We take measuring our impact seriously and carry out robust evaluations to ensure we are accountable to people in prison. We commission independent evaluators to measure our impact.
Read our Impact Report 2023 — 24 here!
Hero’s Journey
Our coaching programmes have been proven to have positive results in prison. We conduct internal evaluations of our programmes, using Outcomes Star (Youth Star), and we also appointed The Social Investment Consultancy to externally evaluate the impact of Hero’s Journey™. The final report shows that across the three years, Spark Inside has made a clear, positive impact on the lives of over 350 young men in prison, in the following areas:
- Wellbeing
- Future outlook
- Decision-making and problem-solving skills
- Empathy and emotional intelligence
- Resilience and confidence
Prison staff coaching
An external evaluation of our Prison Staff Coaching work, carried out by a research team from the University of Lincoln, found that Spark Inside coaching supports prison staff to build resilience, manage stress and improve their wellbeing! One participant said:
“I just knew that this was going to be a life changing experience … there was somebody that I could trust with what I was saying… it was completely transformational.”
To find out more about the benefits of coaching for prison staff, the“keys to success” in the programme, and the University of Lincoln’s recommendations for Spark Inside going forward, click here.
The Conversation
An internal evaluation of our pilot programme The Conversation, for 50 prisoners and prison staff, in HMP Pentonville showed these key findings:
- Prisoners’ relationships with prison staff significantly improved after The Conversation.
- Prison officers’ empathy towards prisoners significantly improved, compared to before The Conversation.
- Participating prisoners’ behaviour shown to improve by 81%, according to the prison measurement scheme.
- 100% of prison staff and prisoners interviewed recommended The Conversation.
You can see our full evaluation reports below, as well as read the stories from our participants.
