Collaborative Research: Broadening Participation and Perspective in the Study of Crime and Justice

The Summer Research Institute (SRI) of the Racial Democracy, Crime and Justice Network (RDCJN) is an intensive three-week program to promote the long-term research and career successes of early career, tenure-track scholars from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds studying crime and justice by providing support for high-quality research, writing, and publishing. About a third of RDCJN members and SRI alumni focus their research on youth and have studied ways to reduce youth inequalities within the criminal justice system and other policy areas that interact with this system. Alumni have collectively published over 500 papers since their participation in the program, and the majority of alumni have been successful in securing tenure. SRI participants develop either a research paper or grant proposal with guidance from a senior faculty mentor, attend professional development workshops on career planning and navigating the academy, and build supportive peer networks. The SRI concludes with a two-day symposium for all RDCJN members, in which participants present the research that has been the focus of their time at the institute, network with other members, and explore opportunities for research collaborations.