Documentary analysis of COVID-19 pandemic plans
Duration: October 2024 – January 2025
Using a validated priority-setting framework in healthcare settings (Gibson, Martin, and Singer, 2003; Sibbald et al., 2010; Kapiriri and Martin, 2010), pandemic plans from Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand will be assessed across five domains:
- Priority-setting contexts
- Prerequisites
- Processes
- Implementation
- Outcomes
Cross-national econometric analysis of expenditure changes
Duration: February–May 2025
This phase will quantify shifts in prison resources pre- and post-COVID-19 across Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Qualitative interviews with policy elites
Duration: February–May 2025
To examine both the ‘front stage’ (documented policies) and the ‘backstage’ (behind-the-scenes actions) of pandemic policymaking, this phase will involve 45 qualitative interviews. Policymakers from the Ministries of Justice, Interior, and Health, along with representatives from NGOs (for example: prison monitoring and advocacy organisations) and intergovernmental organisations (for example: ICRC and UNODC regional offices), will participate.
Synthesis, academic review, and operationalising impact
Duration: June–December 2025
This final phase will integrate findings using a bidirectional analysis approach. Supported by PolicyBristol and co-produced with local and regional partners, the research will foster knowledge exchange and create synergies between policy and politics in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.