Evaluating for Restorative Outcomes

Principal Investigators:

Dr. Brenda Morrison, Associate Professor, School of Criminology

Dr. Helene Love, Lecturer, School of Criminology

Research Assistant:

Tania Arvanitidis, Ph.D. Candidate, School of Criminology

Collaborator(s):

The Restorative Justice Association of British Columbia (contact: Christianne Paras, Executive Director)

Background

Between April 2019 and June 2020, Just Outcomes, a consultation agency based in British Columbia, engaged in a collaborative dialogue-based process with restorative justice organizations across the province to develop a set of evaluation instruments for restorative justice programs to use, in a project known as Evaluating for Restorative Results. This project aimed to identify important variables of interest that participating program representatives wished to see operationalized as outcome items in an evaluation toolkit that they'd eventually be able to use within their own programs. It was understood, while the toolkit was in development, that the developed instruments would need to be tested in a pilot phase before they would be useable on a wider scale; now, SFU's Research and Engagement Centre for Restorative Justice, in partnership with the Restorative Justice Association of British Columbia (RJACB), are collaborating to see this project through to its next steps. 

Our aim in this pilot study is to test these co-developed surveys for their usability, reliability, and validity, across a wide range of programs and participants. This instrument pilot represents an enormously important opportunity for the advancement of restorative justice programming in BC. Our ability to conduct this pilot well depends on the involvement of a full range of different restorative justice programs across BC who are able to assist us in data collection. We are aiming to maximize diversity across program size, location, demographic served, types of criminal offense, and other important variables. We need to know what is working and not working for programs. If you are affiliated with a restorative or Indigenous justice program in BC, please consider opting into this research work. All results shared from this research will be confidential and anonymous.

"Opt-In" Procedure for Restorative and Indigenous Justice Organizations in BC

We would like to invite restorative justice and Indigenous justice organizations currently operating within British Columbia to participate in this pilot study through completing the short form below, after which you will be considered to have "opted-in" for pilot participation. Participation is voluntary every step of the way. Completing the below form does not "bind" you to pilot participation, and you are free to withdraw at any time. Please complete the form in accordance with who it is we should be in contact with regarding pilot participation (e.g., if you believe we should contact the Executive Director of your organization, please provide us their information). Your provided details will be shared only with our study team, listed above. Email addresses will be used only to provide important updates on next steps, as we progress through this project. If continuous participation in this study is not possible now or at any point in the study, we can still interview you and learn what is not working for you.