NIJ LEADS

The National Institute of Justice's Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science (LEADS) Scholars Program aims to enhance police agencies' ability to collect their own data, analyze and interpret it, and then apply it to help solve problems. The National Policing Institute (NPI), an independent and nonpartisan organization dedicated to encouraging excellence in policing, stands ready to continue supporting NIJ in its efforts. In its second year as the grantee supporting NIJ’s vision and values for the NIJ LEADS Scholars Program, NPI proposes expanding on activities implemented in the first year of work and improving processes to enhance the program.

NPI’s proposed approach to supporting the NIJ LEADS Scholars Program is organized around four activities: (1) support the annual NIJ LEADS Scholars application and review process; (2) provide general logistical support for meetings, conferences, and symposia to include registration, travel, and lodging; (3) provide training, educational, professional development, and technical assistance opportunities to Scholars, alumni, and invited agency executives; and (4) facilitate professional connections, opportunities for information sharing, and work dissemination for LEADS Scholars.

Specifically, NPI’s program support will further enhance policies and procedures to improve the Scholars’ experience in the program, increase opportunities for networking, collaboration, and learning through in-person conferences and peer-to-peer site visits, assist Scholars in improving their knowledge base within key topic areas through a virtual community of practice with a searchable database of interests and achievements, and support continued professional development opportunities for Scholars and alumni through virtual office hours and seminars. NPI will leverage its existing professional network and reach through conferences and social media to elevate Scholars’ knowledge-production activities. NPI will also call upon this broad reach across the field to attract a wider audience of potential scholars and recruit a more demographically diverse pool of applicants. NPI will work collaboratively with NIJ to offer LEADS Scholars and alumni the necessary program infrastructure to build their research capacities by supporting their data and research skills.

To accomplish the program’s goals and ensure that participation is fulfilling and valuable to Scholars and agencies, NPI will rely on:

The strength of its research capacity and nationally regarded science staff;
Decades of experience establishing and managing national programs that involve and impact research and practice; and
NPI’s long-standing professional networks in the realms of research and practice. NCA/NCF