Prison Research and Innovation Initiative (PRII)
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    • Frequently Asked Questions

    What is the Prison Research and Innovation Initiative (PRII) and the Prison Research and Innovation Network (PRIN)?

    • The Prison Research and Innovation Initiative (commonly referred to as PRII) is a six-year effort to build evidence and spur innovation to make prisons more humane, safe, and rehabilitative environments.
    • With support from Arnold Ventures, the project leverages research and evidence gathered from a Prison Research and Innovation Network (PRIN) to shine a much-needed light on prison conditions and pilot strategies to promote the well-being of people who are confined and work behind bars.
    • The project is guided by an overall theory of change: If correctional leaders open their doors to researchers; support participatory research partnerships in their facilities and become willing partners in the systematic and rigorous documentation of prison life; partner on innovations that are born from an empirical understanding of prison climate, culture, and context; and implement changes that are rigorously evaluated, prisons can be transformed into safer, more humane, rehabilitative, and equitable environments for the people who are confined and work in them.

    What are the research questions PRII hopes to answer?

    • What would it mean for prisons to open their doors to researchers and supply them with data on all facets of prison design, culture, climate, safety, and well-being?
    • How might research promote a transformation of prisons?
    • What guiding principles should govern what research is necessary, how it should be conducted, and the manner in which it is disseminated to promote innovation?

    What is the difference between PRIN and PRII?

    • The Prison Research and Innovation Network (PRIN) refers to the sites involved. Each of the five sites in the Network (Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Missouri, and Vermont) comprises of the state Department of Correction, a local research partner, a local pilot prison, as well as local stakeholders and changemakers.
    • The Prison Research and Innovation Initiative (PRII) is the name of the overall project, encompassing the work of the Network, national narrative events, and other high-level efforts.

    What data does this project explore?

    • The Urban team looks at the core questions that were the same on all sites' climate surveys; administrative data on the staff in each site; administrative data on the people incarcerated in each site prison. The climate surveys - developed by research teams, staff, and incarcerated people in each site - will be administered on an annual basis to track changes over time on an overall level - we will not be able to match this data to individuals or see individual-level changes over time.
    • In addition, Urban also plans to utilize a process evaluation to determine how the process has unfolded in each site. For the process evaluation, Urban PRII team members will conduct interviews at multiple time-points with stakeholders from each state: people who are incarcerated, staff members of the facility, Steering Committee members; and Executive Committee members

    What research methods are being used? 

    • Participatory methods— a focus on meaningful engagement with people incarcerated and working in each facility are used to enrich the field’s understanding of prison cultures, climates, contexts, and experiences and help researchers identify potential interventions to mitigate the negative impacts of carceral spaces.
    • Leading with racial equity— transformative research and policy must be grounded in principles of racial equity so researchers can more accurately capture and measure racial biases and design and conduct research that can elevate and disrupt systemic biases. The history of slavery in America shapes the experience of incarceration for Black people and must inform strategies to remediate institutional harms of US carceral systems.

    How long will the project run? 

    • The project began in in 2019 and will run for a total of six (6) years, ending in 2025.

    How has COVID-19 affected PRII?

    • As PRII was launched prior to COVID-19, there have been adjustments along the way to prioritize the health and safety of incarcerated people and prison staff, including halting site visits and in-person convenings.
    • Sites adapted their climate surveys to include questions related to COVID-19 and related public health measures the facility has taken to help the researchers get an inside look at the experience of incarcerated people and staff during the pandemic.

    How is PRII promoting transparency?

    • Under PRII, five state departments of corrections conducted three waves of climate surveys. Upon project completion, data from all five sites will be publicly archived on the Open Science Framework.

    How will this research be used to enact lasting change?

    • A critical piece of this effort involves working with Executive Committees in each site. These Executive Committees are convened by respective state DOCs and are made up of policymakers and experts in the field at the state level to help secure buy-in for the reforms identified by local staff and incarcerated stakeholders. 

    Do the other states know who is participating? 

    • Yes, the Prison Research and Innovation Network (PRIN) is regularly convened to facilitate peer-learning across sites. DOCs and research partners from all five states collaborate and discuss challenges and successes with Network peers.

    Who is funding PRII?

    • Support for the Initiative comes from Arnold Ventures.
    • Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of Urban experts. Further information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles is available at urban.org/fundingprinciples.

    How can I learn more?