The second Meeting on Research took place on 15 February 2023 in Utrecht, The Netherlands and online. The expert group consisting of practitioners and researchers from various EU jurisdictions met to continue the discussion on the future of research within CEP.
The importance of reducing the division between academics and practitioners, and finding the best form for them to work together was one of the key topics discussed during the last meeting in 2022. One of the examples where practitioners work alongside researchers is the Centre for Legal Studies in Barcelona, Spain. Mr. Marc Ceron, the Deputy Director General of Training and Research, delivered a presentation in which he introduced the types of researchers, the way they are promoted and disseminated to specific audiences, the composition of teams and the way working groups consisting of researchers, practitioners and other partners works together as well as specific examples of researchers carried out in the past 5 years.
Prof. Fergus McNeill from the University of Glasgow presented a comprehensive proposal which set out the rationale for a Research and Development Fellowship in order to develop a Research and Development Strategy for the period of 2024-2028, outlined the approach, as well as clarified the potential outputs and outcomes of the fellowship and of the strategy. The expert group as an advisory group carried out the revision of the proposal and individual members provided their professional expertise and opinion in order to introduce the proposal to the CEP Presidium and Board.
The last presentation delivered by Dr. Anna Matczak from the University of Applied Sciences in the Hague, discussed the concept of restorative probation, challenges in its development but also a problematic relationship between restorative justice, probation and community service. The overview of countries across Europe outlining the restorative services showed the difference in providing such services as well as differences in the way these services are organized and delivered to the clients as well as differences in the staff training.
