NIJ Launches Competition on New Data Collection Models 

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the research arm within the U.S. Department of Justice, has launched the Innovations in Measuring Community Perceptions Challenge to develop new methods of measuring community attitude about public safety. NIJ has identified a gap in methods able to link to specific geographical locations and is seeking to develop new models to collect this type of data. NIJ is requesting that proposals consider how the model will interact with different communities; how the model will remain cost effective for widescale deployment and scalable to different area sizes; and how the model will collect data accurately while ensuring data protection as a priority. There will be two categories for the competition: survey methods using probability or nonprobability; and approaches using non-survey methods for measurements.

NIJ encourages entries from all disciplines as well as entries from practitioners, public and private entities, research laboratories, startup companies, students, and more. Entries may be submitted individually or as a team. For more information on requirements, please refer to the NIJ’s website.

Entries can be submitted through this form and any questions can be sent to community.perceptions@ojp.usdoj.gov. Challenge entries are requested by July 31. Winners are expected to be announced on November 1.