A successful effort to improve justice information integration depends on convincing leaders at all levels of government of the importance and benefits of integration. The US Department of Justice, through the Office of Justice Programs, commissioned CTG to provide a guide for developing an effective business case to present to those leaders. The result was a Guide for making an effective business case for integration projects to elected leaders and senior executives.

The Guide is based on:

• A reconnaissance study of the information integration issues, barriers, and resources typical at different levels of government and in different kinds of agency and community settings.
• An intergovernmental workshop to establish what should be in a business case and strategies for presenting it.
• Analysis of the requirements for preparing a multifaceted business case for use in different settings.

The Guide also includes links and references to a rich set of resources to support integration project planning and business case development.

Efforts to improve public safety in the United States are pointing to an increasing need for justice agencies to share information. This guidebook offers a series of lessons and tools justice officials can use to build business cases to win support and funding for integrated justice information systems.

This five-page report summarizes the work conducted at the June 1999 workshop. The document recounts the workshop's context and purpose, participants and activities, themes, proposed strategies, and next steps in the project.

• United States Department of Justice , Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance

• David Connelly, Graduate Student
• Anthony Cresswell, Research Director
• Sharon Dawes, Director
• Mark LaVigne, Project Associate
• Shrilata Nath, Project Associate
• Theresa Pardo, Project Director
• Stephanie Simon, Information Coordinator

The Honorable Patrice Bataglia

Mr. Brian Beamish

Dr. Peter Bloniarz

Mr. David Boyer

Mr. J. Carey Brown

Mr. David Connelly

Mr. Ronald Cooke

Mr. Gary R. Cooper

Dr. Anthony M. Cresswell

Dr. Sharon Dawes

Ms. Karen E. Duffala

Ms. Winsome Foderingham

Ms. Anne E. Gardner

Mr. Patrick J. Garvey

Mr. David Gavin

Ms. Sally Goodall

Mr. Robert Greeves

Mr. Richard J. Gross

Ms. Kelly J. Harris

Mr. Dennis Hausman

Mr. Robert J. Helten

Dr. Thomas Henderson

Mr. Herbert H. Henry, III

Mr. Arnold J. Hopkins

The Honorable Steve Kelley

Mr. Paul R. Kendall

Noble Kennamer, Esq.

Ms. Fern Laethem

Mr. Robert D. LaMoria

Mr. Mark LaVigne

The Honorable Michael P. Lawlor

The Honorable Timothy Loewenstein

Mr. Michael M. Losavio

Mr. José McLoughlin

Mr. James McNeil

Ms. Shrilata Nath

Ms. Lori Nicely

The Honorable Allen Olson

Dr. Theresa A. Pardo

Ms. Alison Poe

Ms. Janet Quist

Ms. Amy Roberts

Mr. James Ruda

The Honorable Harold See

Mr. James F. Shea

Ms. Stephanie Simon

Commissioner Mark Stenglein

Mr. Ted Stoica

Ms. Sande Sunde

Ms. Aldona K. Valicenti

Mr. Scott Wallace

Mr. Richard H. Ward, III

Mr. Roy Washington

Mr. Ronald Wiborg

Mr. Carl A. Wicklund

Honorable Anthony M. Wilhoit

Mr. Neil A. Woerman

Dr. Michael R. Zimmerman

This project was supported by Award No. 1999-LD-VX-K004 funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, US Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice.

One of the key factors identified through a series of discussions the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has had with state and local agencies is the need for outreach to leaders, at all three levels of government, concerning the importance and benefits of integration within the criminal justice systems integration.

In a meeting attended by representatives of 25 states, participants expressed a strong need for a "business case" for integration that can be promoted nationwide. The report of that meeting states:

"Executive level sponsors are critical to state and local initiatives... There is a need to develop an outreach/education strategy immediately. The strategy should be based on a business case and include a mission statement for the Integration Initiative. Emphasis should be on reaching elected officials and senior policy makers."

The report also emphasizes the need for a definition of "integration," and acknowledges that the term means different things to different people.

CTG assisted OJP in the development of a "Business Case for Criminal Justice Systems Integration" by working with a selected group of federal, state, and local officials to describe the audiences they must address, the issues these audiences face, and the arguments that will be persuasive to them. Equally important, this work further addresses the interplay of federal, state, and local needs, resources, and goals that were a major feature of the DOJ-sponsored meetings. The results recommend tools and strategies to help elected leaders and senior executives understand their roles and choices.

The Center assisted in this work in several ways:

• Conducted a brief reconnaissance study of the issues, barriers, and resources typical at different levels of government and in different kinds of agency and community settings.
• Conducted an intergovernmental workshop to establish the common and unique criteria by which different categories of policy makers assess investments in integrated systems and programs.
• Prepared a multi-faceted business case for use in different settings.
• Developed a report to the Office of Justice Programs about the conflicts, synergies, and gaps that need to be addressed in national policies and programs to promote integration.

OJP's goals are to respond quickly, across the bureaus and offices, to newly emerging issues; to institute the vision and priorities of the Attorney General, the President, and the Congress; and to ensure that they are advancing a comprehensive and coherent program to address public safety needs in this country.

SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, is dedicated to improving the criminal justice system and the quality of justice through better information management, the effective application of information and identification technology, and responsible law and policy.

Center for Technology in Government
University at Albany, SUNY
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Albany, NY 12205
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