State Justice Institute Project Grant

The State Justice Institute Project Grant aims to enhance the administration of justice in state courts through innovative projects. It supports education, training, and technical assistance initiatives that demonstrate a need for improvement. Projects are evaluated based on methodology, management capabilities, and potential long-term benefits. Eligible applicants include courts and related organizations, while funds cannot cover routine court operations or salaries of court employees.

Project Grants
Project Grants are the centerpiece of SJI’s efforts to improve the administration of justice in state courts nationwide. Project Grants are intended to support innovative education and training, demonstration, and technical assistance projects that can improve the administration of justice in state courts locally or nationwide.
Selection Criteria
In addition to the criteria detailed below, SJI will consider whether the applicant is a state or local court, a national court support or education organization, a non-court unit of government, or other type of entity eligible to receive grants under SJI’s enabling legislation; the availability of financial assistance from other sources for the project; the diversity of subject matter, geographic diversity; the level and nature of the match that would be provided; reasonableness of the proposed budget; the extent to which the proposed project would also benefit the federal courts or help state or local courts enforce federal constitutional and legislative requirements; and the level of appropriations available to SJI in the current year and the amount expected to be available in succeeding fiscal years, when determining which projects to support.
Project Grant applications will be rated based on the criteria set forth below:
Soundness of the methodologyDemonstration of need for the projectAppropriateness of the proposed evaluation designIf applicable, the key findings and recommendations of the most recent evaluation and the proposed responses to those findings and recommendationsApplicant’s management plan and organizational capabilitiesQualifications of the project’s staffProducts and benefits resulting from the project, including the extent to which the project will have long-term benefits for state courts across the nationDegree to which the findings, procedures, training, technology, or other results of the project can be transferred to other jurisdictionsReasonableness of the proposed budgetDemonstration of cooperation and support of other agencies that may be affected by the project

Eligibility

Examples of expenses not covered by Project Grants include the salaries, benefits, or travel of full-or part-time court employees.

Ineligibility

Funding may not be used for the ordinary, routine operations of court systems.