Nucleos Uses National Science Foundation Grant To Develop Technology To Deliver Education Opportunities For Incarcerated People
The National Science Foundation has recently awarded Nucleos a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to support the development of e-learning solutions for the U.S. corrections industry. This SBIR Phase I project addresses the pressing need for providing incarcerated youth and adults with continual systematic and secure personal education and training opportunities, giving incarcerated people the skills they need to productively re-enter society. It will also reduce recidivism rates, and increase their confidence and the potential for contributing to local communities.
With a large increase in the population of incarcerated individuals in the U.S. over the past 30 years, it is important to provide systematic and secure education and workforce training opportunities to help increase their potential for job placement post-release. At least 95% of the 2.2 million currently incarcerated individuals will be released one day. Providing education opportunities to incarcerated people greatly reduces rates of recidivism, resulting in large cost-savings of up to $4 to $5 for every $1 spent on corrections education program1.
“We are grateful and excited for the opportunity to expand our offerings to address the educational needs of the U.S. incarcerated population,” said Noah Freedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Nucleos. “This SBIR grant will help us expand our mission, which is to ensure that learners everywhere can access the best education opportunities.” Through the course of this grant, Nucleos will develop and test a prototype of a secure, easy-to-administer, and flexible platform to deliver multiple high-quality instructional programs.
Nucleos was founded in 2017, to address the inequities around access to educational opportunities around the world. It transforms delivery of digital resources to enable students anywhere to realize the full potential of digital learning, regardless of their location. Nucleos also works in Zimbabwe and India, helping rural schools gain affordable access to digital resources.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
1: RAND Corporation, 2013. “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education: A Meta-Analysis of Programs That Provide Education to Incarcerated Adults”. Davis, L et. al.