Safety and Justice Challenge
Research Consortium

What It Is:

In May 2015, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (Foundation) launched the Safety and Justice Challenge (SJC), a national effort to reduce the overuse of jails across the country. In large part, this has been done through grants awarded to more than 50 jurisdictions interested in reforming their criminal legal systems.  

From its inception, the SJC has relied heavily on data to develop reform strategies and assess progress toward initiative goals across participating sites. Data are also used to develop research and lessons learned for the larger criminal legal field, as a way to advance fair and effective reform work on a broader scale. The SJC Research Consortium (Consortium) managed by CUNY ISLG was established in 2019 to develop and carry out research through a group of pre-qualified academic and research policy organizations. Since 2019, the Foundation has committed nearly $12 million towards Consortium activities and research projects. All research projects are developed and granted under independent review by a panel of academic, policy, and practice experts, including individuals with lived experience—the Research Review Committee (RRC)—with a focus on the following SJC research priority areas:

  • Effective strategies for jail population reduction

  • Understanding case processing and its impact on jail populations

  • Eliminating racial and ethnic disparities

  • Long-term implications of COVID-19 efforts for decarceration reform

  • Public safety implications of decarceration reform

  • Understanding criminal legal decision-making

The Experts:

Research Consortium

Consortium members are pre-qualified researchers that carry out Consortium research projects. Initially, the Consortium was comprised of a smaller group of organizations that were a part of the SJC network, partnering with SJC sites as technical assistance (TA) providers. Since then, it has grown to include a wider range of research organizations that have substantive and methodological expertise aligned with SJC  goals, objectives, and research priorities. CUNY ISLG, the Foundation, the RRC, and the SJC Advisory Board weigh in on potential organizations to be invited through a targeted Invitations for Applications process, considering factors such as diversity in geography and areas of expertise. Applications are then submitted, reviewed by the RRC, and a membership decision is made based on several factors, including research capacity and experience. The goal is to vet these organizations at this earlier phase to streamline the proposal granting process on the back end to provide timely information for the broader field. Current Consortium members include:

  • Arizona State University

  • Center for Justice Innovation

  • Data Collaborative for Justice

  • Florida State University

  • Florida International University

  • Justice Management Institute

  • Justice System Partners

  • Loyola University—Chicago

  • Policy Research Associates

  • Rutgers University—Newark

  • University of California, Berkeley—California Policy Lab

  • University of Minnesota—Robina Institute

  • University of Missouri—St. Louis

  • Urban Institute

  • Vera Institute of Justice

Research Review Committee

The independent RRC is a select group of researcher, practitioners, and people with lived experience who serve as expert and objective reviewers evaluating proposals, making membership and funding decisions,  providing feedback on final reports and products prior to publication, and weighing in on project development priorities and overarching Consortium strategy. The RRC also provides appropriate quality control mechanisms to ensure research integrity.  To assemble the committee, CUNY ISLG—in partnership with the Foundation and SJC Advisory Board—identified a list of individuals across the country that had expertise aligned with SJC research priorities and represented diverse perspectives from various criminal legal sectors. Current RRC members include: 

  • Kwan-Lamar Blount-Hill, Arizona State University

  • Mia Bird, University of California, Berkeley

  • Hernan Carvente-Martinez, Alianza for Youth Justice 

  • Ronald Day, Fortune Society

  • Gregory Dillon, Brazoria County, TX, Community Supervision and Corrections Department

  • Wakumi Douglas, S.O.U.L. Sisters

  • Christopher Fisher, Police Executive Research Forum

  • Ingrid Gustafson, Montana State Supreme Court

  • David Harris, University of Pittsburgh Law

  • James Lynch, University of Maryland

  • Karin Martin, University of Washington

  • Thomas Reed, Wisconsin State Public Defender

  • Stanley Richards, Fortune Society and former First Deputy Commissioner at NYC Department of Correction

  • Nancy Rodriguez, University of California, Irvine 

  • Ebony Ruhland, Rutgers University

  • Sukhmani Singh, University of Connecticut

  • Cassia Spohn, Arizona State University

  • John Vespucci, law enforcement officer and policing consultant

Current and Past Research:

Since its launch in 2019, 16 Consortium projects have been awarded. Projects include single-site and multi-site examinations of specific jail reduction strategies and issues of importance to the SJC, including racial and ethnic disparities.

Soliciting new ideas and approaches

CUNY ISLG will accept letters of intent for research proposals from current Consortium members on a rolling basis throughout the course of the calendar year. LOIs are meant to be short, 2-3 page submissions describing research ideas that touch on one or more SJC research priority areas and advance SJC research goals and objectives, particularly around knowledge development.

Before submitting a letter of intent, members should review the guidelines for submissions.

Submit a letter of intent (LOI) to the Research Consortium Team here.