Liberate skills

Engagement

So far, across the CORE-ED Academy (Project number: 101179359), PICTURES (Project number: 101140185), PROMOTE (Project number: 101144006), and RESIZE (Project number: 101187391) projects, the engagement of personnel has been recorded through specific research and validation activities. While some overlap between participants may occur, the documented totals are as follows:

Liberate skills

Total Sum-Up of Engaged Personnel

The sources identify engagement through several distinct methodological steps:

100 +
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Surveys and Questionnaires:

1,313+ individuals (810 from PROMOTE, 469 from CORE-ED, and 34 specifics to the PICTURES report for Greece).

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Interviews

194 individuals (151 from PROMOTE and 43 from CORE-ED)

1 +
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DACUM Workshops

Initial Mapping: 269+ professionals (119 from PROMOTE and "over 150" from PICTURES, plus additional sessions for CORE-ED and RESIZE)

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National Adaptation and Validation Workshops

254+ stakeholders (150 from PROMOTE, 16 external stakeholders in Bosnia and Herzegovina for CORE-ED, 17 in Montenegro for CORE-ED, and 50+ webinar participants from PROMOTE and 25+ from PICTURES)

Liberate skills

Definitions: What They Are

The projects, specifically RESIZE, maintain a clear distinction between the two primary types of engaged personnel:

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Professionals

These are licensed, formally employed staff operating within the criminal justice system. Examples include custodial officers, social workers, probation officers, psychologists, and healthcare providers (such as nurses and neuropsychiatrists).

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Practitioners

These include individuals who operate within the correctional ecosystem without formal criminal justice credentials. This category encompasses peer mentors, NGO actors, volunteers, community workers, and socio-cultural facilitators.

Liberate skills

Rationale: Why They Are Engaged

Personnel are engaged to ensure that the project outputs - such as occupational profiles and curricula - are not purely theoretical but are grounded in reality.

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Bottom-Up Approach

By capturing insights directly from those in the field, the projects ensure that current professional realities and "foresight competencies" (future skill needs) are accurately reflected.

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Bridging Gaps

Engagement aims to bridge the gap between theoretical academic frameworks, labour market needs, and the practical requirements of supporting vulnerable populations like emerging adults.

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Targeted Training

The goal is to identify specific training needs and challenges (such as staff shortages or workload) to develop "meaningful training" where professionals themselves decide on relevant themes.

Liberate skills

Methodology: How They Are Engaged

The projects use a structured, mixed-methods approach to engage these groups:

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DACUM Workshops

The "Developing A Curriculum" methodology uses moderated focus groups and "storyboarding" to allow practitioners to collaboratively map out their own professional landscapes, including essential duties and tasks.

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Qualitative Inquiry

Through interviews and focus groups, subject-matter experts and senior practitioners validate findings and ensure they align with international standards and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles.

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Quantitative Feedback

Large-scale surveys collect data on training experiences and specific skills gaps.

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Validation Workshops

Findings from initial research are presented back to stakeholders in national workshops to refine the profiles and ensure they are "actionable and impactful".

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Transnational Webinars

These sessions allow for a European-level synthesis, bringing together diverse stakeholders to provide cross-country feedback and ensure the profiles are adaptable across different national contexts.