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Since 2006, UnLtd and MFD have been running the scheme in the Prison Service, to encourage and support the spirit of social enterprise amongst prison employees. The project is seeking out individuals with energy and good ideas to drive positive change in the prison community.
Prisons tend to be big, unwieldy, potentially volatile institutions. Prison Service employees are often under a great deal of pressure, cash is tight, and change can be difficult to effect. Thinking outside the box can be a luxury, yet given the opportunity through The Ideas Project, prison staff are coming up with all sorts of innovative ways to make the service more effective to the benefit of prisoners and staff alike.
Award Winners benefit from a comprehensive support package, including project development meetings, training, networking opportunities and access to UnLtd’s wealth of resources. Their own self-development is as important as their project, thereby encouraging ongoing innovative thinking to tackle the daily challenges faced in the workplace.
MFD’s experience within the prison community makes us well placed to manage this scheme. After a pilot year, and with the scheme a growing presence in both Downview and Wandsworth Prisons, we expanded the scheme to Brixton and Highdown prisons. In 2008 we expanded to a further six prisons in London and the South East, where we are now identifying potential award winners, supporting their applications and helping them shape and drive their project to success.
We believe that the project has been highly successful in establishing itself within a particularly challenging work environment, fiercely target-driven yet with limited resources and support, and where morale can sometimes be low.
As we enter year four, we are working towards increasingly embedding The Ideas Project as an integral part of staff training and development and in that way influencing Prison Service culture.
