A social work academic at the University of Chester has been given a Future Leaders Fellowship by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Dr Gill Buck was named one of 68 most promising UK research leaders who will collectively receive a funding sum of £104 million.

The funding will allow them to investigate global issues and commercialise their innovations in the UK.

Dr Buck's research concentrates on the criminal justice system.

She and her team will take on the first major study into participatory criminal justice across the UK and Ireland.

The need for this research is critical as there are currently 11.5 million people imprisoned around the globe.

Rates of reoffending remain high, particularly in the western nations.

In the UK alone, reoffending lands the country with an annual cost, around the £18 billion mark.

An area showing potential for improvement is participatory criminal justice where individuals use experiences of criminalisation to reconsider and co-deliver justice systems.

These practices may help people leave crime behind and provide new solutions.

Looking forward, Dr Buck plans to document past and present approaches of co-produced criminal justice.

She aims to use speculative design to unearth future possibilities.

Dr Buck's co-investigator Dr Emma Murray of Liverpool John Moores University and criminologist in residence at the Foundation of Art and Creative Technology.

Dr Murray is to get facilitate collaborations and further focused elements of the project.

CEO of the charity Unlock, Paula Harriott, will also work on the project as a visiting researcher.

Her experience as head of prisoner involvement at the Prison Reform Trust makes her an ideal candidate to promote experience consultations and co-investigations.

Kemi Ryan and Natasha Ryan, co-founders of Reformed Development CIC, will bring their experience in community outreach and education on board to collaborate with advisory teams for research work.

UKRI’s flagbearer, Future Leaders Fellowships, aim to support universities and businesses in developing their most promising early career researchers and innovators.

UKRI chief executive, Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, said: "UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowships provide researchers and innovators with long-term support and training to develop ambitious, transformative ideas.

"The programme supports the research and innovation leaders of the future to transcend disciplinary and sector boundaries, bridging the gap between academia and business."

Dr Buck is delighted to receive the scholarship, and she said: "It is a privilege to work on this important issue with this amazing team.

"I am very grateful to UKRI for this opportunity."