Chrysalis Research undertook three waves of research for the Royal Voluntary Service between August 2012 and February 2013 to support the redevelopment of their brand and services.

The Royal Voluntary Service is an age-positive national charity founded over 70 years ago. It has an ethos that ‘every older person should have the opportunity and choice to get more out of life’. At a local level it delivers personal and practical help through volunteer support for older people. Services provided differ according to the needs of the local community and the capacity of the volunteers in the local area. The Royal Voluntary Service has a network of 40,000 volunteers and supports around 100,000 older people every month across England, Wales and Scotland.

Chrysalis Research worked closely with the marketing agency, the nerve agency, to support them during the re-branding of the Royal Voluntary Service from its previous name WRVS. We undertook two waves of qualitative and some quantitative research to support the development of branding concepts, the new name and strapline among volunteers, staff, older people, carers, donors, commissioners and referrers. We also undertook research to support the development of their services to meet the changing demands of the health and social care sector. The research was designed to support decision making during a time of immense change for the Royal Voluntary Service.