From sentence execution to indenpedent living

A Stimulab project for The Directorate of Correctional Services, Norway with Designit & Menon Economics as suppliers (Jan 2024 - May 2025).

Many former inmates struggle to reintegrate due to the complex cross-institutional structure of Norwegian Correctional Services. This structure makes it challenging for frontline staff to offer continuous support. In collaboration with the Directorate of Correctional Services, this project explores ways to enhance cross-sectoral collaboration with a user-centric approach.

Process

The project began with visits to three prisons, where interviews with key stakeholders helped map the complexities of Correctional Services. We identified core challenges and three prerequisites for effective cross-sector collaboration, aligning with the development of a new collaboration tool.

With input from two prisons and the directorate, we outlined an ideal service model, discussed with 82 prototyping partners to identify key areas for testing.

We are now developing three prototypes to improve information exchange, structure collaboration based on sentence progression, and streamline information transfer between institutions. A collaboration framework will be shared with regional correctional offices for implementation.

Impact

By engaging over a 100 unique participants through the process, the project has garnered interest and enthusiasm to adopt people-centric ways of working. One of the key shifts is how the directorate has encouraged a bottom-up approach in the development of the new tool. The visuals created to bring everyone on the same page and reduce mental complexity have been especially appreciated by people who have been working for many years in the Correctional Services. We will start prototyping in March and I will be updating this page with results very soon. 

Role

I am one of the three service designers working on this project. We have collaborated closely with partners in social economics. I have participated in the entire project, especially contributing to the analysis of complex data, visualisations to help grasp complexity, crafting narratives to encourage a user-centric way of thinking, and I am now creating the prototypes.