Inspiring Nottingham Research Fellows

Philippa Tomczak, Nottingham Research Fellow, School of Sociology and Social Policy

I research punishment, and particularly imprisonment. My interests are the penal voluntary sector, responses to prison suicide and the regulation of prisons. 

Why a Nottingham Fellowship? 

This Fellowship has provided me with the opportunity to develop my research team and solidify my outputs. Having three years and a £75,000 budget to support my research was an unparalleled opportunity.

What has the experience been like? 

I've been really busy during my nine and half months at Nottingham, but I've already won an Impact prize, been supported to submit an application for £1.2million of research funding and developed another book.

I've really appreciated being in a School of Sociology and Social Policy, rather than my previous homes within Schools of Law. 

What happens in prisons affects the whole of society

What challenges are you hoping to tackle? 

While it might not seem obvious, prisons are among the primary social, economic and public health problems of our times, and what happens in prisons affects the whole of society.

In addition to being morally problematic, unsafe prisons mean unsafe societies. Bringing visibility to prison suicide and the work of the penal voluntary sector is therefore a small contribution to tackling one of our greatest societal challenges. 

Read more about Philippa's research in her blog 'Experts! Who needs them?'

Feeling inspired?