Grants for Criminal Justice Reform (Unsolicited Proposals) is sponsored by Abelard Foundation. The Abelard Foundation supports early-stage grassroots nonprofits in a broad range of issue areas, including criminal justice reform.

Request for Proposals - Causal Research on the Criminal Justice System | Russell Sage Foundation Request for Proposals - Causal Research on the Criminal Justice System Application Deadline: April 1, 2026, at 2PM ET The Russell Sage Foundation (RSF), in collaboration with the Criminal Justice program at Arnold Ventures (AV) is pleased to announce its second annual grants competition for early-career scholars.

Our goal is to cultivate a pipeline of researchers conducting causal research on the criminal justice system. Criminal justice policies and practices include the work of police, courts, jails, prisons, probation and parole, and immigration detention. Proposals must include causal research designs that can reliably isolate the treatment effects of a policy, practice, or intervention.

Examples include difference-in-differences, regression discontinuity, instrumental variables, and randomized controlled trials. Mixed methods projects will be considered if a causal research design is central to the proposal. Applicants must be tenure-track assistant professors at a college or university in the U.S. at the start of the grant period.

We encourage applicants who have not previously received RSF support. The program prioritizes disciplinary diversity and welcomes applications from scholars who are underrepresented in the social sciences, and/or employed at under-resourced universities. Proposals for one-year projects are due on April 1, 2026, for funding starting October 1, 2026.

The maximum grant is $100,000 (including 15% indirect costs). Funds can be used for up to two months of PI salary (for each eligible PI/Co-PI), research assistance, research travel, data access, data collection, subject payments, conference travel, and other research expenses. Mentorship and Research Conference RSF will pair grantees with mentors, senior scholars conducting research on related issues.

Grantees will present their findings at a conference during Fall 2027 or Winter 2028 where other grantees, mentors, and other senior scholars will participate. The conference is designed to provide constructive feedback on early research results and to foster collaboration among early career and senior scholars. RSF will reimburse participants for reasonable travel and lodging expenses to attend the conference.

The topics listed below are not exhaustive, are related to RSF’s core priority areas: race, ethnicity, and immigration; social, political, and economic inequality; and behavioral science and decision-making in context. We will consider proposals on the effects of both the criminal justice system for both adults and juveniles.

Sentencing Policy and Post-Prison Outcomes The effects of sentencing policies and incarceration on the educational attainment, employment, crime, and mobility of individuals and communities, and how effects vary by socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, gender, and geographic factors. The effects of incarceration of family members on young adult’s opportunities in education, employment and housing.

The impacts of court-ordered fees, community supervision, or reentry programs on recidivism, employment, education, housing, and other outcomes. The Effects of Social Policy on Community Safety and Criminal Justice Involvement The effects of educational, housing, mental health, physical health, and other social program participation on criminal behavior and criminal justice involvement.

We are particularly interested in proposals that can inform discussion of the relative impact of criminal versus non-criminal justice interventions on public safety. The downstream effects on crime and criminal justice outcomes of enhancing economic opportunities such as through the provision of baby bonds, income supports, housing subsidies, summer jobs, and increased minimum wages.

The downstream effects on criminal justice outcomes of public health, urban planning, and situational prevention interventions such as environmental improvements like greening vacant lots, remediating abandoned buildings, cleaning up litter and debris, and improving street lighting.

The effects of Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI), diversion, or specialty courts on recidivism, and racial/ethnic disparities in criminal justice outcomes. The effects of violence and crime on neighborhoods and the socio-economic well-being of families. The effects of programs controlling criminogenic commodities such as firearms, drugs, and alcohol on crime and violence.

The effects of programs and policies that seek to enhance life outcomes for victims of crime and those involved in the criminal justice system. Decision-Making, Bias, and Disparities The effects of criminal justice policies and practices on racial and ethnic disparities in arrests, convictions, and sentences.

The role of behaviors and decision-making of criminal justice officials and interventions to improve fairness and reduce racial/ethnic disparities in arrests, convictions and sentencing. The consequences of “big data,” predictive tools, and AI for how police, courts, and prisons operate.

The effects of court docket size on the quality of adjudication outcomes and racial/ethnic disparities in outcomes Policing, Courts, and Criminal Processing The impacts of proactive policing programs on crime, disorder, racial / ethnic disparities, punishment, community sentiment, and individual perceptions of the police.

The effects of recruitment strategies, retention strategies, and training programs for police officers, court officers, and correctional officers that prioritize the use of administrative data on interaction with civilians, arrestees, or incarcerated people as outcomes.

The effects of programs designed to de-escalate tense police-citizen encounters, reduce unnecessary police use of force, ensure the lawfulness of police actions, and enhance procedural justice and police legitimacy.

The effects on court and crime outcomes of prosecutorial policies and practices (e.g., early screening, specialized prosecution, efficiency-enhancing operational reforms) The effects of oversight, training, and selection on the quality of indigent defense in misdemeanor and felony courts Proposals are limited to 10 single-spaced pages (12-point font) and should include a very brief literature review, detailed information on the research question, hypotheses, research methods, data, analytic plan, project timeline, and brief budget estimates.

An abbreviated (5-page) CV is required for each investigator. Full budgets and budget justifications will only be requested from those selected for funding. Applications must be submitted via the Foundation’s FLUXX portal .

Click on “Apply for an Early Career Grant (Sheldon Danziger Pipeline or CRCJS)” and select “Causal Research on the Criminal Justice System” as the Application Type. Learn more about RSF’s grant writing guidelines, example proposals, and an instructional video on applying to RSF through Fluxx here . Submit a letter of inquiry (LOI) or invited project proposal Detailed information about budget requirements