Reparative rest bursaries: what we learned from two years of testing

What we found…

• Reparative rest was the most in-demand bursary type.

• Recipients consistently described two kinds of impact: the practical (reduced financial pressure, something to spend on wellbeing) and the symbolic (feeling cared for and seen).

• Process design is a form of care: from application, to receipt, to reporting we aimed to unburden the applicant.

• The opt-in model has a structural limit that may not enable those with the most need to ask for the rest bursary.

• The model travels. At least two institutions began exploring how to replicate the scheme during the pilot. Seeing something done at a funder's invitation, within a mainstream programme gives other organisations both permission and a template.