The systematic understanding of partnerships between academic-based researchers and criminal justice agencies has received relatively little attention in scholarly journals. This is an area in need of scholarly attention because research collaborations among universities and justice agencies have increased in recent years and there is a lack of resources specific to our discipline regarding best practices for developing and sustaining these relationships. Indeed, research focusing on researcher-practitioner partnerships exists in other disciplines including the public health, business, and medical fields, and to a lesser degree the social sciences. However, the criminal justice sector is unique in a number of ways including the population served, the sensitivity of the data, the amount of funding available, and the large number of agencies that are involved in a single project. Thus, this is the gap in our literature we hope to begin filling with this special edition of Criminal Justice Studies.
The relatively recent increase in university-agency research partnerships can be attributed to a number of different factors. These include the growing recognition by university leaders that academic research should be relevant and useful to the community and the increased attention to evidence-based practices. Among criminal justice agencies, there is also an emerging appreciation of data-driven decision-making and the use of rigorous research methodology. Agencies are beginning to recognize that using data to help inform policies and practices can greatly enhance operations, cut down costs, ensure equitable practices, and maintain public safety. In addition, for many years there were suggestions that applicants for non-researcher-initiated (R01s, etc.) grants should partner with a researcher. However, it was not until recently that this was a requirement. Nowadays, it is not unusual for grant solicitations from government and private funders to carry a requirement for the involvement of an evaluator/researcher from the beginning of the project, with an adequate funding level built into the proposal budget. Furthermore, as we move through the ‘what works’ and ‘what matters’ in the production and dissemination of evidence-based practices, the role of researchers comes into even greater importance. Whether we call it ‘translational research,’ ‘implementation science,’ or some variant of ‘diffusion of innovation,’ the collaborative efforts of the developer/implementer of the new approach and the researchers evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of the approach are crucial aspects of the successfulness of the innovation as a whole.
As the importance of university researcher-criminal justice agency partnerships becomes more apparent, the experiences of scholars who have been engaged in this type of research will also become incredibly valuable. The development of a body of work surrounding collaborative partnerships in criminal justice will allow veteran scholars to reflect on their experiences and compare across different partnerships to identify common themes of successful partnerships, barriers, and lessons learned. At the same time, this literature will provide future researchers and practitioners seeking to develop partnerships with an idea of the complexity of developing and maintaining research partnerships, an understanding of the key components to effective development, and barriers that are commonly faced among both researchers and practitioners when attempting to engage in collaborative research. Past experiences about the mutual benefits of university-agency partnerships, the positive impact that these partnerships can have on the quality of research products, and the increased ability to be competitive for outside funding may also convince current academic scholars and/or justice agencies that historically worked in silos to consider exploring possible collaborations. Therefore, the core question addressed in this special edition is: Can we systematize our knowledge of what leads to and maintains effective research-criminal justice agency partnerships? In order to develop a body of research on ‘what it takes’ to develop and maintain such partnerships in our discipline, it is the processes involved in establishing and maintaining effective researcher-agency partnerships, and not the outcomes of the research, we must identify.
The following papers have been written by researchers who have extensive experience collaborating with a variety of criminal justice agencies including law enforcement, correctional facilities, probation departments, mental health agencies, and community groups comprised of stakeholders from a range of different justice agencies. Therefore, although each paper focuses on a different collaborative relationship, they all highlight the complexity and importance of developing and maintaining university-agency research partnerships – a task that is critical to ensuring the effectiveness of criminal justice system policies and practices. Some common themes throughout this special edition are the importance of building trust and a mutual understanding of goals among partners, the time and dedication that is required to maintain partnerships, the importance of transparency among partners, and the inevitability of unforeseen obstacles and challenges along the way. Below, we briefly discuss some of the key points within these articles.
In the first article, Rudes and colleagues discuss their experiences at the Center for Advancing Correctional Excellence (ACE) at George Mason University. The authors highlight the key components to successful and long-lasting partnerships including access, research agreements, collaborative goal setting, continued feedback, and relationship maintenance. In the second article, Nilson and colleagues discuss their experiences in developing and sustaining partnerships that focus on community-engaged scholarship at the University of Saskatchewan’s Centre for Forensic Behavioral Science and Justice Studies (CFBSJS). Based on these experiences, the benefits of community-engaged scholarship for criminal justice scholars and agencies, the challenges of building and maintaining research partnerships, and considerations for future researchers seeking to participate in community-engaged scholarship with local criminal justice agencies are discussed. The authors also provide a detailed outline of the key ingredients of sustainable research partnerships that will certainly serve as a resource for future scholars.
The third article is a summary of the experiences of criminal justice scholars at the University of Albany and the John F. Finn Institute for Public Safety as a research partner with agencies in Syracuse, New York for more than a decade. The authors highlight the factors that they believe led to their success including both contextual and internal factors. In the fourth article, written by Bales and colleagues, a longstanding research partnership between criminal justice faculty at the Florida State University College of Criminology and Criminal Justice and the Florida Department of Corrections is discussed. The authors highlight the different goals of researchers and criminal justice agencies, but show how these goals are complementary and, once there is a clear understanding of these goals from both parties, can significantly enhance the quality and relevance of the research.
The final article is a collaborative effort by researchers from Appalachian State University and the chief probation officer from a federal probation office in North Carolina. The focus of this paper is on the lessons learned throughout the development of the partnership including the barriers to development and the strategies that helped overcome these barriers. The authors discuss the importance of creating a shared vision of the goals of the project that benefits all agencies involved, developing trust early in the process, and discussing expectations related to timelines and the dissemination of results. The major strength of this paper is the unique discussion of these experiences from both the academic researchers and the practitioners.
Together, these articles provide valuable information regarding the complexity of developing and maintaining collaborative research partnerships. They highlight the need for a shared vision of research goals, mutually beneficial research projects, and an understanding of expectations from all parties involved. These are challenging tasks in the beginning phases of partnership development due to different goals, expectations, and available time. Furthermore, although each article outlines somewhat different barriers that were experienced, there is a common theme that developing and maintaining these relationships is not an easy task. It is one that requires trust, reciprocity, respect, and ongoing engagement. These are critical to building long-term collaborative partnerships. In short, the experiences discussed in this edition show that building sustainable long-term partnerships between university researchers and criminal justice practitioners requires a great deal of effort, time, and perseverance, as well as meeting each partner’s expectations. Such work is not for those with an orientation toward quick pay-offs.
The goal of this special edition was to bring attention to the importance of developing university-agency partnerships in criminal justice and to begin to develop a body of literature describing ‘what it takes’ to develop and maintain these relationships. There are a number of questions that this edition was unable to answer including what it means to develop a ‘successful’ partnership, strategies for developing a shared vision and mutual benefits, and identifying best practices when it comes to formalizing partnerships and information sharing. Also, this edition does not specifically address research partnerships with corporate, faith-based, or community based organizations. Given the emergence of these sectors as providers of and services to justice-involved persons, this is also an area where university researcher-agency collaborations have recently increased. Therefore, it is our hope that this special edition will serve as a starting point for future discussions, articles, and books that expand on best practices in developing and sustaining university-agency partnerships in criminal justice.
Finally, we would like to thank the anonymous reviewers of all of the manuscripts submitted to this special edition. These reviewers devoted their time to improving the quality of these articles and the edition as a whole. We would also like to thank Daniel Bowman for serving as the managing editor of this edition and Dr. Richard Tewksbury, the editor of Criminal Justice Studies, for making this possible.
Roberto Hugh Potter