Here at JMI, we’ve been busy thinking about how we better define our values, our work, and the impact we have on the justice system and the communities they serve. Toward these ends, we are committed to designing systemic and sustainable change by making justice systems more fair, more equitable, and more effective. The JMI team’s work is grounded in our values of collaboration, outcome-orientation, and capacity building. Each project we undertake is locally defined, working in collaboration with justice practitioners and community, to help drive innovation to address areas of concern identified and to implement sustainable change for better system outcomes.
As you will see in our new branding, change is a central theme—represented by water and movement. We recognized that water, as a symbol, is both nurturing and a change agent—nourishing and sustaining while at the same time capable of reshaping landscapes. In the context of the justice system, one new policy or strategy can have a ripple effect across entire systems and communities. This is how we think of our work—systemically—when one part of the system changes it necessarily impacts the whole. Uncontrolled, fragmented, impulsive, or unresearched change can overwhelm the system, clog the system, or have significant unintended impacts on the communities that justice systems serve.
Circles are also prominent in our new look—representing our holistic approach that is outcome-driven and locally focused using JMI’s proven methodology to help justice system stakeholders achieve fairer, more equitable, and more effective results. Our methodology includes four distinct phases that include a discovery, impact, outcome, and change phase. Whether we’re engaged in collaborative system design™, research and education, or practice development and education, JMI’s work starts first with discovery—working with stakeholders to define the need and focus areas as well as the local context and culture. The next phases focus on defining how the project focus areas impact the system and the community and explores the intended outcomes. And finally, during the last phase, the JMI team defines and works collaboratively with stakeholders to implement strategies, research findings, or educational programming to address the focus areas and achieve the desired outcomes.
Finally, we are elevating our peer learning groups, known as connected communities. JMI now has several connected communities that are focused on building systemic capacity. Each community brings together individuals from the justice system to address a variety of topics—from criminal justice coordination as part of the National Network of Criminal Justice Coordinating Councils to case processing challenges through the CasePro Network. Communities are free but membership-based, and we encourage you to check them out to see if there is a right fit for you or someone in your jurisdiction.
As you can tell, we are excited to launch our new look, our new website, and the new JMI! We invite you to explore the new website, take an organizational assessment, and use the resources and tools that are now available online (with more coming in the next couple of months). We hope you’ll be as excited as we are and we look forward to continuing helping systems and communities in the United States and internationally design the systemic change that is right for them!
The JMI Team