Bridging the Gap Integrating Crime Victims Services Research and Practice

Under the Bridging the Gap in Victim-Related Research to Practice project, the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) will undertake an assessment of victim service providers' level of awareness and knowledge about the benefits of research and evaluation for their work, paired with an assessment of researchers' interest in, and capacity for, translating their work for a practitioner audience. Under this project, NCVC, in partnership with the Urban Institute and the Justice Research and Statistics Association, will carry out a comprehensive, multifaceted approach to this assessment. Assessment activities will include: (1) a literature review looking at prior efforts to integrate victim services research and practice and lessons learned; (2) interviews with 25-30 researchers and practitioners working to integrate research and practice; (3) surveys of researchers and practitioners; and (4) six case studies in sites that have shown promising efforts in the integration of victim services research and practice. NCVC and its partners then will develop recommendations based on the assessment and draft a final report of the assessment findings and the resulting recommendations. ca/ncf