The Sir Graham Smith Awards scheme was established in 2002 in recognition of contribution of the late Sir Graham Smith to leadership in the probation service and the development of evidence based practice. The Awards are an important and prestigious scheme supporting and mentoring short, accessible practice based research projects across the justice sector. We are pleased to offer small bursaries of £500 to successful applicants to support research expenses. 

The Institute calls for submissions to the Sir Graham Smith Awards scheme every 1 to 2 years. The next round of awards will be in 2024 and we are inviting applications by 31st January 2024. We invite applications from practitioners in Probation, and from the voluntary, community and private sectors. Applicants must have their employer support to undertake the research. 

The Probation Institute Trustees agree a panel to select candidates and give support to the successful candidates throughout the project; the research proposals must be approved by the HMPPS National Research Committee; the Probation Institute then provides a mentor from the Academic Advisory Panel.

All the completed reports are published and launched by the Probation Institute. 

The most recent Sir Graham Smith Awards were completed in July 2023 by:

Fliss Holmes, Probation Services Officer - A qualitative exploration of factors which influence rapport between participants and facilitators of the Building Better Relationships programme, in the community, from the perspective of participants

and

Kyle Hart, Probation Officer - Exploring probation practitioners transition to the new unified service

To apply for the Sir Graham Smith Awards download the ‘Application Form’.

Published Reports

Here are the published Research Reports completed since 2016: