Research
Working papers and occasional essays.
The Foundation publishes a small number of working papers each year, drawn from the work of the Research Fellowship, the Executive Director, and occasional contributions from the board. Our research archive is available without restriction.
Note
The Foundation's Working Paper series is not peer-reviewed in the formal academic sense. Each paper is reviewed by two members of the board prior to publication, with occasional external commentary invited where the subject warrants it. Citations to Foundation working papers are welcome; we ask only that the citation is accurate.
The Scumbag Quarterly, the Foundation's long-threatened periodical, remains forthcoming. Inquiries from editors, contributors, and the merely curious should be directed to enquiries@scumbagfoundation.org.
Working papers
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WP-2024-03
December 2024
28 pp.
Recidivism and Social Reintegration: A Framework for Practitioner Assessment
Dr. Ines M. Calloway (Executive Director) with M. Harlow, Foundation Research Fellow, 2025
This paper proposes a modest, operationally-defined framework for practitioner self-assessment in work with populations at risk of behavioural recurrence. It draws on the desistance literature, recent cohort studies from the United Kingdom and Australia, and a small volume of primary interviews conducted under the Foundation's 2023 research cycle.
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WP-2024-02
August 2024
19 pp.
Grantmaking at the Edge of Plausibility: Small Foundations and the Problem of Scope
Dr. Ines M. Calloway
An essay on the structural limitations of small-endowment philanthropic programming, with particular attention to the tensions between grantmaking ambition, operational capacity, and the sustainability of grantee reporting burdens. Prepared for the 2024 annual convening of the board.
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WP-2023-01
March 2023
34 pp.
Toward a Typology of Scumbag Behaviour: Definitional Challenges in Reform Programming
Dr. Samuel O. Greaves (Foundation Board)
The most-read of the Foundation's working papers. A careful and deliberately provisional attempt to construct a working typology of the behaviours the Foundation concerns itself with, drawing on antisocial personality presentations, moral injury literature, and the author's three decades of teaching in the sociology of misconduct. Intended as a teaching aid rather than a settled position.
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Also available
The 2024 Annual Report
The Foundation's 2024 Annual Report, including a summary of grant activity, financial statements audited by Harland & Greaves LLP, and a brief letter from the Executive Director.
Download Annual Report