Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge
We’re taking innovative action to reduce the impact of crime on society.
The Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge (PLIC)
The Prison Leavers Project aims to develop innovative new solutions to break the cycle of reoffending. The project has three distinct strands: national, cross-sector teams testing new ways to address the issues that can drive reoffending; a grant fund for local leaders and agencies to test shared approaches to reduce re-offending causing crime locally, and the Innovation Challenge.
The Innovations Challenge aims to harness innovation from the tech sector to develop new technological tools and solutions that will help prison leavers stay on the straight and narrow, reducing the harms associated with crime. It is run as a two-phased Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition.
Phase 1 – September 2021 – October 2021
9 selected companies have received Government funding of up to £25,000 each to prototype their solution.
Phase 2 – November 2021 – March 2022
Up to 4 selected companies will receive Government funding of up to £350,000, as well as mentorship support, to develop their solution and design a pilot. Once set up, companies will run their pilots in ‘steady state’ for 1 year.
PLIC Innovators
In May 2021, we put six ‘challenge statements’ to the tech sector. We used challenge statements to communicate the problems we are asking the market to solve. We framed each problem as an open question or statement in order to attract innovators and a wide range of solutions. Bids which achieved a minimum threshold score were ranked and those which scored most highly were awarded.
Find out more about Prison Leaver needs and context associated with each challenge statement in the
Challenge 1 – Goal tracking
Building a positive, non-criminal identity is a key step in prison leavers’ desistance from crime. So how can we enable prison leavers to track their goals, reflect on progress, and bring about positive behavioural change, either alone or with mentors?
PLIC innovators:
- Swansea University in collaboration with Include UK & The Legal Innovation Lab Wales
- Becoming X Ventures
- MyKindaFuture in partnership with St Giles Trust
- Orbital Global in partnership with The Disabilities Trust
Challenge 2 – Day of release appointments
Prison leavers’ engagement with key organisations on their day of release builds ongoing relationships with services that steer them away from reoffending. So how can we inform, coordinate, and update relevant stakeholders of a prisoner’s day of release details and key appointments?
PLIC innovators:
- Make Time Count Today
- Offploy
Challenge 3 – Data store
Lack of access to key documents and data such as ID, birth certificates and 5-year housing history prevents prison leavers from accessing jobs, housing and banking, increasing their likelihood of committing crime. So how can we enable prison leavers to collect, control and share their data with relevant stakeholders?
PLIC innovators:
- Meganexus in partnership with SWIM
Challenge 4 – Family relationships
Families are an important part of creating a positive environment that contributes to a prison leavers’ desistance from crime. So how can we support families to strengthen and sustain their relationships with prison leavers to reduce reoffending after release?
Challenge 5 – Social groups
Building new, positive community ties stops prison leavers engaging with old criminal networks after release, risking a relapse to criminal activity. So how can we connect prison leavers with relevant and beneficial social & peer-to-peer support groups?
PLIC innovators:
- Innovative Alliance
Challenge 6 – Learning difficulties and disabilities
Crucial information relating to conditions of release and services can be challenging for prison leavers with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities to fully understand, increasing the chances of reoffending. So how can we assist probation officers to manage prison leavers with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities?
PLIC innovators:
- Yalla Dev in partnership with The Shannon Trust
The specific requirements and more details on the contractual specifications can be found in the . Prison Leaver needs and context associated with each challenge statement in the
FAQs
All questions and responses are available in the Frequently Asked Questions.
Keep informed
Updates will be added to this page as the competition progresses.
Visit the Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge blog
Webinars
Find out more in these interactive sessions giving an overview of the needs and requirements of proposed solutions to the challenge.
There are no upcoming webinars.
Previous webinars
Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge Launch Briefing
Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge Launch Briefing
Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge - Evaluation
Updates to this page
Published 22 April 2021Last updated 15 September 2021 + show all updates
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Information about PLIC innovators added.
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Updated challenge information.
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The competition is now closed.
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Application deadline extended to 16 June 2021.
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Supplier guidance updated
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Additional challenge context pack updated
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Information about webinars added.
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Supplier guidance document updated.
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Updated to include application information.
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First published.