When I first began thinking about what would become the Early Career Prison Researchers and International Scholars Organised Network (ECR-PRISON), I was a master’s student trying to navigate the often complicated and isolating process of prison research. I kept running into the same barriers many others were facing, too, especially around access to prison data, and I started to realise that these were not just individual frustrations but shared ones.

In conversation after conversation, the same themes kept coming up. Prison research can be lonely. It can be slow. It can feel like you are trying to make sense of a field while also finding your place within it. Through these conversations and through the encouragement of a mentor, it became clear to me that there was a real need for a space where early-career researchers could not only talk honestly about these challenges but also share ideas, ask questions, and offer feedback without fear or judgment.

That idea stayed with me for a few years, and in many ways it sat quietly on the side of my desk while I worked through my PhD and the many demands that come with being an early-career researcher. Like so many others in this field, I was balancing research with teaching, deadlines, applications, writing, and the everyday pressures of academic life. Building something new always takes time, but it takes even more time when you are trying to do it alongside a full, already demanding schedule.

Eventually, the idea moved from something I kept returning to in my head and in conversations into something more concrete. In April 2026, we officially launched the network. What began as a proposal and a set of conversations slowly became a small but committed organising effort, shaped by a group of people who believed that this kind of community was worth making real. I am especially grateful to the organising committee and to the mentors who supported the project along the way.

From there, the network began to grow. We started with a WhatsApp community, and almost immediately it became clear that the need I had been sensing for years was not just my own. People joined from different places, different institutions, and different disciplinary backgrounds, but the response was remarkably similar: this space mattered. The conversations that followed made it clear that many people had been carrying the same sense of isolation, uncertainty, and determination, and that having a place to connect with others who understood that experience was deeply valued.

That early response gave the network momentum. It also helped shape the kind of space we wanted ECR-PRISON to be. At its heart, this is a caring and supportive collective. We want people to feel welcomed, encouraged, and connected. We want to create a space where people can share their work, seek advice, exchange resources, and find others who understand both the challenges and the possibilities of prison research.

The network is open to anyone working in or around prisons and carceral institutions, across disciplines, who is in their PhD or in the early stages of their career. We welcome people who are looking for community, people who want to connect with others in the field, and people who simply want a group cheering them on in the background. That sense of mutual support matters deeply to me. I do not think it is enough to ask early-career researchers to do difficult work in isolation and then expect them to thrive without care, connection, or encouragement.

That is why our values matter so much to us. ECR-PRISON is grounded in equity and inclusion, peer support and collaboration, and a trauma-informed approach to community-building. For us, trauma-informed practice means intentionally and consistently building care into the network, being thoughtful about how we organise and communicate, and learning from others about how best to support both members of the network and the people we study. We want our work to be shaped not just by ambition, but by attention, care, and responsibility.

Our vision is both practical and aspirational. We want to build a supportive community that helps people sustain their research journeys, find collaborators, and feel less alone in the process. We also hope this network can help inspire the next generation of prison researchers and support meaningful connections that lead to collaboration, creativity, and impact. Across the world, there is incredible work being done to bring the harms of prisons into view and to make that research matter beyond academia. If ECR-PRISON can help even one person feel more supported and empowered to continue or begin that journey, then I will count it as a success.

This network is still growing, and in many ways, that is part of what makes it exciting. We are building it together, step by step, with care and intention. If you are looking for a place to connect with others, share your work, or simply find a supportive community alongside your research journey, we would love to welcome you.

You can join the network here, sign up for the newsletter, visit the website, and share resources.

We hope you will be part of it.