SAFECHAIN™ Institutional Funding Proposal

Supporting Research and Development of Safeguarding Governance Innovation

Proposal for Research Foundations and Public Innovation Funds

Introduction

SAFECHAIN™ is a safeguarding governance initiative exploring how institutional systems responsible for protecting vulnerable individuals can operate more coherently across organisational boundaries.

The initiative focuses on structural challenges that arise when safeguarding responsibilities are distributed across multiple agencies including legal systems, healthcare providers, housing authorities, and policing bodies.

The proposed research programme seeks to examine how safeguarding systems can be strengthened through improved coordination, documentation continuity, and professional awareness of trauma-informed safeguarding practice.

Purpose of Funding

Funding would support the development of a research and policy programme examining safeguarding governance and institutional coordination.

The objectives of the programme include:

• conducting research into safeguarding system fragmentation
• exploring models for improved institutional coordination
• developing professional education resources on trauma-informed safeguarding
• facilitating dialogue between academic researchers and safeguarding practitioners.

Research Themes

The research programme would focus on themes including:

Institutional Fragmentation

Examining how safeguarding responsibilities are distributed across institutions and identifying areas where coordination challenges may arise.

Safeguarding Documentation

Exploring approaches to improving continuity and transparency in safeguarding documentation.

Trauma-Informed Professional Practice

Investigating how professionals across different sectors can better recognise trauma-related behaviours within safeguarding environments.

Governance Models

Exploring how safeguarding governance frameworks can support greater institutional accountability.

Proposed Activities

Funding could support activities such as:

• academic research partnerships
• policy workshops with safeguarding professionals
• development of professional education programmes
• publication of policy research papers.

These activities would aim to generate insights that could inform safeguarding governance discussions.

Potential Impact

Research into safeguarding governance could contribute to:

• improved understanding of safeguarding coordination challenges
• development of professional education resources
• policy dialogue on strengthening safeguarding systems.

Conclusion

SAFECHAIN™ seeks to contribute to safeguarding research and policy discussions by exploring how institutional systems responsible for protection duties can operate more effectively together.

Support from research foundations or public innovation funds would enable deeper exploration of these issues and facilitate collaboration between practitioners and researchers.

© 2026 Samantha Avril-Andreassen. All rights reserved.