U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
 NIJ Director John H. Laub's Vision for NIJ
Archival Notice
              This is an archive page that is no longer being updated. It may contain outdated information and links may no longer function as originally intended.
Date
              November 9, 2010
Speaker
              John H. Laub, Ph.D.
John Laube
The Honorable John H. Laub, Ph.D., joined NIJ in July 2010 after being appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate on June 22, 2010.Identifying and communicating my vision for the National Institute of Justice was my top priority when I arrived in July 2010. That effort received a fortuitous boost from the release, just a few weeks earlier, of an in-depth evaluation of NIJ by the National Academies of Sciences. The evaluation turned out to be a unique opportunity to leverage the communication of my vision for NIJ with the agency's response to the NAS report. Read NIJ's progress report on its response to the NAS recommendations in *Strengthening the National Institute of Justice*.

To me, it is crucial that NIJ establish itself as the nation's leader in scientific research on crime and justice. Beyond the scientific integrity of our research, this means that our work must benefit practitioners. That may sound obvious, but NIJ is like no other federal agency: we translate science for the street.

NIJ must develop an innovative, integrated, cutting-edge research agenda. By "integrated," I mean bringing together the three seemingly disparate sciences that form the bedrock of NIJ — the social, forensic and physical sciences — to serve our constituencies. I want to tie NIJ's projects together in a way that will give the agency's work more coherence.

We also need to be more visionary about the issues that are going to be most important and most useful to practitioners in the future. We cannot do research on every question. Rather, our research agenda must focus on building a cumulative knowledge base that is most valuable to the field.

We must reconnect with our constituency groups, our stakeholders. One of my primary goals is to reestablish relationships with — and make NIJ's presence better known to and valued by — our key stakeholders in the research and practitioner communities, our federal partners, and the Congress. We need to establish, in words and deeds, that it is a new day at NIJ.

One of NIJ's missions is to disseminate scientific knowledge, a crucial component of my dream for NIJ. I call it "translational criminology," which basically means bringing the best research evidence to practice. Not only should we disseminate evidence, we should also figure out if it is being implemented correctly. In medicine, this is referred to as "bench-to-bedside." It is not just about finding the evidence that something works; it is figuring out how to implement the evidence and understanding why it works.

Another goal I have for NIJ is transparent decision making. Nothing is more important than a fair and open process in awarding grants, for example; but there is a perception that some of NIJ's work is not transparent, open and competitive. This is a problem, regardless of the reality, that I intend to change.

It is important that everyone at NIJ be engaged in the collective enterprise to make our vision a reality. I believe that leadership is a two-way street. Not everyone has to agree with me. In fact, I welcome the chaos of dissenting ideas. I have "open office hours," a carry-over from my college professor days that is quickly allowing me to get to know everyone and their work. For NIJ to be successful, everyone must be a part of what NIJ is today — but, even more important, what NIJ can be tomorrow: *the* premier science agency focusing on crime and justice.
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov