Revision Underway
NIJ is revising this strategic research plans. When the revised plan is released, it will be posted here and announced via NIJ's subscriber email lists.
The National Institute of Justice's (NIJ) Courts Strategic Research Plan is intended to improve knowledge and understanding of the role of courts in upholding justice, and is part of a series of plans developed to support NIJ's overarching research goals and guiding principles on crime and justice topics.
Courts play an integral role in the administration of justice as collaborators and intermediaries between defendants, victims, law enforcement, corrections, and the community. The National Institute of Justice developed this Courts Strategic Research Plan to communicate its courts research agenda and advance its courts research mission. The four research priorities elaborated in the plan are to promote and support research to develop the courts workforce and enhance court workgroups; promote and support research to advance court practice; promote and support research on the fair and impartial administration of justice; and promote data and research capacity building. The plan's priorities and objectives respond to the findings of contemporary research and to needs and requirements identified by prosecutors, defense counsel, judges, and other criminal justice stakeholders.