Phases

These are five phases of NIC’s Evidence-Based Decision Making (EBDM) initiative:

Phase I Framework Development: Project partners worked with NIC and a multidisciplinary advisory committee to develop the Framework, with the intent to define risk and harm reduction as fundamental goals of the justice system, summarize the strongest of the evidence-based research, and outline a structure and set of principles for achieving EBDM in local justice systems.  

Phase II Planning Process: The initiative competitively selected and worked with seven sites as they engaged in a planning process to prepare to implement their local interpretation of the Framework. Their implementation plans were submitted to NIC in June 2011. Read more

Phase III ImplementationSince August 2011, NIC has provided technical assistance to all seven sites:

  • Eau Claire County, Wisconsin
  • Mesa County, Colorado                                                        
  • Ramsey County, Minnesota
  • Grant County, Indiana
  • Yamhill County, Oregon
  • City of Charlottesville/County of Albemarle, Virginia
  • Milwaukee County, Wisconsin

EBDM project staff will continue to work with the sites through the end of 2013 to revise their local work plans, assist them in implementing key change strategies, and collect data and other information to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies in meeting their system wide scorecards.

Phase IV Expansion to Statewide Structure: In September 2013, NIC entered into a cooperative agreement with the Center for Effective Public Policy to expand EBDM to the state level. Work under this phase of the Initiative includes the provision of technical assistance and the development of tools and protocols to expand EBDM to additional local counties and to state level policy groups within those states with existing EBDM local sites. In support of this work, NIC and the Center partnered with officials in the State of Wisconsin to develop and pilot a statewide Summit on EBDM in January 2014. The purpose of the EBDM Summit was to pilot test the Initiative’s state-level protocols. Read more about the results of the Summit.

Phase V: Under Phase V of EBDM, the selected state(s) will receive up to 15 months of intensive technical assistance (TA) to begin the work of EBDM at the state level and in multiple local jurisdictions. While Phase IV is focused on building capacity and preparing to expand EBDM efforts in the state, the goal of Phase V is to build capacity to make evidence-based decisions at the individual, agency, and system levels, and to develop plans for implementing systemwide change strategies that will align state and local officials/jurisdictions with one another and with the principles of EBDM. Phase V is a planning phase, similar to the planning process seven EBDM local sites engaged in during Phase II. Full implementation of EBDM strategies is anticipated in Phase VI (the implementation phase).