In order to better prioritize its research funding to reflect practitioners' needs, NIJ has held "listening sessions," during which NIJ staff listen to representatives of various practitioner organizations to identify areas where they need answers and guidance that must be based on sound research. Examples show how these "listening sessions" have led to fruitful NIJ research that has guided practitioners' work. NIJ is also maximizing Federal research dollars by consulting and partnering with other Federal agencies to identify ways in which research investments by other Federal agencies can be applied to criminal justice; for example, NIJ has drawn from research done by the Centers for Disease Control on issues of violence and has used research by the Defense Department in developing new technology for law enforcement. Another NIJ effort to relate its work to practitioners' work is its Visiting Fellowship Program, which introduces selected practitioners to the value of research and how it applies to criminal justice policy and practice.