risks of ill-treatment, produces more reliable information and helps to ensure a lawful outcome of the investigation or intelligence operation”. The principles outline how this can be done and give substantial positive guidance for how to make such changes on a national and international level. Similarly, other UN principles, such as 2012 UN Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems and the corresponding UNODC/UNDP publication ‘Early access to legal aid in criminal justice processes: a handbook for policymakers and practitioners’ continue to offer windows of opportunities and offer practical advice on dealing with possible challenges.74 But not only positive developments are important opportunities. It is important to also recognise crises as ‘critical junctures’. They can open doors to change that was previously unthinkable, forcing political leaders to change their assumptions, stop defending the status quo, and initiate reforms that involve high political risks.75 In particular, where bigger systemic changes seem unattainable a focus on resources available to support the strengthening of procedural rights is very important. This is in line with the project’s emphasis on promising practices. However, it is not always necessary to look to other countries for promising practices but sometimes small, less obvious practical changes, e.g. management or policing practices, contain great potential for change. A method called ‘appreciative inquiry’ aims to specifically identify such small ‘highlights’ that can be scaled for greater change and has been used in the prison and policing context as well.76 It can be used by researchers or monitors to specifically focus on what works already well and thereby also mobilises energy for change. Another alternative to the often debilitating focus on problems and deficits is called ‘positive deviance’. It equally focuses on people’s assets and knowledge based on the idea that for any given problem someone has already found a solution that just needs to be identified. It looks for “outliers who succeed against the odds”,77 often just small behavioural changes that can be multiplied to great effect. In the area of procedural rights this may be positive practices of individual police departments or officers e.g. to provide accessible information on rights. The opportunities and resources for change are much greater when looking at the bigger picture in the context of which inadequate procedural rights occur (see above, § 2.2). They are not isolated but connected to bigger issues in the criminal justice system and wider society. Consequently, developments in other areas such as police and justice reform, poverty prevention etc. should not be overlooked as possible opportunities for change. Recognising that change may occur slowly, it is important to remain patient, persistent, and also pursue small, incremental changes. Starting small played an important role in strengthening the access to a lawyer in Belgium. Also, for the introduction of AVR in Ireland, piloting the reform was an important success factor. However, the long piloting phase - the project ran from 1993 to 1999 -showed how long it can take to convince all stakeholders the need for reforms. In order to adapt to the circumstances and seize opportunities for change, it is important to learn by doing and therefore to seek ongoing feedback in the piloting process.78 After the national roundtables, the project organisations evaluated possible next steps including questions such as: 74. UNODC and UNDP, Early Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Processes: A Handbook for Policymakers and Practitioners (United Nations 2014). 75. Green, How Change Happens (2016) 16-17. 76. Alison Liebling and others, ‘Appreciative Inquiry and Relationships in Prison’ (1999) 1(1) Punishm Soc; Walter Suntinger and Moritz Birk, ‘Appreciative Inquiry: Mobilizing Potentials within police Organizations to Realize Human Rights’ (2020). 77. Green, How Change Happens (2016) 24. 78. Green, How Change Happens (2016) 21. 32