Grassroots Organizations Using Local Data for Criminal Legal System Reform

Session Submission Type: Complete Thematic Panel

Abstract/Description

This panel will share findings and highlight accomplishments of Microsoft Catalyst Grant Awardees who have used qualitative methods and the lived experience of their community to advance racial equity in the criminal legal system. We will uplift the work of data-to-action projects done by local community organizations who have leveraged relationships and their place in the community to collect and interpret data. Grantees being discussed have leveraged different qualitative methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, listening sessions, and semi-structured surveys to address different criminal legal system issues in policing, prosecution, and system-prevention strategies, and supplement difficulties in data accessibility on the ground.
Results: Awardees see different outcomes, including improving data transparency and accessibility for the community, increasing their own internal capacity, and informing policy recommendation. Conclusions/Implications: Grassroots organizations have some challenges in gaining access to data, but their position in the community allows them to leverage those relationships to provide deeper context, nuance, and storytelling for criminal legal system issues. Their work can better inform policy, and support efforts to make change to the system.

Sub Unit

• Area XI. Methodology / 78. Advances in Qualitative Methods

Chair

• Susan Nembhard, The Urban Institute / John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Individual Presentations

• Working With and Learning From Catalyst Grantees - Lyndsey Paige Delouya, Urban Institute; Lily Robin, The Urban Institute

• Qualitative Methods as Used by Local Grassroots Organizations - Susan Nembhard, The Urban Institute / John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Lyndsey Paige Delouya, Urban Institute

• Engaging the Community to Inform Change - Lyndsey Paige Delouya, Urban Institute; Susan Nembhard, The Urban Institute / John Jay College of Criminal Justice

Discussants

• Lily Robin, The Urban Institute

• Lyndsey Paige Delouya, Urban Institute

Organized by a Division or external group?

This panel is organized by the Urban Institute.