Why this matters: When those most impacted by the criminal legal system become designers, data collectors, and authors of research, the result is deeper truth—and policy that listens.
This blueprint draws on the Incorporating Lived Expertise into Research white paper (May 2025) and our campaign’s scholarship to offer a practical, ethical, and power‑building approach.

Pillars from the 2025 White Paper

1. Co‑Design the Questions — Start by asking communities what needs to be known to make change. Center measures of thriving (housing, stability, family ties, civic life), not just “recidivism.”
2. Share Ownership — Define data governance up front (consent, access, storage). Peer researchers should shape analysis and interpretation—not just collection.
3. Policy‑Ready Framing — Translate findings into testimony, legislative memos, and coalition briefs. Build a dissemination plan before you field a single survey.

The Blueprint (Step‑by‑Step)

1. Build the Table — Form a community advisory team (impacted people, CBOs/faith organizations, allied scholars). Set values: transparency, reciprocity, non‑extraction.
2. Co‑Design Methods — Mix qualitative and quantitative: life‑history interviews, focus groups, administrative data linkages, cost analyses. Validate instruments with the advisory group.
3. Train Peer Researchers — Interviewing skills, trauma‑aware practice, privacy/ethics, note‑taking, and coding. Budget for stipends and ongoing support.
4. Co‑Analysis & Member Checks — Host analysis circles; test emergent themes with participants. Invite critique and document how feedback shaped results.
5. Advocacy Integration — Timeline research milestones to legislative calendars and media moments. Prepare one‑pagers, infographics, and scripts for hearings.
6. Return the Knowledge — Release findings first to participants and communities. Offer teach‑ins, digital toolkits, and data summaries in plain language.

Ethics & Care

• Do no harm — Minimize risk, honor anonymity preferences, allow withdrawal without penalty.
• Fair compensation — Pay lived experts and peer researchers for their labor.
• Credit & Authorship — Co‑author reports and presentations; cite community collaborators as a norm.

From Evidence to Impact

Participatory research amplified the parole reform movement because it blended data with lived expertise:
quantitative analyses (release patterns, cost models) alongside qualitative narratives (reentry strengths, barriers), framed for policy action.
This is how research becomes a lever for justice.