Rish McDonald.People. Belief. The Institutions we Build.
Let’s talk
All services

SPEAKING / JUSTICE, BELIEF & INSTITUTIONS

Ideas that stay
in the room.

I speak about religion, criminal justice, leadership, and the people institutions struggle to see. The point is to leave an audience with a sharper question, not a reassuring slogan.

See example briefs Start a conversation

TALK IDEAS

A starting programme.

Choose a theme, then we shape the argument, format, and level of detail for your audience.

01POSSIBLE TALK

Hope behind the wall

KEYNOTE · PANEL · STAFF SEMINAR

THE SITUATION

What can religion, belief, and pastoral care tell us about hope and resilience in prison — and what can they not tell us?

WHAT WE COULD DO

A talk grounded in my prison research in England and Wales, with the questions driving my forthcoming Churchill Fellowship fieldwork across the Nordic countries and Japan.

WHAT THE ROOM TAKES AWAY

An honest discussion of belonging, care, power, and the limits of easy stories about rehabilitation.

For prison services, chaplaincy teams, justice organisations, and interdisciplinary conferences.

Ask about this talk
02POSSIBLE TALK

Who owns a sacred space?

GUEST LECTURE · CONFERENCE TALK

THE SITUATION

A prison chapel is designed and governed as institutional space. The people who use it may make it mean something quite different.

WHAT WE COULD DO

Draw on qualitative research in HMP Berwyn and HMP Wormwood Scrubs to examine access, ritual, time, and the everyday making of sacred space.

WHAT THE ROOM TAKES AWAY

A fresh way to think about faith provision, institutional design, and the gap between policy and lived experience.

For criminology, religious studies, architecture, and criminal justice audiences.

Ask about this talk
03POSSIBLE TALK

People. Belief. The Institutions we Build.

KEYNOTE · FACILITATED CONVERSATION

THE SITUATION

Public institutions often discuss religion only when it becomes a problem to manage. What does that habit cost us?

WHAT WE COULD DO

Bring secularism, religious literacy, equality, and public policy into conversation with the realities of institutional life.

WHAT THE ROOM TAKES AWAY

A more useful vocabulary for disagreement, pluralism, and decisions that affect real people.

For policymakers, public leaders, universities, and cross-sector events.

Ask about this talk
04POSSIBLE TALK

Belonging, Heathenry & the extremist frame

CONFERENCE TALK · PRACTITIONER SEMINAR

THE SITUATION

How do we take extremist appropriation seriously without reducing an entire living religion to a security concern?

WHAT WE COULD DO

Draw on my research into contemporary Heathen practice and my conference work on Pagan extremism in custodial settings.

WHAT THE ROOM TAKES AWAY

A careful account of identity, sacred space, risk, and the consequences of getting the distinctions wrong.

For researchers, practitioners, and organisations working across religion, justice, and safeguarding.

Ask about this talk

BOOKING A TALK

Tell me who is in the room.

Research in conversation with practice.
I bring qualitative research and senior government experience into the same room, without flattening the difficult parts.

01

Share the occasion

Send the event, audience, desired length, format, and what you want people to think about afterwards.

02

Shape the argument

We agree the central question, level of detail, and whether the session includes discussion or facilitation.

03

Make space for questions

A talk can be followed by a panel, Q&A, or a smaller working conversation with your team.

LET’S TALK

Have a question
in mind?

Tell me the context and what you hope to achieve. We can discuss a sensible scope, timetable, and fee before anything is agreed.

Enquire about speaking

Or write to richardpaulmcdonald@icloud.com