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An Appreciative Inquiry of the Diversity Strategy at HMP Wakefield: practical issues and theoretical challenges. Dr Malcolm Cowburn Principal Lecturer in Criminology Sheffield Hallam University & Dr Victoria Lavis Lecturer in Psychology University of Bradford. Structure of Presentation.
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An Appreciative Inquiry of the Diversity Strategy at HMP Wakefield: practical issues and theoretical challenges Dr Malcolm Cowburn Principal Lecturer in Criminology Sheffield Hallam University & Dr Victoria Lavis Lecturer in Psychology University of Bradford
Structure of Presentation • How the initial research proposal was developed • Its aims and objectives • Early thoughts/issues being raised • Research evaluation • Possible ways forward post pilot
Diversity Governor and IMB Representative • Conversations and collaborations • Resolving conflicts of interest • Involving others • In the prison • In the University
Developing the project with the prison • Meetings with prison staff • Local • Diversity Governor • Psychologists • Wing managers • National • Race Equality Action Group (REAG) • Security issues
Negotiation, Approval and Funding • Negotiating the project • Prison (Diversity governor & Psychologist) • Diversity week (post proposal but pre-award) • Ethical issues (NHS REC) • Prison access (HMP Approval proposal) • Consultation with colleagues (Funding holders) • Funding proposal to ESRC • Methodological issues • (NB – pilot)
Beginning to engage with prisoners • Pre-award • Diversity week workshop with prisoners • WonderWall activity [see poster] to capture prisoners views about how to research diversity • Which people we should talk to • What ways of finding out about diversity we could use. • Major, but at the time unanticipated, means of building trust and gaining prisoners engagement with the research. • Reinforced our confidence in the design of the research we were proposing
Aims of the project • To understand how minority grouping prisoners experience prison life and the strategies designed to improve their quality of life. • To obtain the views of prison staff about issues of diversity and the prison’s diversity strategy
Design:Data Collection • Documentary analysis • Interviews with offenders • Survey of wing • Focus groups with staff
Design: Appreciative Inquiry • Interviews • Questions are framed to focus on what prisoners experience as positive and valuable about prison life and diversity policies and procedures.
Design: Timetable • Project started March 2009 • Phase one – information giving – meetings with offenders and staff • Phase two – data collection • Phase three – data analysis • Final Phase – Report (February 2010)
Design: Identifying the sample • Total Diversity Sample of wing • Ethnicity • Age • Disability • Faith • Sexuality • Purposive within diversity sample to represent • Place in sentence • Offence
Returning to work with the Diversity Week group • Post award • Follow on workshop to complete the WonderWall and re-establish prisoner contact • Impact of WonderWall on research design [see second poster] • Benefits • Gained prisoner trust and engagement • Group became advocates of the research at a wing level • Group became nucleus of an advisory group • But, impacts to consider • Whose ‘side are you on’? • Need to retain and maintain boundaries • Researchers not advocates
Observing ‘diversity’ in action • Attended, observed and took field notes at various diversity events • Prison wide ‘question time’ • Social Inclusion Forums on each wing • Observation of staff and prisoner relationships on pilot wing • A word about words • Offender vs. Prisoner • To ‘have keys’ or ‘not have keys’? • Whose side are you on?
Guiding the ongoing research • Set up a Steering Group • Membership – RRLO; Wing Managers; Wing Staff; Psychology. Imam; Chaplain; Outside agencies (Age concern); Academic with specialist knowledge from another University; IMB • Set up a Prisoner Advisory Group • All prisoner diversity reps from pilot wing + two diversity reps from each of other wings (includes members of the Diversity week group)
Three key areas to theorise • Identities • Identification • Intersectionality • Theorising cultures in prison • Resistance • Matters methodological
Key methodological issues • AI – collusive … or not? • Accounting for ‘evaluative dissonance’ • Quantitative discontents • Qualitative contents • All of which points to the need for more research!
Evaluating and assisting the project • Steering Committee and Prisoner Advisory Group • ESRC end of project report • Prison & Prison Service report • National and International Conference presentations • Peer reviewed journals
Moving forward: extending and developing the research • Options post-pilot • Initial idea – whole prison study of Wakefield only • Other possibilities • Comparative study • Wakefield and ‘other high security dispersal’ • Wakefield and Cat B or Cat C • Wakefield male and female estate.
