Prison Leavers Project
Ministry of Justice
February 2021 - March 2023
Location • United Kingdom
SERVICE DESIGN
RESEARCH
PROTOTYPING
About
The Prison Leavers Project was a cross-government project that works with prison leavers and stakeholders to test innovative ways to improve social inclusion of people leaving prison, and reduce reoffending.
The project had a cross-sector component formed by multidisciplinary teams with policy and front-line experience, third-sector subject matter experts, user researchers, people with lived experience in prison, and service designers.
The project also aimed to look at how design methods can be used in policy contexts. Testing and iterating ideas that could support informed policy changes and allowing policy teams to collaborate with each other towards a common goal.
What I did
I championed people-centred design and systems thinking during the two years of the project to ensure not only services understand people’s needs, but how policies can impact people and the operational realities.
I led my multidisciplinary team to form as a team, implement agile ways of working and supported resolving complex team dynamics through team building activities such as team’s comfort zones, competencies and skills exercises.
I led the research and design process on 4 separate workstreams to test concepts and develop strategic recommendations that influenced policy decisions for stakeholders across the justice system. Plus, I co-designed an intervention with operational, policy stakeholders and people with lived experience of prison to test and learn how to best prepare people for their day of release form prison.
I developed and managed our stakeholder engagement strategy, facilitating face-to-face and virtual workshops with various stakeholders including people with lived experience in prison, policy teams, prison governors and senior leaders.