NIJ's Scientific Review Panels: New "Standing" Panels for Grant Application Peer Review Beginning in 2012
Pilot Solicitations
The following solicitations will be part of the pilot project:- Basic Scientific Research to Support Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
- Applied Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
- Evaluating the Impact of the NIJ Body Armor Program
- Replication Research on Sexual Violence Case Attrition
- Longitudinal Data on Teen Dating Violence: Postdoctoral Fellowship
- The Impact of Different Safety Equipment Modalities on Reducing Correctional Officer Injuries
- Research on Policing
- Determining the Relationship Between Stress and Unexplained In-Custody Deaths
- Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women: Sexual Violence, Stalking, and Teen Dating Violence
- Research and Evaluation in Justice Systems
- Research on the Impact of Technology on Policing Strategies in the 21st Century
At the NIJ Conference this June, NIJ Director John Laub announced NIJ's plans to pilot standing peer review panels for five substantive areas in NIJ. NIJ's Scientific Review Panels (SRPs) will replace the smaller "ad hoc" review panels that have been NIJ's primary review mechanism in the past. This effort signals several important changes to strengthen NIJ's peer review of grant applications. For example, the new SRPs will be larger than the panels NIJ currently uses — 12 scientific reviewers and six practitioner reviewers will serve on each SRP, providing greater quality and breadth to the review process. Since the members of the SRP will be appointed for overlapping 3-year terms, a greater level of consistency will be maintained from year to year. Finally, a new scoring procedure will bring greater transparency to the peer review process.
NIJ anticipates that pilot SRPs will support grant application peer review in five specific research areas within crime control and prevention, violence and victimization, justice systems research, physical science and technology, and forensic research. The specific research topics within these research areas are still being finalized. The balance of NIJ's research programs will review grant applications using customary review panels.
For additional information about how the SRPs will operate, see the presentation from the 2011 NIJ Conference.
Beyond the five program areas served by the SRPs, NIJ will continue to rely on its customary peer review process. Learn more about NIJ's current peer review panels and how to serve on them.
Nominating Peer Reviewers
NIJ is no longer accepting nominations for FY 2012 Scientific Review Panels. Final selection of SRP members is nearing completion, and all those who have already applied will be notified shortly.
If you wish to be considered for future NIJ standing peer review panels or for other peer review panels, please register on NIJ's Consultant Information System Exit Notice. Thank you for your interest in NIJ's research programs.
