THE EVIDENCE BEHIND OUR APPROACH
Where our numbers come from
ProActive ReSolutions' approach to workplace conflict is built on restorative justice conferencing (RJC), a facilitated process with over two decades of independent academic research behind it. Below are the two claims you'll see referenced across our site, with full attribution.
The 8:1 return on investment
In 2008, Professor Joanna Shapland and colleagues evaluated three UK restorative justice schemes for the Ministry of Justice, comparing the cost of running RJC against the cost of crimes prevented through reduced reoffending. Averaged across the sites studied, the finding was £8 in benefit for every £1 spent delivering RJC.
The facilitators in Shapland's study were trained by John McDonald, ProActive's founder, using the same method ProActive uses today. This isn't a general finding about restorative justice, it's a direct measurement of the outcomes of our founder's training method, evaluated independently by a UK government-funded research team.
This research measured RJC against the traditional criminal justice model: an allegation is investigated, evidence is weighed, an outcome is imposed, and the underlying relationship is left unaddressed. That's structurally the same model most workplaces use today for complaints and grievances. ProActive applies the RJC approach Shapland studied, and John's training behind it, to that same structural problem in a workplace setting.
Source: Shapland, J., Atkinson, A., Atkinson, H., Dignan, J., Edwards, L., Hibbert, J., Howes, M., Johnstone, J., Robinson, G., and Sorsby, A. (2008). Does Restorative Justice Affect Reconviction? The Fourth Report from the Evaluation of Three Schemes. Ministry of Justice.
Corroborating source: UK House of Commons Justice Committee (2016). Restorative Justice.
The research behind the method
A 2013 systematic review published by the Campbell Collaboration, and later in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology, examined ten randomized controlled trials of restorative justice conferencing across Australia, the UK, and the US. The review found that RJC reduced repeat offending and produced consistently higher victim satisfaction than conventional criminal justice processing.
John McDonald, ProActive's founder, personally delivered the facilitator training across all ten trials in this evidence base, including the seven UK trials Shapland evaluated in her 2008 report. The 8:1 return on investment finding above measures the outcomes of the exact training method he developed.
Sources:
Strang, H., Sherman, L.W., Mayo-Wilson, E., Woods, D., and Ariel, B. (2013). Restorative Justice Conferencing (RJC) Using Face-to-Face Meetings of Offenders and Victims: Effects on Offender Recidivism and Victim Satisfaction. A Systematic Review. Campbell Systematic Reviews.
Sherman, L.W., Strang, H., Mayo-Wilson, E., Woods, D., and Ariel, B. (2015). Are Restorative Justice Conferences Effective in Reducing Repeat Offending? Findings from a Campbell Systematic Review. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 31, 1–24.
This research was conducted in criminal justice settings, studying restorative conferencing between offenders and victims of crime. It was not conducted in workplaces. ProActive applies this evidence-based conferencing model, and John McDonald's training behind it, to workplace conflict resolution. We believe the parallel is a strong one, given how closely most workplace disciplinary processes mirror the traditional criminal justice model these studies tested against. We think that parallel is honestly earned, not assumed, and we'd rather you see the sources for yourself than take our word for it.