The Pre-RFP Toolkit provides a primer for planning your procurement, but that is just an initial stage of an integrated justice effort. There is much more work ahead when it comes to working with a vendor, planning for, and implementing the technology of choice for your jurisdiction.
The good news is that there are helpful resources available as you move ahead. Section 12 of the Pre-RFP toolkit highlights several organizations that provide such assistance — ranging from peer-to-peer networking among justice information sharing practitioners to organizations you can turn to for short-term technical assistance on any aspect of your integrated justice project. Many of the organizations highlighted in this section have well-developed websites that provide an extensive amount of information about integrated justice, on issues ranging from governance and planning to emerging technologies and trends. This section includes:
12.2 Project Management Resources provides an overview of project management materials offered by the NCSC, PMI, and the IJIS Institute.
12.3 Justice Information Sharing Practitioners (JISP) describes the makeup and purpose of this group of experienced IT managers.
12.4 Office of Justice Programs (OJP) & Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) lists resources available to practitioners on technology, technical assistance, and valuable reference materials.
12.5 SEARCH - The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics provides a description of the National Consortium for Justice Information andStatistics.
12.6 IJIS Institute is a non-profit association that promotes public/private partnerships.
12.7 Forum on the Advancement of Court Technology (FACT) is a part of the National Association for Court Management that promotes public/private partnerships within the court community.
12.2 Project Management Resources
Effective project management is an important cornerstone for the successful planning, procurement, and implementation of integrated justice. There are several sources of information to help justice practitioners learn project management techniques, protocols, and practices.
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a nationally-recognized source of information on technology project management. Established in 1969 and headquartered outside Philadelphia, PMI is the world’s leading not-for-profit project management professional association, with over 200,000 professionals, representing 125 countries. PMI provides global leadership in the development of standards for the practice of the project management profession throughout the world. PMI’s premiere standards document, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), is a globally recognized standard for managing projects in today’s marketplace.
PMI has developed and maintained a rigorous, examination-based, professional certification program to advance the project management profession and to recognize the achievements of individuals in project management. PMI’s Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification is the world’s most recognized professional credential for individuals associated with project management. In 1999, PMI became the first organization in the world to have its Certification Program attain International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 recognition. More information about the PMI and its programs may be found at www.pmi.org.
12.3 Justice Information Sharing Practitioners (JISP)
JISP, the Justice Information Sharing Practitioners, is a grass-roots advocacy group of individuals from state and local agencies who are managing integrated justice efforts. The JISP mission is to increase the sharing of information among state and local justice and public safety integration professionals through peer collaboration and facilitation.
JISP accomplishes these goals in many ways. They maintain an internet mail list (listserv) for JISP members. The objective of this forum is to exchange ideas and lessons learned and to create a network of peers to share information and best practices. The mail list provides the ability to communicate with other JISP members and to send email messages to the registered membership. In order to access the JISP mail list, users must be a registered member of Yahoo! and have a password. Once registered with Yahoo!, members can sign up for the listserv at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JISP.
In addition, JISP publishes a newsletter and participates in several Justice Department-sponsored work groups and national meetings. They also post information to the OJP website, which may be found at www.it.ojp.gov.More information about JISP may be found on its website at www.jisp.us/.
12.4 Office of Justice Programs (OJP) & Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)
The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP) and its Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) have created a number of resources to assist state and local agencies with the planning, procurement, and implementation of integrated justice. For example, BJA provides support to the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global), which is a federal advisory committee (FAC) with a mission of promoting the efficient sharing of data among justice entities. The work of Global drives OJP and BJA priorities with regard to information sharing in the justice community.
Global is a ''group of groups,'' representing more than thirty independent organizations spanning the spectrum of law enforcement, judicial, correctional, and related bodies. Member organizations participate in Global out of shared responsibility and shared belief that, together, they can bring about positive change in inter-organizational communication and data sharing.
Global advises the Justice Department on IT issues and aids its member organizations and the people they serve through a series of important initiatives, including the development of technology standards such as the Global Justice XML Data Model (GJXDM) and standards clearinghouse, creation of white papers on data sharing issues, and the dissemination of information via the Global website.
OJP and BJA disseminate and share information about Global and other IT priority projects via their website at www.it.ojp.gov. In addition to the initiatives mentioned above, the OJP IT webpage includes important information about:
Upcoming technology meetings, training, and events for justice practitioners
News regarding technology initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels
Information about technical assistance supported by the Justice Department in the area of information technology
A library of documents with useful information to help with the planning, procurement, and implementation of integrated justice technology.
12.5 SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics
SEARCH, The National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, is a nonprofit membership organization created by and for the states, which is dedicated to improving the criminal justice system and the quality of justice through better information management, the effective application of information and identification technology, and responsible law and policy.
Since 1969, SEARCH's primary objective has been to identify and help solve the information management problems of state and local justice agencies confronted with the need to exchange information with other local agencies, state agencies, agencies in other states, or with the Federal government. SEARCH accomplishes these goals by providing a number of diverse resources, products, and offerings, such as:
Technical assistance to address specific needs of state and local justice agencies in the area of technology and integration. Specific grants allow SEARCH to provide assistance on the National Criminal History Improvement Program, National Incident Based Reporting System, and Drug Courts information systems, among others
Training on a variety of issues, ranging from investigation of computer crime to education on its Justice Information Exchange Model (JIEM) methodology for capturing data exchanges among justice agencies
Online resources via its website that include extensive information on IT initiatives currently being implemented nationwide, as well as news and policy information related to justice information sharing
Participation on national task forces and development of national models and standards for justice information sharing
Sponsorship of national conferences, symposia, and workshops on a broad array of justice information technology issues
More information about SEARCH may be found on its website at www.search.org.
12.6 IJIS Institute
The IJIS Institute is a national nonprofit association with a mission of promoting public/private partnerships in the area of criminal justice information sharing. The IJIS Institute membership is comprised of private sector firms that have expertise in technology and how it applies to the justice system. Currently, there are more than 140 firms that are members of the IJIS Institute.
The IJIS Institute activities include:
Providing education and consulting advice on technology issues to state and local organizations engaged in building integrated justice systems
Conducting research, development, and demonstration projects designed to develop more efficient and cost effective methods for designing and implementing integrated justice information systems
Promoting the Industry viewpoint within the many forums currently in existence for setting standards for integrated justice information systems
Conducting training courses and seminars that are relevant for the overall improvement of the technology for developing integrated justice information systems
More information about the IJIS Institute may be found on its website at www.ijis.org.
12.7 Forum on the Advancement of Court Technology (FACT)
FACT is a part of the National Association for Court Management (NACM) promoting public/private partnerships in the courts community, which includes criminal justice, family law, civil and traffic. Its members are private sector firms that provide products and services to courts along with public sector court and IT managers.