The stakeholder/collaborator strategy workshop - the Northern Ireland case

The stakeholder/collaborator strategy workshop About four years ago a colleague (Fran Ackennann) and I were invited to help the Northern Ireland Prison Service develop a new strategy. The prison service is a part of the Northern Ireland Office and was seen as a critical part of any attempts to develop a strategy for Northern Ireland. The prison service was unlike any other in the world – it housed mostly political prisoners who were often members of para-military groups. Many of the prisoners were senior officers of these groups and consequently many terrorist strategies were presumed to have emanated from the prisons of Northern Ireland. The number of what are known as Ordinary decent criminals' (ODCs) housed in the prisons was very small (indeed the reported crime rate in the province is very low).