role. They enter into a relationship with Invisible Army because they perceive them as trustworthy and understanding.
“I hope that in some small way it makes people in general realise there is a huge issue that is out there and is not really being addressed at all about how society deals with the ageing process.”
During the process of working with Invisible Army, carers feel centred and feel they have control. They trust Invisible Army and experience validation and acceptance from them. Carers feel the reality of their lives is seen and not judged by Invisible Army. They begin to feel a connection to other carers and feel part of a community. Although no further support is provided, sharing their story feels ‘enough’.
“Invisible army work with a lot of families who otherwise would not be able to tell their story, they make it easy to share. They were really responsive and engaged with what we were saying, they were respectful of what we did and didn’t want to share. We could say, ‘oh we don’t want to do this photo right now’ and they were fine with it. We said some things for background we didn’t want shared, they didn’t pressure us. We felt we could lead.”
After working with Invisible Army, carers feel empowered with improved self confidence and pride in their work. They reported experiencing a realisation of how much they do, and how different the caring role is to parenting, being a spouse or adult child. They reported an increased ability to have difficult conversations with the person they cared for, and ultimately an improvement in their personal relationships. Their sense of loneliness was reduced, and a sense of renewed satisfaction with their caring role came into being. They felt they had done a good thing by raising awareness, and cherished the memories through the photos.
“When I saw it written up it was like, wow … I do, do a lot. It made it real and I felt pleased to be acknowledged. I looked at myself a bit differently, after. I said, yes I am that person, I do all those things and they seem like everyday normal things, you just go along with it, but when you see it on the wall you see this isn’t normal, this isn’t day to day. It is a thing. It’s bigger than normal. When I saw it written like that I thought, no this is above and beyond.”
Every case study subject reported feeling Invisible Army’s work was truly unique, and they wanted to see their work expand nationwide.
Overall conclusion:
This research has shown the value of Invisible Army’s approach: the safety felt by participants, the level of trust built, and the validation they experienced. We have shown that, even with no additional support provided, working with Invisible Army makes carers feel seen, improves their confidence and relationships with loved ones, and increases their sense of satisfaction.
Carers reported increased pride and self-worth as a result of Invisible Army’s approach, and all 10 case study subjects unanimously requested, without prompt, an expansion of Invisible Army’s work.
Every carer said they felt their true reality was not well understood, and their voices were not heard, sometimes even by those closest to them. They felt that by working with Invisible Army, they could improve things for themselves and other carers.