Strategy
DIGICOR fosters a new European prison sector dedicated to maintaining the quality of initial and continuing vocational practices while understanding the risks and advantages of each technological solution — implemented in the prison services of the jurisdictions covered by the initiative.
Besides raising awareness of the importance of modern-day technology in prisons and how it can positively affect inmates, DIGICOR creates durable networking opportunities concerning resource and technical knowledge exchanges.
The DIGICOR project strategical concept
State-of-the-art analysis
A descriptive and comparative study will be carried out through desk research, looking into the theoretical and practical developments in the partner countries regarding the modernisation processes in their respective penitentiary settings. Specifically, this task will focus on initiatives directly related to inmates’ access to digital education opportunities, therefore enhancing their employability prospects.
On the other hand, the study will privilege identifying initiatives conducted to improve inmates’ digital skills in a digital era.
Leader
IPS Innovative Prison Systems
Timetable
03/03/2021 to 29/07/2021
“Prison Digitalisation Scenarios”
Recognising the marked resistance of European penitentiary services towards technological modernisation, this IO seeks to directly influence senior officers and those responsible for the operational management of penitentiary settings by aggregating and disseminating innovative and evidence-based practices in the field of digital readiness in prisons.
Raising these stakeholders’ awareness regarding the benefits of well-implemented digital solutions in the prison setting, namely in what concerns inmate rehabilitation, will contribute to enhancing the prison services openness towards modernisation.
Leader
Bremen Senate of Justice and Constitution
Timetable
02/04/2021 to 30/05/2022
Prison staff's digital competence profile
Privileging the information gathered during the IO1 and IO2, this IO will seek to transpose identified skills and competencies in need of consolidation into a multidimensional curriculum.
The latter will focus specifically on the prison officers and supporting education staff’s digital readiness and ability to successfully implement and manage technological solutions in inmate education/employability and digital literacy/social inclusion.
Such an original curriculum will seek to correspond to the needs-assessment exercised carried out throughout IO1, while adhering to the “Guidelines regarding recruitment, selection, education, training and professional development of prison and probation staff”, specifically in what concerns the use of IT (Council of Europe, 2019, p. 12).
Leader
IPS Innovative Prison Systems
Timetable
03/03/2021 to 29/07/2021
Train-the-trainer programme for digital readiness
Regardless of the inherent value of DIGICOR’s approach to the provision and consolidation of digital skills to prison officers and educational/training staff, the project would not thoroughly respond to on-ground training needs without a durable strategy.
In this same logic, this task comprises the conceptualisation and implementation of the train-the-trainer course to guarantee the long-term sustainability and replicability of the project’s intervention towards digital readiness..
Leader
IPS Innovative Prison Systems
Timetable
02/12/2021 to 29/09/2022
Engagement hubs and policy recommendations
Whereas the changes derived from COVID-19 were sudden and unprecedented, new and more efficient technology-based methods are likely to prevail even after the virus stops posing a worldwide health threat.
Bearing in mind the advantages inherent to technological-oriented strategies in catalysing reduced recidivism rates, the Consortium’s awarenessraising interventions will be strengthened by experts’ and stakeholders’ involvement in discussion panels in the form of a cross-sectoral network.
Leader
Bremen Senate of Justice and Constitution
Timetable
03/05/2021 to 30/01/2023
The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
DIGICOR Digitalisation in corrections towards reduced recidivism © 2020-2023 by DIGICOR Partnership, funded by Erasmus+ Project Number 2020-1-DE02-KA226-VET-008330 is licensed under CC BY 4.0