Supporting quality research into the Western Australian criminal justice system.
The Western Australian Office of Crime Statistics and Research (WACSAR) is responsible for administering an annual grant program to fund research that makes a practical contribution to improving the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in Western Australia.
The 2023 WACSAR Criminal Justice Research Grant Fund invites applications on three research topics based on the Department’s business area needs.
Corrective Services Health Services has developed a Functional Impairment Screening Tool (FIST) to aid in the identification and documentation of the challenges and needs of people in the Department's care. Health Services is now seeking a validation study to validate FIST as a reliable and clinically purposeful tool.
The Department of Justice is seeking research applications to conduct an evaluation of the Therapeutic Pilot Court at the Perth Children’s Court, Dandjoo Bidi-Ak (Dandjoo Bidi-Ak). An evaluation of the operation and effectiveness of Dandjoo Bidi-Ak is required to assess the achievement of its stated aims and objectives, to inform resourcing decisions and refinement of the Protection and Care therapeutic court model. The evaluation must be completed by October 2023. See web page for further information about the Protection and Care Pilot.
This research project is targeted at collecting and evaluating the lived experience of people at the time of re-offending. The proposed research project will engage prisoners within four weeks of the person's return to custody/sentencing. This lived experience information will be used in conjunction with other key research and best practice approaches to inform the development and design of future reintegration programs and/or services aimed at reducing a person’s risk of recidivism. See web page for further information on the reintegration study.
Applicants are invited to apply for funding up to $300,000 to fund a research project over 12 to 24 months. Note that this is the total amount to be distributed across all successful grant projects.
Funding will only be distributed to applications that respond to the Targeted Call for Research.
Responses to this Targeted Call for Research will be assessed against the criteria below. The assessment process will consider the level of risk associated with the project and the risk management approach identified by the applicant when assessing each of the criteria.
WACSAR will complete the initial assessment stage and score all applications against the criteria. The applications will be ranked and in consultation with the relevant Business Area(s), a shortlist of 10 applications will be recommended to progress to the next assessment stage.
Successful applications will be selected from the shortlist by the Executive Committee of the WACSAR Advisory Board. The Executive Committee comprises the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, the Commissioner for Western Australian Police, the Deputy Director of the Australian Institute of Criminology and is chaired by the Director General of the Department of Justice.
The Executive Committee will convene in April 2023.
All applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
|
Selection Criteria |
Percentage |
|
Practical application and contribution to improved outcomes for Western Australians in contact with the criminal justice system |
15 |
|
Cultural safety for Aboriginal Western Australians |
10 |
|
Impact on Aboriginal Western Australians |
10 |
|
The likelihood of the proposed research making a substantial and novel contribution to criminological knowledge and practice |
10 |
|
The cost-effectiveness and feasibility of the research |
10 |
|
Soundness of the design and methodology |
15 |
|
The competence and availability of the applicant(s), principal investigator(s) or supervisor(s) to undertake or oversee the proposed research |
15 |
|
Availability of data |
10 |
|
Level of additional in-kind contributions from partner agencies or organisations |
5 |
Upon acceptance of a grant offer, the original application form will be forwarded to the Research Applications and Advisory Committee (RAAC) for business area review.
IMPORTANT: Please read the information below to assist you in completing your application online.
You may begin anywhere in this application form. Please ensure you save as you go.
For queries about the guidelines, deadlines, or questions in the form, please contact us on 9264 6276 during business hours or email WACSARResearchGrants@justice.wa.gov.au and quote your submission number.
If you need more help using this form, download the Help Guide for Applicants or check out Applicant Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
On every screen (page of the form) you will find a Form Navigation contents box, this links directly to every page of the application. Click the link to jump directly to the page you want.
You can also click 'next page' or 'previous page' on the top or bottom of each page to move forward or backward through the application.
If you wish to leave a partially completed application, press 'save and close' and log out. When you log back in and click on the 'My Submissions' link at the top of the screen, you will find a list of any applications you have started or submitted. You can reopen your draft application and start where you left off.
You can also download any application, whether draft or completed, as a PDF. Click on the 'Download PDF' button located at the bottom of the last page of the application form.
You will find a Review and Submit button at the bottom of the Navigation Panel. You need to review your application before you can submit it.
Once you have reviewed your application you can submit it by clicking on 'Submit' at the top or bottom of the screen or on the navigation panel. You will not be able to submit your application until all the compulsory questions are completed and there are no validation errors.
Once you have submitted your application, no further editing or uploading of support materials is possible.
When you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your submitted application attached. This will be sent to the email you used to register.
If you do not receive a confirmation of submission email, then you should presume that your submission has NOT been submitted.
Hint: also check the email hasn't landed in your spam or junk email folder.
You may need to upload/submit attachments to support your application. This is very simple but requires you to have the documents saved on your computer or a storage device.
You need to allow enough time for each file to upload before trying to attach another file. Files can be up to 25MB each; however, we do recommend trying to keep files to a maximum of 5MB – the larger the file, the longer the upload time.
Several people can work on an application using the same login details as long as only one person is working at a time. Ensure you save as you go.
Most internet browsers (including Firefox v2.0 and above; Safari; and Google Chrome) have spell-checking facilities built in – you can switch this function on or off by adjusting your browser settings.