Previous Fellows give their views on the Fellowship experience

Rachel

In my work, as a prisoners rights advisor for women prisoners, I have gained a considerable amount of case work experience however I have little time to consider issues from a wider perspective, the Fellowship Programme provided a perfect opportunity to do so.

I welcomed the opportunity to step outside the confines of my usual work and focus on a particular issue. It allowed me time to think about issues that are often raised and to consider how these might be addressed.

I particularly enjoyed taking time out of the routine to research one subject, to attend conferences, discover organisations and speak to people working in the field that I would normally have little contact with; but, I gained the greatest insight from talking to the women about their own experiences and how they perceived the issues. It is easy to make assumptions from the outside and never appreciate the reality from those experiencing it.

The research has opened my eyes to the wider issues and allowed me to see my own work within this context.

 
Liz

This Fellowship has given me the opportunity to explore an issue of importance to many of us in the probation service regarding our work with female offenders in the community. Because of the nature of the Griffins Society I have been assured that our work 'won't just sit on a shelf getting dusty' as one of the Griffins council members informed me it wouldn't - so it is lovely to feel it may be listened to and possibly have an impact on policy making and practice.

It hasn't been an easy task fitting in a project with work and union duties but my boss at work was immensely supportive of the work in allowing me a lesser than normal workload and I had to shed union duties during the year to allow sufficient time. The work itself - firstly time for reading felt really valuable to have some time and funding to become more informed about the direction of probation work. The interview process has been very enriching and very interesting to hear and explore the views of so many women offenders, academics and practitioners.

Regarding what the Society has provided: The supervision has been excellent - very responsive and positively encouraging of my work giving very helpful feedback and permissive in terms of areas of exploration. Having also had a very difficult few months personally during the year- this was met with unobtrusive understanding and flexibility.
The organizational administrative contact has been excellent - very friendly, helpful and quick in response.

The Griffins council members have provided a background group of interested people who have been very warmly encouraging in taking an interest, providing relevant contacts, attending presentations, encouraging enthusiasm and help in helping the project to go somewhere afterwards. The funding has been very enabling in getting the project done - (e.g. it helped me buy a computer, travel to interviews, not to scrimp too much on books and library fines (!) and helped immensely with time management (in being able to afford transcription of tapes).

The LSE has been a wonderful place to visit - I'm only sorry that geography and time constraints meant I couldn't spend more time there. The library staff were very helpful and I was able to renew books at a distance by internet or phone. Sadly I wasn't able to attend as many of the events and lectures as I would have liked - they look like a real treat for those who can make the trip.

 
Jane

My experience of the Fellowship Programme has been both interesting and useful. At first it was difficult to know the nature and expectations of this undertaking. A year seemed initially a long time. Yet I now realise how ambitious my original proposal was when faced with the complexities and challenges of trying to get a handle on the health needs of female offenders, the myriad of organisations and departments associated with such a subject - the volume and variety of policy initiatives, documents, cultures, organisational structures, etc.

Now as I reflect on the year I realise what a valuable opportunity I have had to gain such an insight into my chosen topic. The formal support of LSE for this Fellowship has opened many doors that might have otherwise been closed. The general enthusiasm and interest shown in our projects by Judith, Kate and certain Griffins has helped to sustain the motivation and momentum.

Thank you for the opportunity and the experience.