The Racial Democracy Crime and Justice Network (RDCJN) seeks to undertake research and related initiatives to explore the implications of crime and justice processing for citizens’ participation in a democracy.

The network's twofold purpose is to: help improve understanding of how race/ethnicity, crime and justice are related; and facilitate the academic success of junior faculty from underrepresented groups studying crime and justice issues. The RDCJN is housed at Rutgers University and is directed by Jody Miller (Rutgers University) and Rod Brunson (University of Maryland).

The RDCJN Small Grants Program seeks applications from early career scholars who are members of the RDCJN for research projects to “Improve Fairness and Justice in Community Supervision.” The goal of the program is to broaden the capacity of the research community and advance racial equity in community supervision policies and practices by elevating the work of young scholars from underrepresented groups. It will support projects that are methodologically rigorous, evidence-based, and policy relevant being conducted by scholars who bring fresh perspectives and innovative research designs to bear on a wide range of community supervision problems. See the Request for Proposals document for all details about the small grants program and the application process.

Award Information

This RDCJN small grants program will fund four research projects of $100,000 of total direct costs each over a two-year period beginning on August 1, 2023. No indirect costs are allowed. Applicants must be members of the Racial Democracy and Crime Network (RDCJN). Funded projects must focus on research to “Improve Fairness and Justice in Community Supervision” as outlined below. The grant is not designed to be a supplement to existing funding.

Application Deadline: February 15, 2023

Principal Investigators: Rod K. Brunson and Lauren J. Krivo

Project manager: Elena Tapia