CO-PRODUCING DESISTANCE FROM CRIME: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL COOPERATIVE STRUCTURES OF EMPLOYMENT
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Strathclyde
Department Name: Social Work
Abstract
Across the UK, and indeed further afield, increasing political, professional and public concern has been expressed about the economic, social and human costs of the increasing use of imprisonment and of reoffending following release. Consequently, there is now growing interest in developing innovative and sustainable practices that can facilitate the social integration and desistance of former prisoners. Research on why and how people stop offending (desistance) has incrementally refocused attention on the kinds of conditions and supports that variously enable or constrain social integration and desistance. However, despite the identified correlations between participation in employment and desistance, this is an area that has received limited attention in policy, practice and research. Yet most serving and former prisoners want to work and see this as critical to their efforts to give up crime on release but they face particular challenges to accessing employment because of criminal records, employer attitudes and discrimination, which can pose a threat to their longer-term prospects for desistance. Responding to this gap in research, policy and practice, the intention of this study is to examine the potential of a recent innovation in the use of social cooperatives in the UK; that is the use of social co-operative structures of employment as a mechanism for supporting the resettlement of prisoners and enabling longer-term processes of desistance. In particular, this research uses case studies of more established through-the-prison-gate social cooperatives in Italy to inform emerging cooperative structures of employment in the criminal justice system in the UK in order to consider what social cooperatives might contribute to the integration and desistance of former prisoners; to consider how this learning can translate into improvements for policy design and service delivery in a criminal justice context; and crucially, to inform new ways of working to support social integration and desistance.
The four phases of the research involve firstly, synthesising current research and policy literatures on co-production, desistance and social cooperatives prior to developing, in the second phase, a conceptual analytical framework through which to analyse the data generated in phases three to four. The third phase involves a qualitative analysis of two established Italian 'through-the-prison-gate' social cooperative structures of employment; the learning from phase three will be applied to two UK based social cooperatives over phase four, using multi-modal research methods, to examine over a period of 17 months the process through which the relevant stakeholders implemented these structures and examine the impacts, outputs and outcomes from the vantage point of the stakeholders and objectives of each social cooperative.
Essentially, the research design and associated activities will facilitate an ongoing exchange of knowledge, information and ideas between stakeholders and members of the cooperative, policy-makers and wider beneficiaries to stimulate increased consideration of the conditions in which social integration and desistance can be enabled and the kinds of innovative and sustainable practices through which this might be realised. The insights this research will engender will be widely shared with a range of stakeholders to maximise the reach of the project, but perhaps the greatest impact resides in the participatory nature of the research design oriented to the co-production of useful learning which will contribute to more positive and constructive lives for ex-offenders and their families and, thus the wellbeing of the communities in which they reside, and to the more effective use of scarce public resources.
The four phases of the research involve firstly, synthesising current research and policy literatures on co-production, desistance and social cooperatives prior to developing, in the second phase, a conceptual analytical framework through which to analyse the data generated in phases three to four. The third phase involves a qualitative analysis of two established Italian 'through-the-prison-gate' social cooperative structures of employment; the learning from phase three will be applied to two UK based social cooperatives over phase four, using multi-modal research methods, to examine over a period of 17 months the process through which the relevant stakeholders implemented these structures and examine the impacts, outputs and outcomes from the vantage point of the stakeholders and objectives of each social cooperative.
Essentially, the research design and associated activities will facilitate an ongoing exchange of knowledge, information and ideas between stakeholders and members of the cooperative, policy-makers and wider beneficiaries to stimulate increased consideration of the conditions in which social integration and desistance can be enabled and the kinds of innovative and sustainable practices through which this might be realised. The insights this research will engender will be widely shared with a range of stakeholders to maximise the reach of the project, but perhaps the greatest impact resides in the participatory nature of the research design oriented to the co-production of useful learning which will contribute to more positive and constructive lives for ex-offenders and their families and, thus the wellbeing of the communities in which they reside, and to the more effective use of scarce public resources.
Planned Impact
This project will deliver direct benefits for the public, private and third sector organisations participating in the cooperative case studies in the form of improvements in their understanding of their role and contribution to former prisoners' social integration and desistance and of the experiences and effects of participation from the vantage point of all stakeholders. This will potentially provide impetus for improvements to the services they provide so as to enhance the employment and reintegration prospects of the former/prisoner members as well as methods of collaborative working. The beneficiaries of this learning further include a range of organisations across the various sectors currently (and potentially) involved with social cooperatives structures of employment with former/prisoners and those serving community sentences. The project will also be of significant interest to policy, practice and reform groups in criminal justice in the UK and internationally (some of whom are represented on the RAG and IAG) and to academics in related disciplines (see Academic Beneficiaries).
The current economic crisis has provided new impetus to policy debates about penal reform not least in terms of reducing the rapid prison growth and tackling the high rates of post-release offending evident in many penal jurisdictions. Developing the effectiveness of penal measures is seen as critical to such reform efforts in the UK through collaboration between diverse service providers. Understanding the impacts and outcomes of social cooperatives on former prisoners' prospects, and identifying the experiences of and outcomes for stakeholders engaged in multi-sectorial and inter-professional service collaborations will be of significant interest to penal policy makers and professionals. If social cooperatives can contribute to the social integration and desistance of former prisoners, this research may generate economic savings and reduce the human and social costs of crime and repeat imprisonment. Contributing to policy and practice improvements, however, needs to be coupled with successful implementation if improved outcomes are to be realised. This research is orientated to not only generating insights into outcomes but the conditions and processes that enable or constrain successful implementation.
The participating social cooperatives are very supportive of this research (see Letters of Support) and are keen to use the lessons emerging from the project to inform organisational and service developments. The participatory research design, project activities and outputs (see Case for Support) are designed to maximise the accessibility and utilisation of the findings. This research involves a wide range of stakeholders to influence both the quality of the outputs and the likelihood of securing buy-in from key beneficiaries. To ensure the findings reach a diverse audience outputs will be disseminated to a range of beneficiaries and will be well publicised using social media and made freely available online (see Pathways to Impact). The potential for impact will be enhanced by the Impact Advisory Group who can comment on the implications of the research in their different penal jurisdictions. Involvement in the research activities may encourage sustained dialogue and engagement across professions in different jurisdictions, providing impetus to developing a community of interest in this area. Using the research evidence as the basis for discussions and developing workshops and best practice guidance, the project encourages beneficiaries to assess and use research to inform policy and practice by using the findings to inform debate and exploring with participants the practical implications of the research. It is anticipated that this will lead to new approaches to practice, impacting on research and policy development, resettlement services and, critically, the lives of offenders and their families
The current economic crisis has provided new impetus to policy debates about penal reform not least in terms of reducing the rapid prison growth and tackling the high rates of post-release offending evident in many penal jurisdictions. Developing the effectiveness of penal measures is seen as critical to such reform efforts in the UK through collaboration between diverse service providers. Understanding the impacts and outcomes of social cooperatives on former prisoners' prospects, and identifying the experiences of and outcomes for stakeholders engaged in multi-sectorial and inter-professional service collaborations will be of significant interest to penal policy makers and professionals. If social cooperatives can contribute to the social integration and desistance of former prisoners, this research may generate economic savings and reduce the human and social costs of crime and repeat imprisonment. Contributing to policy and practice improvements, however, needs to be coupled with successful implementation if improved outcomes are to be realised. This research is orientated to not only generating insights into outcomes but the conditions and processes that enable or constrain successful implementation.
The participating social cooperatives are very supportive of this research (see Letters of Support) and are keen to use the lessons emerging from the project to inform organisational and service developments. The participatory research design, project activities and outputs (see Case for Support) are designed to maximise the accessibility and utilisation of the findings. This research involves a wide range of stakeholders to influence both the quality of the outputs and the likelihood of securing buy-in from key beneficiaries. To ensure the findings reach a diverse audience outputs will be disseminated to a range of beneficiaries and will be well publicised using social media and made freely available online (see Pathways to Impact). The potential for impact will be enhanced by the Impact Advisory Group who can comment on the implications of the research in their different penal jurisdictions. Involvement in the research activities may encourage sustained dialogue and engagement across professions in different jurisdictions, providing impetus to developing a community of interest in this area. Using the research evidence as the basis for discussions and developing workshops and best practice guidance, the project encourages beneficiaries to assess and use research to inform policy and practice by using the findings to inform debate and exploring with participants the practical implications of the research. It is anticipated that this will lead to new approaches to practice, impacting on research and policy development, resettlement services and, critically, the lives of offenders and their families
Organisations
- University of Strathclyde (Lead Research Organisation)
- Glasgow Community Planning Partneship (Collaboration)
- Government of Scotland (Collaboration)
- GLASGOW CALEDONIAN UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- NORTHUMBRIA UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- Social Enterprise UK (Collaboration)
- Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector Forum (Collaboration)
- Social Firms Scotland (Collaboration)
- GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Elizabeth Weaver (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
| Description | This study (e.g. Weaver 2016), focuses on the role of social enterprise and social cooperative structures of paid employment in both carceral and community justice contexts, as a mechanism for supporting desistance and social integration. There have been a number of evidence reviews of the literature on the possible links between unemployment and offending behaviour (Sapouna et al 2015 Skardhamar and Savolainen, 2012; Owens, 2009, Boyle 2007, Crow 2006, Webster et al 2001). These reviews suggest a complex relationship between unemployment and offending. Desistance research recognises a significant albeit equally complex relationship between participation in employment, but is associated with the accumulation of human and social capital and desistance (e.g. Weaver, 2015), and the importance of citizenship and reciprocal relationships (Weaver 2015). In this vein, while employment has been generally associated with desistance it is also increasingly acknowledged that employment in and of itself does not produce or trigger desistance; rather it is the meaning and outcomes of either the context, nature and/or quality of the work or participation in employment and how these influence an individual's self-concept and social identity and how these interact with a person's priorities, goals and relational concerns that can explain this relationship (Weaver, 2012, Weaver, 2015). Conceptualising employment as a social relation is key to this analysis and informed the theoretical framework for this study. The aim of this research was to examine the ways in which social cooperative and social enterprise structures of employment can support social integration and desistance from crime. The research questions were as follows: 1. What are the legislative and policy contexts that enable the development and implementation of social cooperatives? 2. What factors enable or constrain different types of social cooperative in facilitating the social integration and desistance of their members? 3. How can social cooperatives inform and influence criminal justice and wider policy and practice, and influence new ways of working to promote social integration and desistance? I interviewed a total of 118 people involved in a number of social cooperatives and social enterprise structures of employment providing paid employment to people with convictions both in prison and in the community, in Italy, Sweden, Scotland and England. Of this number, 40 people were involved in Social Cooperatives in Italy; 22 were prisoners / former prisoners and 18 were professionals and she spent a considerable period of time in and around cooperatives - watching, listening and feeling what was happening. I then interviewed 24 people involved in the Swedish social cooperatives. 95% of those occupying professional roles are from a disadvantaged background, many were former participants. As such, the distinction between employees and professionals is less clearly differentiated than those in Italy and they set great store by this in terms of its contribution to the outcomes, which is consistent with both a cooperative and coproductive approach. Weaver undertook 54 interviews across three different social enterprises providing paid employment, so with a focus on work integration, to people with convictions, many of whom are also in recovery. One social enterprise is based in prison employing adult, male prisoners; another is focused on work integration for young people involved in offending, age 16-18, and is community based; the other is also community based, providing work integration for adults with convictions. The impact from this study is, necessarily, in its early stages and the findings from this study are many and varied and are in the process of being written up for publication, with interest expressed by both Routledge and Policy Press in producing a Research Monograph, in advance of any academic articles. The findings of this study suggest that cultures and (policy, legislative and organisational) contexts shape and influence both the operation and efficacy of social cooperatives and enterprises in supporting desistance and social integration. Cultural norms shape what it means to be socially integrated and the nature or absence of legislative / policy regulations affect the operation and (individual, relational and environmental) outcomes of the various social cooperatives and enterprise, and these differ between the three jurisdictions studied. For example, the law in Italy conceptualises social co-operatives as collective organisations that invest in and engage the local community and represent the interests of different groups of stakeholders; so there is a strong co-productive element to cooperatives - public authorities, private business, social firms, and civil society organisations not only co-produce the cooperative process, but its culture and its outcomes. Sweden's cooperatives are not regulated in or by law and this means that they do not have some of the advantages available to Italian cooperatives in terms of tax concessions or procurement opportunities. They do have a much stronger welfare system than their Italian counterparts and as such, the Swedish government pays subsidised wages, and the Swedish coops are reliant on this for their sustainability. No comparable legislative or policy incentives or enablements are available to UK entrepreneurs. This then is an area in which future impact from this study will seek to attend to as a means of supporting the development of such structures in the UK and further afield. In brief, further findings include: Social cooperatives and social enterprises that provide paid employment over a sustained period, and that provide follow up work integration opportunities can provides a route into employment in the first instance and help overcome the stigma of a criminal record and discrimination in the labour market. The different social cooperatives and enterprises studied provide a protected environment, which provides holistic support for those participating in them to encourage recovery, desistance and integration: the relational environment is as important as the provision of paid work in contributing to the outcomes. Reoffending by all recent ex-prisoners costs the economy between £9.5 and £13 billion annually. As much as three quarters of this cost can be attributed to former short-sentenced prisoners: some £7-10bn a year (Prison Reform Trust, 2017). My research has revealed that re-offending for those participating in the cooperatives and enterprises is less than 10% which compares favourably to current figures. 44% of adults are reconvicted within one year of release. For those serving sentences of less than 12 months this increases to 59% (Prison Reform Trust, 2017). The networked and cooperative culture and practice provides a range of concrete opportunities for social integration as well as the sustainability of cooperatives themselves. In Italy, social cooperatives are embedded in and inclusive of their community - in both Italy and Sweden they create opportunities for social participation and this is a point of learning for some of the UK structures which are less inclined, or enabled, to do this. Social cooperatives provide a structure through which to deliver collaborative responses, based on the values of self-responsibility, mutual-aid, democracy, equality and solidarity, that are less evident in social enterprise structures. These values inform the manner of relating which generates the kinds of relational goods that are central to the outcomes. Trust, reciprocity, shared responsibility and cooperation are both the premise and promise of a relational good and underpin their culture, objectives and outcomes. Those involved can, then, potentially 'co-produce' the social supports and associated relational goods that can assist social integration and desistance - but those approaches need to be grounded in particular values, principles and practices if they are to achieve the kinds of outcomes that can support desistance and social integration. The integration, [active] citizenship and the maintenance or emergence of significant and reciprocal relationships is at the centre of social cooperative principles and practices. This has wider implications for the kinds of professional relationships and manners of relating that can support change, and which reinforces the findings of Weaver's (2015) doctoral research and the parallel strands of research developed during the lifetime of this award. In terms of wider implications, what this research also reveals is a commitment to a way of 'doing' services that is inherently more inclusionary and empowering than much of what we see in UK prisons and community justice services. It is a belief (whether substantiated or not) that the manner-of-relating has material consequences. This re-affirms the need for more participatory, asset-based, coproductive, relationally informed desistance-focused practices. Further to this, one of the challenges of developing social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in the UK, is that those with experience (policy and practice) of developing social enterprises have limited understanding of criminal justice contexts, institutions and service users. This has resulted in the under-development of social enterprises/cooperatives in this field. In turn, depsite understanding the significance of employment to resettlement, reintegration and desistance, those with policy and practice expertise in justice, have no understanding as to how to develop and sustain social firms of this nature. To this end, and as noted elsewhere, in the past year, I have founded Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network and led on a multi-disciplinary programme of knowledge exchange to support shared learning across these heretofore siloed disciplines. |
| Exploitation Route | My analysis of the data remains ongoing and I have a series of dissemination activities and publication plans to forward the findings of this research and ensure the utility to a broad base of stakeholders. The House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee (2016) recognise that employment significantly reduces the chances of reoffending and that it can also lead to other positive outcomes that have been shown to reduce reoffending, such as financial security and finding a safe and permanent home. In achieving these aims, the Scottish Government and the SPS have noted the need to move towards a mixed economy of employment provision in prisons and post-release. Moreover, Scottish Government (2016) has also published a 'social enterprise strategy' to encourage growth in this model of provision. While the social enterprise strategy is not specific to supporting people with convictions into employment, a review of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974) is also underway. Taken together, these policy strands would suggest considerable appetite for the findings of this study not least as there is little research detailing how these policy objectives might manifest in practice. There is a small amount of literature raising important theoretical questions about the purpose and structure of these initiatives arising from this research (Weaver 2016; Weaver and Nicholson 2012). Parallel to this work, further research into employment and employability in Scottish prisons is underway (Piacentini and Weaver) and a multi-stakeholder knowledge exchange event was held 19th February 2018 at which the findings of this research were shared. In addition, Weaver was invited to participate on a multi-stakeholder policy board, (ongoing) initiated by Disclosure Scotland to develop guidance and training for a range of stakeholders on the use of Disclosure of Criminal Records with regards to the employment of people with criminal convictions. As part of this, Weaver has been asked to undertaking a systematic review of research into 'Time to Redemption' studies (this essentially indicates when the recidivism risk of someone with convictions equates to that of someone without convictions) and the implications for criminal records, risk and disclosure. This will be of particular interest to policy makers and employers, and may have the impact of changing employers' attitudes to employing people with convictions. I have disseminated findings from the current study, to academic, policy and practitioner audiences. The intention of this work is to inform the development of social enterprise and social cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and work integration for people involved in the justice system. Ongoing dissemination and impact focused activities will be ongoing beyond the lifetime of this award. As noted previously, this study has an is informing the work and development of both participating social enterprises in the UK and emerging structures in Canada. Considerable interest in this work from the Scottish Prison Service is reflected in requests for me to share this work at different events. As noted in Narrative Impact, I have founded, as an outcome of this study, the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network. This is supported by an ongoing programme of knowledge exchange that has brought together international, multi-disciplinary academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public policy to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. Indeed a further key finding was that the kinds of expertise and experience that is required to realise the kinds of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts requires connecting a range of multi-disciplinary international and local experts who can differently contribute towards their realisation. By combining these largely disconnected strands of expertise and experience, currently siloed within specific disciplines, the aim of the Network is to advance a more coherent interdisciplinary theorizing and exploration of the interactions, synergies and distinctions in these disciplinary fields, and in so doing influence the direction of policy and practice in both social enterprise and justice contexts. Ongoing meetings are taking place with key leaders in the policy and practice fields of criminal justice and social enterprise, to take this forward. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| URL | http://www.coproducingdesistance.org.uk/ |
| Description | An early publication by Weaver and Nicholson (2012) and subsequent research by Weaver (Co-producing Desistance from Crime: The Role of Social Cooperative Structures of Employment 2015-18) inspired, incentivised and influenced Matt Fountain, founder of Freedom Bakery, to establish the first social enterprise providing employment for prisoners in HMP Low Moss, Scotland, in 2015, with plans to develop through-the-gate employment opportunities post-release (for evidence of this impact, see Testimonial by Matt Fountain, CEO, Freedom Bakery, available on request). Freedom Bakery provides training and employment for prisoners at HMP Low Moss in artisanal bakery and is pursuing similar community based structures.. Tom Fox, Head of Corporate Affairs for SPS was quoted in the Sunday Herald 23/4/17 as saying: "We are not talking about huge numbers of people [being involved], but it has been quite remarkable the impact that has had on people who have been part of that process." Freedom Bakery is also a key participant in this study Coproducing Desistance: The role of social cooperatives and enterprise structures of employment in facilitation desistance and social integration. Data analysis reveals that employment in Freedom Bakery has given prisoners an opportunity to learn a trade and related transferable skills and to obtain qualifications and, the experience of working as a team has enhanced their employability prospects. It has provided a route into employment for those who have been released, which they attribute to participation in Freedom Bakery. For those in prison, it has made their experience of imprisonment 'more bearable' and it has given participants hope, increased confidence and optimism around their desistance prospects on release. Following the analysis of this data, further information of both process and outcomes will be available and published. The direct beneficiaries of this are those prisoners employed by Freedom Bakery. However, in the longer term, arguably to the extent that Freedom Bakery's employees abstain from further offending, it has a wider societal benefit. This research has also supported the expansion of the Skill Mill, informing funding applications to extend their model both within the UK and across Europe. Additionally - my research into coproducing desistance (Weaver, 2016; www.coproducingdesistance.org.uk), has had a direct influence on Ralph Gutkin, editor of the Peterborough dialogues and a former prisoner. The following web-links evidence that my research has led him to host a summit and to establish four working groups to take forward my research to establish a multi-disciplinary worker cooperative, in the form of a bakery, to provide paid employment to people with convictions in Peterborough, Canada. http://peterboroughdialogues.media/co-producing-desistance-within-community/ http://peterboroughdialogues.media/cooperative-model-instrumental-supporting-reintegration/ http://peterboroughdialogues.media/delicious-idea-worker-co-op-peterborough/ http://peterboroughdialogues.media/worker-co-op-model-proving-supportive-rehabilitation/ 'I am working with a small group of interested citizens to establish a multi-stakeholder, bakery, co-operative to bring the energies of possibility, restorative justice and community, and co-operative economics together in Peterborough'. Ralph Gutkin http://peterboroughdialogues.media/co-creating-restorative-community/ (April 2017). See also https://vimeo.com/214838826. Ralph Gutkin emailed me (evidence available on request) on 14/12/18 to confirm that he has now obtained funding for six months to start up a project. He has requested more details on the findings of my research to inform this process. I have also put him in touch with the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network that I founded as a consequence of this research. I anticipate a much more substantive impact in forthcoming years. I have disseminated this research at numerous national and international key note addresses at more than 10 national and international academic and professional conferences in the form of a key note address. Details can be provided on request but locations include Portugal, Turkey, Romania, Netherlands, Canada, Czech Republic, Barcelona and the UK. Weaver was invited to a Roundtable Event with Michael Gove: House of Commons: How Might Cooperatives in Europe Inform Penal Reform in the UK. (July, 2016). I have also presented findings at a Holyrood event in December, 2017, with the Scottish Prison Service, to share findings on the same theme. A multi-stakeholder, policy focused event on Employability and Employment in Scottish Prisons was held on 19/02/18, from which the findings of both the review of research and data were shared with a range of beneficiaries. Critically, however, this research has revealed (see Key Findings) that, in terms of wider implications, is a commitment to a way of 'doing' services that is inherently more inclusionary and empowering than much of what we see in UK prisons and community justice services. It is a belief (whether substantiated or not) that the manner-of-relating has material consequences. This re-affirms the need for more participatory, asset-based, coproductive, relationally informed desistance-focused practices and this has informed related strands of action research, some of which is reported under 'further funding' on this site. This study has thus supported the development of a programme of action research into Coproducing Desistance - see for example, http://www.coproducingdesistance.org.uk/related-projects/ I subsequently applied for Scottish Universities Insights Institute funding to deliver a programme of knowledge exchange, oriented to building on the impact outlined above. This programme which ran from October 2018 - March 2019 has brought academic and industry partners together from 14 countries to maximise the reach of this research on an international level. It is oriented to implementing the learning from this study and bringing together our collective knowledge to support the development of a social firm of this nature in Scotland; to pursue and inform a national strategy on this, at policy level, building on recent work by some of the programme team on a generic National Social Enterprise for Scotland; and to establish an industry-academic international network to build on this work. This programme ranfrom October 2018-March 2019: https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx Please see also https://www.coproducingjustice.org.uk/ Since then, we have formed a Coproducing Justice: National Steering Group. This group comprises leading academics from other HEIs and senior industry leaders in the fields of social enterprise, Scottish Government, CJVSF, Community Justice, the Scottish Prison Service, and SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives). Our national remit is to provide strategic direction and leadership to support social enterprise and related social firms in Scotland to make a much greater contribution to addressing labour market inequalities in terms of the breadth and volume of employment opportunities for people with convictions, with the overarching aim of supporting work generation and integration for this demographic. To this end, we have submitted a three-year strategy to the Scottish Government for the development and diversification of social enterprises in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2015 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | Employability and Employment in Scottish Prisons |
| Amount | £2,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2017 |
| End | 12/2017 |
| Description | Towards an International Social Solidarity Enterprise Network for Justice. |
| Amount | £14,824 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Scottish Universities Insight Institute |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2018 |
| End | 02/2019 |
| Title | Co-producing Desistance: The Role of Social Cooperative Structures of Employment in Supporting Desistance and Social Integration |
| Description | The completed data for this ESRC funded project is currently being cleaned and processed and will be made available in due course. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | . |
| URL | https://pureportal.strath.ac.uk/en/datasets/co-producing-desistance-the-role-of-social-cooperative-s... |
| Description | Coproducing Justice: International Social Enconomy Network |
| Organisation | Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector Forum |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Building on a post award, I led on, and successfully obtained, a KE grant from the Scottish Universities Insight Institute to maximise the impact and reach of my findings from my ESRC grant, I brought the above partnership together and we collectively formed the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network.This network comprises a range international, multi-disciplinary academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public. We are working together to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. |
| Collaborator Contribution | My partners worked with me to coproduce the programme of knowledge exchange which led to the formation of our network. The details and outputs from this programme of work can be found here: https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx - they now work alongside me to both f the International Social Economy Network and we have since formed a Coproducing Justice National Steering Group, to take forward the three year strategy we have coproduced for the development and diversification of social enterprises and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Impact | This is an international, multi-disciplinary networks bringing together academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public policy to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. We have produced a final report from the programme of knowledge exchange (Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network: Final Report) as well as a podcast series which can be found here https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks and here https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx We have formed a Coproducing Justice: National Steering Group. Our national remit is to provide strategic direction and leadership to support social enterprise and related social firms in Scotland to make a much greater contribution to addressing labour market inequalities in terms of the breadth and volume of employment opportunities for people with convictions, with the overarching aim of supporting work generation and integration for this demographic. To this end, we have submitted a three-year strategy to the Scottish Government for the development and diversification of social enterprises in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Coproducing Justice: International Social Enconomy Network |
| Organisation | Glasgow Caledonian University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Building on a post award, I led on, and successfully obtained, a KE grant from the Scottish Universities Insight Institute to maximise the impact and reach of my findings from my ESRC grant, I brought the above partnership together and we collectively formed the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network.This network comprises a range international, multi-disciplinary academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public. We are working together to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. |
| Collaborator Contribution | My partners worked with me to coproduce the programme of knowledge exchange which led to the formation of our network. The details and outputs from this programme of work can be found here: https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx - they now work alongside me to both f the International Social Economy Network and we have since formed a Coproducing Justice National Steering Group, to take forward the three year strategy we have coproduced for the development and diversification of social enterprises and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Impact | This is an international, multi-disciplinary networks bringing together academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public policy to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. We have produced a final report from the programme of knowledge exchange (Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network: Final Report) as well as a podcast series which can be found here https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks and here https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx We have formed a Coproducing Justice: National Steering Group. Our national remit is to provide strategic direction and leadership to support social enterprise and related social firms in Scotland to make a much greater contribution to addressing labour market inequalities in terms of the breadth and volume of employment opportunities for people with convictions, with the overarching aim of supporting work generation and integration for this demographic. To this end, we have submitted a three-year strategy to the Scottish Government for the development and diversification of social enterprises in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Coproducing Justice: International Social Enconomy Network |
| Organisation | Glasgow City Council |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Building on a post award, I led on, and successfully obtained, a KE grant from the Scottish Universities Insight Institute to maximise the impact and reach of my findings from my ESRC grant, I brought the above partnership together and we collectively formed the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network.This network comprises a range international, multi-disciplinary academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public. We are working together to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. |
| Collaborator Contribution | My partners worked with me to coproduce the programme of knowledge exchange which led to the formation of our network. The details and outputs from this programme of work can be found here: https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx - they now work alongside me to both f the International Social Economy Network and we have since formed a Coproducing Justice National Steering Group, to take forward the three year strategy we have coproduced for the development and diversification of social enterprises and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Impact | This is an international, multi-disciplinary networks bringing together academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public policy to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. We have produced a final report from the programme of knowledge exchange (Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network: Final Report) as well as a podcast series which can be found here https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks and here https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx We have formed a Coproducing Justice: National Steering Group. Our national remit is to provide strategic direction and leadership to support social enterprise and related social firms in Scotland to make a much greater contribution to addressing labour market inequalities in terms of the breadth and volume of employment opportunities for people with convictions, with the overarching aim of supporting work generation and integration for this demographic. To this end, we have submitted a three-year strategy to the Scottish Government for the development and diversification of social enterprises in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Coproducing Justice: International Social Enconomy Network |
| Organisation | Glasgow Community Planning Partneship |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Building on a post award, I led on, and successfully obtained, a KE grant from the Scottish Universities Insight Institute to maximise the impact and reach of my findings from my ESRC grant, I brought the above partnership together and we collectively formed the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network.This network comprises a range international, multi-disciplinary academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public. We are working together to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. |
| Collaborator Contribution | My partners worked with me to coproduce the programme of knowledge exchange which led to the formation of our network. The details and outputs from this programme of work can be found here: https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx - they now work alongside me to both f the International Social Economy Network and we have since formed a Coproducing Justice National Steering Group, to take forward the three year strategy we have coproduced for the development and diversification of social enterprises and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Impact | This is an international, multi-disciplinary networks bringing together academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public policy to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. We have produced a final report from the programme of knowledge exchange (Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network: Final Report) as well as a podcast series which can be found here https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks and here https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx We have formed a Coproducing Justice: National Steering Group. Our national remit is to provide strategic direction and leadership to support social enterprise and related social firms in Scotland to make a much greater contribution to addressing labour market inequalities in terms of the breadth and volume of employment opportunities for people with convictions, with the overarching aim of supporting work generation and integration for this demographic. To this end, we have submitted a three-year strategy to the Scottish Government for the development and diversification of social enterprises in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Coproducing Justice: International Social Enconomy Network |
| Organisation | Government of Scotland |
| Department | Scottish Prison Service |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Building on a post award, I led on, and successfully obtained, a KE grant from the Scottish Universities Insight Institute to maximise the impact and reach of my findings from my ESRC grant, I brought the above partnership together and we collectively formed the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network.This network comprises a range international, multi-disciplinary academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public. We are working together to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. |
| Collaborator Contribution | My partners worked with me to coproduce the programme of knowledge exchange which led to the formation of our network. The details and outputs from this programme of work can be found here: https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx - they now work alongside me to both f the International Social Economy Network and we have since formed a Coproducing Justice National Steering Group, to take forward the three year strategy we have coproduced for the development and diversification of social enterprises and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Impact | This is an international, multi-disciplinary networks bringing together academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public policy to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. We have produced a final report from the programme of knowledge exchange (Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network: Final Report) as well as a podcast series which can be found here https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks and here https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx We have formed a Coproducing Justice: National Steering Group. Our national remit is to provide strategic direction and leadership to support social enterprise and related social firms in Scotland to make a much greater contribution to addressing labour market inequalities in terms of the breadth and volume of employment opportunities for people with convictions, with the overarching aim of supporting work generation and integration for this demographic. To this end, we have submitted a three-year strategy to the Scottish Government for the development and diversification of social enterprises in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Coproducing Justice: International Social Enconomy Network |
| Organisation | Northumbria University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Building on a post award, I led on, and successfully obtained, a KE grant from the Scottish Universities Insight Institute to maximise the impact and reach of my findings from my ESRC grant, I brought the above partnership together and we collectively formed the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network.This network comprises a range international, multi-disciplinary academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public. We are working together to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. |
| Collaborator Contribution | My partners worked with me to coproduce the programme of knowledge exchange which led to the formation of our network. The details and outputs from this programme of work can be found here: https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx - they now work alongside me to both f the International Social Economy Network and we have since formed a Coproducing Justice National Steering Group, to take forward the three year strategy we have coproduced for the development and diversification of social enterprises and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Impact | This is an international, multi-disciplinary networks bringing together academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public policy to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. We have produced a final report from the programme of knowledge exchange (Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network: Final Report) as well as a podcast series which can be found here https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks and here https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx We have formed a Coproducing Justice: National Steering Group. Our national remit is to provide strategic direction and leadership to support social enterprise and related social firms in Scotland to make a much greater contribution to addressing labour market inequalities in terms of the breadth and volume of employment opportunities for people with convictions, with the overarching aim of supporting work generation and integration for this demographic. To this end, we have submitted a three-year strategy to the Scottish Government for the development and diversification of social enterprises in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Coproducing Justice: International Social Enconomy Network |
| Organisation | Social Enterprise UK |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Building on a post award, I led on, and successfully obtained, a KE grant from the Scottish Universities Insight Institute to maximise the impact and reach of my findings from my ESRC grant, I brought the above partnership together and we collectively formed the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network.This network comprises a range international, multi-disciplinary academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public. We are working together to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. |
| Collaborator Contribution | My partners worked with me to coproduce the programme of knowledge exchange which led to the formation of our network. The details and outputs from this programme of work can be found here: https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx - they now work alongside me to both f the International Social Economy Network and we have since formed a Coproducing Justice National Steering Group, to take forward the three year strategy we have coproduced for the development and diversification of social enterprises and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Impact | This is an international, multi-disciplinary networks bringing together academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public policy to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. We have produced a final report from the programme of knowledge exchange (Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network: Final Report) as well as a podcast series which can be found here https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks and here https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx We have formed a Coproducing Justice: National Steering Group. Our national remit is to provide strategic direction and leadership to support social enterprise and related social firms in Scotland to make a much greater contribution to addressing labour market inequalities in terms of the breadth and volume of employment opportunities for people with convictions, with the overarching aim of supporting work generation and integration for this demographic. To this end, we have submitted a three-year strategy to the Scottish Government for the development and diversification of social enterprises in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Coproducing Justice: International Social Enconomy Network |
| Organisation | Social Firms Scotland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Building on a post award, I led on, and successfully obtained, a KE grant from the Scottish Universities Insight Institute to maximise the impact and reach of my findings from my ESRC grant, I brought the above partnership together and we collectively formed the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network.This network comprises a range international, multi-disciplinary academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public. We are working together to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. |
| Collaborator Contribution | My partners worked with me to coproduce the programme of knowledge exchange which led to the formation of our network. The details and outputs from this programme of work can be found here: https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx - they now work alongside me to both f the International Social Economy Network and we have since formed a Coproducing Justice National Steering Group, to take forward the three year strategy we have coproduced for the development and diversification of social enterprises and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Impact | This is an international, multi-disciplinary networks bringing together academic and industry leaders in the respective fields of social cooperatives, social enterprise and the social economy; community justice, social work and public health; and economic sociology, criminology, governance and public policy to inform the development of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in both work generation and integration for people involved in the justice system, by sharing international research evidence and policy and practice expertise across academic and professional disciplines that have heretofore developed separately. We have produced a final report from the programme of knowledge exchange (Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network: Final Report) as well as a podcast series which can be found here https://soundcloud.com/you/tracks and here https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx We have formed a Coproducing Justice: National Steering Group. Our national remit is to provide strategic direction and leadership to support social enterprise and related social firms in Scotland to make a much greater contribution to addressing labour market inequalities in terms of the breadth and volume of employment opportunities for people with convictions, with the overarching aim of supporting work generation and integration for this demographic. To this end, we have submitted a three-year strategy to the Scottish Government for the development and diversification of social enterprises in justice contexts in Scotland. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Organised and led a multi-stakeholder, international participatory knowledge exchange event for Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network #1: What and Why? Exploring the Different Forms, Structures, Values, and Effects of WISE and Social Cooperatives. Scottish Universities Insights Institute, University of Strathclyde. 26/10/18. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This event was the first in a tripartite series of knowledge exchange events, funded by the Scottish Insights Institute, to bring international and multi-disciplinary partners together to explore the potential for the development and diversification of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in different jurisdictions. This led to the establishment of the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx |
| Description | 2017 Plenary/Key Note Address: Impacts, Effects, Challenges and Next Steps: The Skill Mill Social Enterprise. Ministry of Justice, 102 Petit France, Westminster, London, SW1H 9AJ |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This event allowed me to disseminate some of the findings from my study 'Coproducing Desistance' which examines the role of social cooperative and social enterprise structures of paid employment in supporting work and social integration as well as recovery and desistance.with study participants, social investors, and third sector agencies to inform both the future work of the Skill Mill and to inform planned funding activities, which have since been awarded to the social enterprise. TI focused on the impacts and effects of participation in the Skill Mill, the challenges faced by the Skill Mill and potential areas for development. This has informed the development and award of a funding application by the Skill Mill (details embargoed at present) and is leading to a new European funding application for research between academics who have been involved with the Skill Mill across several European jurisdictions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | 2017: Key Note Address: Co-producing Desistance? How social cooperatives can support social integration and desistance. Reducing Reoffending Through Learning, Training and Employability Skills. COSLA conference centre, Edinburgh, 5/12/17 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a key note address on 'Coproducing Desistance' at the Holyrood Briefing on Reducing Re-offending Through Learning, Training and Employability Skills, specifically to disseminate my findings from my research into the role of social cooperative structures of employment in supporting desistance and social integration. A range of different professionals from public and third sector agencies attended, alongside policy makers. This sparked a great deal of discussion as to how both employability and employment in Scottish prisons might be developed, drawing on my research in this area, which included issues of rights, policy and law, as well as the dynamics and effects of social cooperatives and enterprises. This sparked a lively debate around the real pay for real work and what both might mean for future policy and practice |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | 2017: Plenary/Key Note Address: Coproducing Desistance: Towards a Sense of We-ness. CEP, Criminal Justice Platform Europe, International Criminal Justice Summer Course, Barcelona, July 2017 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a plenary address to CEP, Criminal Justice Platform Europe, International Criminal Justice Summer Course, Barcelona, July 2017, to a large group of professional practitioners, academics and policy makers involved in probation work across Europe. The focus of the presentation was on: What supports both desistance and social integration & what this means for practice; Towards co-production and beyond individualistic approaches: developing a sense of 'WE'; How change happens and the importance of social relations; What coproduction means; Some practical examples including social cooperative structures of employment.. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | http://www.cep-probation.org/wp-content/uploads/Plenary-1_Co-producing-desistance_-towards-a-sense-o... |
| Description | 21st Council of Europe Conference of Directors of Prison and Probation Services |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Community Involvement, Coproduction and Community Justice |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Annual Conference International Community Corrections Association |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Coproeducing Desistance: Towards a Sense of We-ness |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Annual Conference Probacni A Mediacni Sluzba |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Co-producing Desistance: Towards a Sense of We-Ness |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Employability and Employment in Scottish Prisons: A Multi-Disciplinary Knowledge Exchange Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | On Monday 19th February, along with Laura Piacentini and Cara Jardine, we hosted a SCCJR funded event on the issue of employment and employability in Scottish prisons which consisted of three guest speakers, all of whom had different perspectives on the role of employment for prisoners who are employed within a prison. Employment in prison has been conceptualised in a wide range of conflicting reforms including; as additional punishment, a source of income for the prison system or private industry, enforcing security, a means of passing time, or as a way to reduce prison upkeep and maintenance costs (Piacentini, Weaver and Jardine, 2018, p.1). The event offered three perspectives on the role, efficacy and effects of employability programmes in prisons, including a precis of our own systematic review into the subject http://www.sccjr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Research_Briefing_Prisons_Employability.pdf After this introduction, Teresa Medhurst, Director of Strategy and Innovation for the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), discussed the SPS's purposeful activity strategy including prison-based employment, educational and vocational training in Scotland. Next, Professor Douglas Brodie, Executive Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde, discussed the worker rights of prisoners. The final speaker was Matt Fountain, owner of Freedom Bakeries, a business that has forged links with the SPS offering training at Low Moss prison in the skills of baking. Freedom Bakeries has two work placements on day release from prison as well as employing a former prisoner. We then hosted breakout sessions discussing different views on the issues, opportunities and challenges for innovation faced by prisons with regards to supporting employment and employability. Notably, it was concluded that while links with employers should be welcomed, they must be carefully scrutinised to ensure there is no element of exploitation. Employment must be reframed, for example, as social enterprises or co-ops, as such schemes may be more likely to support successful re-integration and desistance on a long-term basis. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://sccjrblog.wordpress.com/2018/03/21/sccjr-employment-and-employability-in-scotlands-prisons-w... |
| Description | Hosted and Coordinated International Public Seminar on the Collateral Consequences of Criminal Records |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I coordinated and hosted an international public webinar on the Collateral Consequences of Criminal Records, which generated significant interest both in relation to questions and social media. There are plans being made for future collaborative research activity being made as an outcomes of this. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Key Note Address: Coproducing Recovery and Desistance, |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a key note presentation on theory and research and practice implications for working with people in recovery and embarking on desistance. This sparked a range of questions around the importance of coproduction both in terms of process and outcomes, as well as how approaches to practice might become more innovative and radical, drawing on my research into social cooperatives. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Key Note Address: Time for Policy Redemption? A Critical Review of Criminal Records Disclosure Policies and Practices. EVH Recruitment, Annual Conference, Glasgow, 18/06/19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I presented findings from my review of the international evidence into the impact of criminal records disclsoures and employers attitudes to hiring people with convictions, undertaken as part of this study, highlighting the distinctive contribution of the social economy in this context |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | NOMS Professional Practice Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Coproducing Desistance with Individuals, Groups and Communities |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Organised and led a multi-stakeholder, international participatory knowledge exchange event for Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network #2: International Perspectives: Lessons from Home and Abroad. Scottish Universities Insights Institute, University of Strathclyde. 17/12/18. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This event was the second in a tripartite series of knowledge exchange events, funded by the Scottish Insights Institute, to bring international and multi-disciplinary partners together to explore the potential for the development and diversification of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in different jurisdictions. This led to the establishment of the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx |
| Description | Organised and led a multi-stakeholder, international participatory knowledge exchange event for Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network #3: Transferring the Learning into Action: Towards a Scottish Approach. 25/02/19 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | This event was the third in a tripartite series of knowledge exchange events, funded by the Scottish Insights Institute, to bring international and multi-disciplinary partners together to explore the potential for the development and diversification of social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment in justice contexts in different jurisdictions. This led to the establishment of the Coproducing Justice: International Social Economy Network. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.scottishinsight.ac.uk/Programmes/OpenCall201819/CoproducingJustice.aspx |
| Description | Panel Presentation: Co-producing Desistance? The Role of Social Cooperatives in Supporting Social Integration and Desistance. The Social Enterprise World Forum: Academic Symposium, Yunus Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University. 10/9/2018. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I presented the findings from my research supported by this grant to a multi-disciplinary group of academics |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Panel Presentation: Life Chances, Employment and Desistance. European Society of Criminology, 2018, Sarajevo. 31/8/18 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I presented the findings from my research funded by this grant to an international audience of academics. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Parliamentary Evidence on Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This study, and its findings, a informed the submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament regarding disclosure of convictions, by highlighting the systemic barriers to work integration faced by people with convictions, and thus desistance, exacerbated by the length of periods for which convictions should be disclosed, and the nature of the non-conviction information disclosed by professionals. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Parliamentary Evidence on Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | This study and its findings informed the submission of evidence to the Scottish Parliament regarding disclosure of convictions, by highlighting the systemic barriers to work integration faced by people with convictions, and thus desistance, exacerbated by the length of periods for which convictions should be disclosed, and the nature of the non-conviction information disclosed by professionals. In particular, Weaver recommended that what constitutes other relevant information (ORI; disclosure of non-conviction information) should be clarified, and that guidelines to inform and streamline decision-making should be provided, to ensure that if ORI is to be disclosed, it is both proportionate and relevant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Participation in conference: panel |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I presented my early findings from the project at the 2015 International Labour Organization's Co-operatives and the World of Work Research Conference in Antalya, Turkey (8-10 November). As an outcome of this, there is a reported increase in interest on the role of social cooperatives in the penal system. Such was the interest that a blog was written by Betsy Dribben, attorney, lobbyist and former director of policy at the International Cooperatives Association which is widely followed by policy makers, practitioners, industry and researchers alike. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.thenews.coop/99345/news/community/blog-social-co-operatives-prison-systems/ |
| Description | Participatory Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The World Café is essentially a method for holding meaningful conversations around important questions in large group meetings. Participants included Apprentices/Employees (comprising adults involved in the criminal justice system), the Director of the Social enterprise (SE) and three Navigators.The world cafe questions were:- 1. What is this SE all about? Operation, Purposes, Experiences 2. How does participation in paid employment make a difference to people? What else matters? 3. Beyond participation in employment, how does participation in this SE help people to a) give up crime b) feel more involved in their community? 4. Who benefits from the work of this SE and How? This was the first time that the participants had come together to engage in discussion of these questions. Participants identified that it was useful to identify points of convergence and divergence in terms of the impacts and outcomes of participation in the SE. The idea was to generate discussion both as a means of engaging study participants but in terms of generating an overview of the view of participants - individually and collectively. This process has stimulated thinking in advance of subsequent phases of the research and assisted the development of a professional relationship with the researcher to support ongoing recruitment and retention of study participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Participatory Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The event took the form of a world cafe. The World Café is essentially a participatory action research method for holding meaningful conversations around important questions in large group meetings. Participants (of which there were 22) included Apprentices (n=8), Directors (n=3), and Supervisors (n=3) from branches in Leeds, Liverpool and Newcastle as well as Youth Offending Service professionals (n=5) and other professionals internal and external to the Skill Mill (n=3). This represented the first time that participants from these different areas had come together to share experiences and views. One outcome of this then was the development of a shared understanding of participants' perspectives with regard to the focus of the event. The world cafe questions, comprising the focus of the event, were:- 1. What is this social enterprise all about? Operation, Purposes, Experiences 2. How does participation in paid employment make a difference to people? What else matters? 3. Beyond participation in employment, how does participation in this social enterprise help people to a) give up crime b) feel more involved in their community? 4. Who benefits from the work of the social enterprise and How? A further outcomes was the generation of research data for this study. Key findings include: There appeared to be congruence between the aims of the participating social enterprise (SE), the means through which it seeks to realise those aims and the ends, or the outcomes. The SE provides young people aged 16-18 with 6 months employment in environmental maintenance work. Every employee is paid the minimum wage and is helped to progress into the wider labour market beyond their 6 month contract. The purpose of the SE is to equip young people with qualifications and meaningful work experience to capitalise on their motivations to participate, enhance skills (or capacities) and support entrance into apprenticeships and employment (opportunities), and in so doing, to provide a sense of purpose, routine and structure for young people who have been involved in offending and to contributed to improved outcomes for them. The parallels with desistance research are clear although understanding individual participant perspectives will be key to understanding how this works at the level of the individual from a range of perspectives. These individual perspectives will be collected through participation in interviews and participatory social mapping events throughout 2017. What this workshop also revealed was the wide range of beneficiaries and thus impacts of the work. Among the impacts, outcomes and effects for young people of participation in both employment and the SE more broadly were the development of personal and social skills, the acquisition of new relationships, the creation of situational enablements to avoid offending; the development economic, human and social capital, as well as shifts in participants' personal and social identities - all of which, in general at least, enable young people to negotiate transitions to adulthood. What emerged as significant to the outcomes was: • The nature and quality of the work that young people participated in. • The nature and quality of relationships particularly between young people and their supervisors but also between the SE and other professional groups and commercial or business enterprises which are fundamental to its operation, its success, its development and its sustainability. • The voluntary nature of participation in the SE is a key dynamic contributing to the outcomes identified above. • While the question as to how the SE might support social integration was perhaps too complex for this context, what emerged from the discussions was a perception of the SE as a community in its own right and in/of which young people felt apart. The workshop generated a lot of important insights that will inform the next stages of this research, not least in investigating some of these findings further and seeking elaboration on the ideas emerging. The next phase of the research involves interviews with Stakeholders and employees (young people). Semi-structured interviews informed by the outcomes of the workshops will be conducted to ascertain stakeholder and employee experiences of the development, operation and dynamics of the SE; identify incentives and disincentives for those participating; and ascertain their expectations and experiences of the SE in facilitating social integration and/or desistance and the anticipated challenges and tensions that might arise in the future. Further phases of the research include participatory group-based research and follow up interviews with professional stakeholders and employees. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Project website: blog and resources |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The project website hosts a blog, events and resources page for public and other interested audiences to follow the work of the project as it unfolds. This is further supported by a project Twitter account and by a project Facebook account. I am collecting metric data against these accounts but these can only illuminate the level of engagement, rather than impact per se. The use of social media and of a project website is a means of dissemination through which impact may be engendered in the longer term. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015,2016 |
| URL | http://www.coproducingdesistance.org.uk/ |
| Description | Public Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Presentation for Scottish organisation, Recruit with Conviction, to share insights into evidence relating to the predictive quality of criminal records, the limits of employability policies, and the impact of social cooperatives and work integration social enterprises on desistance and social integration. In addition to questions, I received a few emails following up on this study. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Public Presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I gave a Holyrood presentation at the Leaving No-one Behind: Employability, Upskilling and Social Inclusion in the Changing World of Work conference on Beyond Employability in Scotland: Coproducing Justice. 29/10/20,. I shared insights into evidence relating to the predictive quality of criminal records, the limits of employability policies, and the impact of social cooperatives and work integration social enterprises on desistance and social integration. In addition to questions, I received a few emails following up on this study. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Roundtable Event with Mr Michael Gove and colleagues |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Input to round-table event to discuss and explore how social cooperatives in Europe can inform penal policy in the UK |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | SPECTO |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Coproducing Desistance |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Scottish Prison Service Annual Management Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Coproducing Justice: Community Involvement in Penal Practices |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Scottish Prison Service Symposium: Reimagining Custody, Community and Citizenship |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Reintegration and Creating Capabilities: How Can Communities and Civil Society Better Support Reintegration |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Time for Policy Redemption at Debating Disclosure, CYCJ/CELCIS/Disclosure Scotland, University of Strathclyde 25/04/18 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | At this event, I presented my research into the international evidence surrounding the impacts and effects of criminal records disclosure and employers attitudes towards employing people with convictions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Time for Policy Redemption at Recruit and Rebuild Conference. Cyrenians. Edinburgh 31/05/18 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I shared my findings from the review of international research evidence in to the impacts and effects of criminal records disclsoure and employers' attitudes to employing peole with convictions, which research was undertaken as a component of this grant and published as a policy/research briefing paper |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Time to Redemption at Scotland Works for You Conference, Disclosure Scotland, Celtic Park, Glasgow, |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | At this event, I presented the findings from my review of international research into the impacts and effects of criminal records disclosures and employers attitudes to employin people with convictions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |