FRAME (Frameworks for Realising, Assessing, and Monitoring small-scale detention in Europe) is a two-year European project that strengthens how small-scale detention is assessed, implemented, and embedded across Europe. As small-scale detention increasingly replaces large prison institutions, FRAME works to make sure  these facilities are measurable, comparable across countries, and anchored in human rights, policy, and positive social impact.

The project brings together four organisations with complementary expertise in justice reform: RESCALED (Belgium – European), Antigone Association (Italy), Irish Penal Reform Trust (Ireland), and Penal Reform International (the Netherlands – International).

What FRAME does

FRAME responds to increasing EU-level recognition of the need to move from large prison institutions toward small-scale, community-integrated detention houses, supported by key policy developments such as the Council Conclusions of June 2024 and the UN Resolution 57/9 of October 2024 on social reintegration. 

These instruments recognise small-scale detention houses as a way to improve reintegration, protect human rights, and reduce reoffending. They also call for evidence-based assessment and dissemination of good practices across Member States. 

FRAME turns these commitments into action by embedding small-scale detention within national and European monitoring frameworks and developing tools that link small-scale detention to sustainable development.

FRAME develops a data-driven monitoring and evaluation framework specifically designed for small-scale detention houses. The framework combines quantitative and qualitative indicators and connects national, European, and international standards, including the European Prison Rules and the UN Mandela Rules, to improve transparency, accountability, and learning between countries.

Human rights, social impact and the SDGs

Through comparative case studies in eight European countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, France, Lithuania, Finland, and Germany) FRAME examines;

• how national, European, and international human rights standards are applied in small-scale detention; and
• how small-scale detention contributes to broader societal outcomes by integrating the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into monitoring practices.

This approach connects deprivation of liberty to outcomes such as social inclusion, reduced inequality, mental well-being, education, and access to employment.

From monitoring to policy change

FRAME translates evidence into policy recommendations and legislative proposals that support the formal recognition of small-scale detention within national, European, and international frameworks. A central objective is to ensure that small-scale detention replaces rather than supplements large-scale prisons, with clear criteria to avoid unnecessary deprivation of liberty.

How FRAME works

FRAME is structured around five interconnected work packages:

• WP1 – Project management and coordination: ensures effective project management, transparent financial oversight, and long-term sustainability of project outcomes.
• WP2 – Monitoring small-scale detention: aligns monitoring frameworks and develops qualitative and quantitative tools to assess conditions and effectiveness in small-scale detention.
• WP3 – Accessing small scale detention in relation to SDG’s: integrates the UN Sustainable Development Goals into monitoring frameworks to assess broader social impact.
• WP4 – Realising small-scale detention: translates evidence into legal and policy proposals that embed small-scale detention as a regulated replacement for large prisons.
• WP5 – Communication, dissemination and impact: ensures visibility, stakeholder engagement, knowledge exchange, and long-term impact beyond the project duration.

Together, these work packages ensure coherence between evidence, policy, and practice.

Engagement and impact

FRAME takes an ecosystem approach, working closely with policymakers, legal professionals, practitioners, researchers, people with lived experience, community organisations, and human rights actors. Through interactive workshops, learning sessions, strategic visits, and policy roundtables, the project brings together diverse perspectives to ensure that monitoring, evaluation, and policy development are grounded in real-world practice. This collaboration helps co-create evidence-based solutions that support lasting reform and the sustainable implementation of small-scale detention across Europe.