Overview
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in partnership with the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE), held a Forensic Science Research Federal Stakeholders meeting on November 8, 2021 from 9:00AM to 1:00PM ET. This half-day session was open to the public, which allowed external forensic science research stakeholders to gain awareness of federal research activities and help identify areas that may need additional collaboration.
This half-day public session was intended for stakeholders from crime laboratories, medical examiner/coroner offices, academic research institutions, and other entities within the criminal justice system, such as law enforcement, officers of the court, and policymakers. This public session also included a presentation on NIJ’s Forensic Laboratory Needs Technology Working Group (FLN-TWG) to facilitate discussions on the needs, challenges, and solutions towards implementing research products into operational practice.
Objectives
The objectives of this meeting included:
- Facilitating a greater understanding and awareness of the various federal efforts, current initiatives, and strategic plans related to forensic science research.
- Identifying current partnerships and potential opportunities for federal agencies to partner and leverage each other’s strengths.
- Gaining insight into NIJ’s Forensic Laboratory Needs Technical Working Group past and future activities.
- Coordinating the vast array of federal forensic science research and development by establishing a regular exchange of information.
- Ascertaining opportunities for coordination with state and local forensic science service providers, academic researchers, and other criminal justice system stakeholders.
- Recognizing opportunities for technology transition from research into practice.
- Informing future updates for the public-facing reports on the landscape of federally funded forensic science research. See the FTCOE report on Federal Forensic Science Research and Development Programs – A 2021 Update.
Meeting Information
Resources
Funding for this Forensic Technology Center of Excellence event has been provided by the National Institute of Justice.
Please contact us at ForensicCOE@rti.org for any questions.
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