Laura and John Arnold Foundation: Research on Improving Pretrial Court Appearance
The Laura and John Arnold Foundation (LJAF) is committed to helping criminal justice professionals improve their knowledge of “what works” to increase community safety, equity, and fairness in the justice system. LJAF will provide funding to researchers to conduct rigorously designed research studies that answer lingering questions about improving court appearance alongside other outcomes for justice-involved individuals.
With guidance from research in the field and national pretrial experts, LJAF compiled a preliminary list of possible research objectives and questions. The list includes:
- Defining and assessing failure to appear in court
- Defining and improving the accuracy of non-appearance measurements
- Assessing the impact of court date notifications/reminders
- Assessing the impact of pretrial monitoring/supervision/case management
- Assessing the impact of supportive enhancements for appearance
- Incentivizing court appearance
- Responding to non-appearance
- Assessing procedural or structural enhancements for appearance
- Understanding the collateral effects of appearance
The list is not exhaustive, and applicants are not limited to research answering these questions. In their proposals, respondents are encouraged to offer additional research questions that fall inside or outside of the listed research objectives. Respondents can express interest in conducting studies that address more than one objective and/or that answer multiple questions. For all research questions, respondents need to provide an explanation of how the questions can be addressed by specific study designs, whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods.
Amount: LJAF does not have a maximum allowable budget for each grant award, but encourages applicants to conduct studies at low or modest cost whenever feasible. Applicants should propose a budget that adequately addresses the needs of the research project.
Eligibility: Project teams may involve partnerships among universities, researchers, scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and/or subject matter experts to ensure a highly qualified team. It is not necessary for a research institution or researcher to initiate the study. Justice system policymakers or practitioners, community-based organizations, and subject matter experts are also highly encouraged to initiate a potential research study, coordinate the formation of the research team, and apply for funding.
Link: http://www.arnoldfoundation.org/request-for-proposals/
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