NIJ FY09 Building and Enhancing Criminal Justice Researcher-Practitioner Partnerships

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a component of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). NIJ provides objective, independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to enhance the administration of justice and public safety. NIJ solicits applications to inform its search for the knowledge and tools to guide policy and practice. NIJ is interested in funding multiple projects in support of criminal justice researcher-practitioner partnerships as well as capturing, in detail, relevant accounts of previous and current criminal justice researcher-practitioner collaborations. NIJ has always acknowledged the importance of researcher-practitioner partnerships and the involvement of the practitioner throughout the research process—from formulating research questions and accessing data to advising a study as it progresses and helping to ensure practical perspectives in the analysis of data and report writing. Such partnerships have frequently been encouraged in solicitations for research. However, there is a need for intentional activities that capture and build on previous work on partnerships and that provide opportunities for creating, enhancing, and improving criminal justice researcher-practitioner partnerships.