Work
About
COMPANYCatch 22 (a third sector org),
commissioned by the UK Ministry of Justice)
2024
Open Doors is a holistic financial-wellbeing service designed to make support more accessible and human for people on probation. Through research with practitioners, service users, and organisational stakeholders, we identified key systemic barriers and responded with a set of interventions that strengthen engagement, reduce admin load, and create more welcoming spaces for financial guidance.
PROJECT SCOPECatch22 asked us to improve engagement with the group intervention format of their Financial, Benefits and Debt programme, commissioned by the Ministry of Justice. Despite practitioners’ efforts, participation from people on probation remained low. Our goal was to uncover the systemic and behavioural causes of this disengagement and design service interventions that make the format more accessible, desirable and meaningful.
MY ROLEAs the User Researcher & Service Dedsigner in a team of five, I led mixed-methods studies, translated insights into actionable strategies, and socialised the research across stakeholders.
OUTCOMEThe interventions have received internal approval and will move into pilot shortly.
Background Context
Catch22, with its 200-year history in social innovation, works across sectors including criminal justice reform. Its Finance, Benefit and Debt program supports prison leavers by helping them navigate the benefits system, manage debts, and build financial confidence.
However, we learned that engagement with these programs is low - and this is where we aimed to create value. Our initial research question was: How are these initiatives created, delivered, and how do they impact people on probation?
Research & Findings
On release, individuals are mandated by the court to serve part of their sentence in the community, a period known as probation, which involves restricted movement, regular check-ins, and participation in recovery programs to support reintegration into society. A person on probation, when referred, is required to attend programs like Catch22’s Finance, Benefit and Debt (FBD) program to meet their license conditions.
On the other hand, Catch22's interventions team develops programs to support these service users. However, as a contracted service provider for the Ministry of Justice, it must operate within strict guidelines and outcome requirements.
While 1:1 sessions are generally preferred by both practitioners and service users, contractual requirements and resource optimisation make group interventions an essential component of delivery. Our project goal is to develop service that makes group interventions both desirable and feasible - improving engagement while meeting operational needs.
- Easing in with icebreakers
- Each participant interacted with one team member to build a new persona, and
- Explore their thoughts and behaviours through contextual scenarios and role-playing.
Role-Play Workshop with 3 proxy service users
1. They enjoy socialising and forming connections even though its hard
2. Due to past experiences within the system building trust is hard.
3. They need help finding credible resources to navigate the system.
1. The content was both interactive and inclusive.
2. Practitioners have a high degree of freedom in choosing how to deliver the content, adapting flexibly on-site.
3. Even simple tasks are carried out with sensitivity and care. The sessions include the questions that help users identify their financial purpose.
From: Underlying Factors Effecting Service Users
These proxy research methods were invaluable to us. As this ecosystem was unfamiliar to us all, they gave us a way to empathize with the situation:
When given no / low agency and are required to engage with a high-stakes, high-consequence service, what defines a good service under such overwhelming circumstances?
This realization led us to identify what needs to be at the core of the service to build value and trust:
- Easy to understand
- Practical
- Accessible
- Data privacy and handling sensitive information
- HR policies and that makes bring in program graduates hard to include
- Contract requirements and restricted access post program and making it hard to evaluate success
And for Service users:
- limited digital access
- limited scheduling
- Messaging: How and when are the group interventions introduced to the user?
- Incentives: What can they expect and why should they come?
- Unique Service Proposition: What distinct value will they get out of this?
- Feedback: Does feedback help improve the service and bring in new users?
- Tangible outcomes
- Peer support
- Long term impact
How might we better connect users to the services they are being provided?
How might we increase the perceived value of group interventions for the FBD program?
Service Interventions
With a feasible, scalable, and ethical approach, this tool has the potential to drive meaningful improvements to the way service users and providers interact and in turn impact the quality of the service.
This could also encourage service users to share their own experiences, helping Catch22 build a valuable repository for feedback and data collection. By bringing in storytelling, we are giving the service users a glimpse into the meaningful experiences and impact catch22 has to offer.