Partners

APROXIMAR

Portugal · WP1 Lead (Project Management)

Aproximar (APX) is a highly experienced NGO acting as a social innovation hub, specializing in justice system reform, community reintegration, vocational training, and social impact projects. Established in 2007, APX operates across four key sectors: Education and Community Empowerment; Economy, Employability, and Entrepreneurship; Criminal Justice System Innovation; and Active Aging and Dependent Care.

APX is widely recognised for its pioneering work in offender rehabilitation and justice professional training, delivering tailored interventions that combine social science research, active methodologies, and technology-enhanced learning. It maintains formal collaboration agreements with the Portuguese Prison and Probation Services (DGRSP), allowing direct access to justice-involved individuals and frontline professionals. APX coordinates WP1 (Project Management), ensuring timely execution, financial compliance, risk management, and overall project governance.

DGRSP

Direção-Geral de Reinserção e Serviços Prisionais

Portugal

DGRSP is Portugal’s principal public authority on rehabilitation, probation, and correctional services. With a workforce of 8,431 professionals, it oversees the social reintegration of over 11,300 inmates and some 25,000 community supervision cases. Recognised as a pioneer in evidence-based justice policies, DGRSP plays a key role in shaping European correctional strategies. It operates under a case management framework that integrates rehabilitation programmes, probation oversight, and electronic monitoring, aligning with European recommendations (CM/Rec (2010)1 & CM/Rec (2017)3) to balance security, risk assessment, and offender reintegration.

Key expertise

• Supervising 11,379 inmates across 49 prisons (December 2023) and an average of 25,000 community measures across 48 probation teams, with 2,500 individuals under electronic monitoring by 10 dedicated teams.
• Delivering evidence-based rehabilitation programmes, including cognitive-behavioural interventions, motivational interviewing, and desistance-based approaches.
• Implementing national suicide prevention strategies in prison settings (PIPS Programme), providing critical expertise for WP3 training development.

DGRSP ensures institutional integration of the project’s results into Portugal’s justice policies, making it a cornerstone for long-term policy adoption.

IASIS

Greece · WP3 Lead (Training)

IASIS is one of Greece’s most influential mental health organisations, with a 19-year track record of providing world-class psychiatric care, psychosocial rehabilitation, and mental health literacy programmes. It has directly impacted over 600,000 beneficiaries through highly specialised community interventions and emergency crisis support.

IASIS specialises in

• Providing residential psychiatric care through two boarding houses and protected apartments.
• Operating community-based intervention services, including psychoeducation, family support, and crisis intervention.
• Leading mental health first aid missions, responding to humanitarian crises, natural disasters, and refugee resettlement.

As leader of WP3, IASIS

• Develops an innovative training curriculum for probation officers, prison staff, and justice professionals.
• Pilots suicide prevention tools in community supervision settings.
• Provides expertise in trauma-informed care, enhancing justice system responses to mental health crises.

INNOVED

Greece · WP4 Lead (Cross-Sector Pollination)

INNOVED is a leading educational technology provider, specialising in e-learning, digital skills training, and microcredentialing systems. INNOVED leverages cutting-edge digital platforms to scale training programmes and increase accessibility for professionals in justice, health, and education sectors.

As leader of WP4 (Multi-Level and Cross-Sector Pollination Actions), INNOVED ensures the project maximises digital engagement and scalability:

• Develop an LMS (Learning Management System) for blended-learning courses.
• Implement microcredential frameworks, ensuring official certification of training participants.
• Design gamified learning modules, improving engagement and retention rates.
• Lead cross-sector knowledge exchanges, ensuring that best practices are transferred beyond the justice sector.

INNOVED plays a critical role in scaling project results, ensuring that training materials reach professionals across Europe.

START pentru Performanta

Romania

Asociatia Start pentru Performanta is dedicated to community empowerment, personal development, and social inclusion, with a strong focus on leadership training and employment pathways.

Role in PREVENT

• Community involvement in justice reform and mental health awareness.
• Inclusion of vulnerable populations in mental health advocacy.
• Cross-sector engagement and volunteer-based interventions.

Key expertise

• Empowerment and leadership development for disadvantaged groups.
• Experience in volunteer coordination and social responsibility initiatives.
• EU project experience in employment, education, and personal development.

Fundația ESTUAR

Romania

ESTUAR is Romania’s largest mental health patient-led organisation, advocating for the rights, inclusion, and recovery of individuals with severe mental illness. The Estuar Foundation is a member of Mental Health Europe, one of the main EU-level federations providing advocacy at EU institutions in the mental health field.

ESTUAR brings

• Direct support experience, serving over 50,000 individuals annually.
• Expertise in supported housing, employment pathways, and peer mentoring for people with mental health conditions.
• Strong advocacy and stakeholder engagement, ensuring individuals with lived experience co-create mental health interventions.

ESTUAR’s involvement ensures that WP3 training incorporates patient-centred perspectives, strengthening mental health literacy among justice professionals.

ECHAlliance

Ireland · WP5 Lead (Dissemination)

ECHAlliance is a global health network with 1,100+ members and 80+ regional innovation ecosystems. It specialises in policy advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge transfer across European health and social sectors.

As leader of WP5 (Dissemination and Mainstreaming), ECHAlliance ensures that:

• Project results influence EU health and justice policy discussions.
• Strategic dissemination events, policy dialogues, and knowledge-sharing platforms are implemented.
• Key EU agencies and national governments adopt best practices emerging from PREVENT.

TRENTINO PLUS EUROPE

Italy · WP2 Lead (Research & Best Practices)

TRENTINPLUSEUROPE is a highly specialised research institution with a strong focus on criminal justice systems, mental health, and social reintegration. As a leader in evidence-based policy development, the organisation conducts in-depth research on prison and probation systems across Europe, identifying best practices for rehabilitation and reintegration.

Role in PREVENT (WP2 Lead — Research & Best Practices Collection)

• Comprehensive analysis of suicide prevention strategies within justice systems.
• Integration of evidence-based research into project recommendations and policy frameworks.
• Systematic review of mental health interventions tailored for justice-involved individuals.

Key expertise

• Renowned leader in criminological and sociological research, with 144 experts specialising in justice system transformation.
• Strong portfolio of EU-funded projects in violence prevention, mental health in justice, and suicide prevention.
• Extensive experience in training ex-offenders, migrants, and NEETs, equipping them with resilience-building strategies, employment pathways, and green skills.
• Proven capacity in large-scale EU projects, with direct contributions to Erasmus+, CERV, and HORIZON research initiatives.

University of Cyprus

Cyprus

The University of Cyprus (UCY) is the top-ranked research institution in Cyprus, consistently excelling in European-funded projects related to mental health, suicide and suicide prevention. With 820 faculty and researchers, 146 laboratories, and 22 academic departments, UCY is a regional leader in interdisciplinary research and innovation.

Role in PREVENT

• Robust academic validation of training materials and intervention strategies.
• High-quality empirical research supporting the project’s implementation.
• Strong links between the project’s outputs and European policy frameworks.

Key expertise

• Cyprus’s most active research institution, participating in 349 European projects, including Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, Justice, LIFE, and Interreg.
• Ranked 1st in Cyprus and among the top 140 universities in EU research funding acquisition.
• Global leader in medical and psychological research, with a dedicated Medical School focusing on innovative mental health strategies.
• Pioneer in suicide research, specialising in risk assessment, behavioural interventions, and policy recommendations for suicide prevention.