The NIJ is the research and development arm of the U.S. Justice Department. Created by Congress in 1968, NIJ is charged with investing public funds to develop knowledge that will reduce crime, enhance public safety, and improve the administration of justice. This prospectus describes the range of strategies that NIJ uses to implement its statutory mandate. The final section profiles the strategic challenges that NIJ foresees as it builds a capacity for research that can meet the needs of the 21st century. The booklet first describes NIJ's extramural research, which engages the Nation's best researchers to explore crime and justice issues through a diverse, multidisciplinary research program. The funding strategies for this program are open solicitation and directed solicitation. NIJ also conducts foundational research, which supports long-term, multidisciplinary studies that promise significant contributions to the foundation of knowledge for understanding crime and delinquency. NIJ undertakes intramural research as well; this involves research by NIJ staff that meets the standards of peer review, budget review, and policy relevance. This prospectus also describes NIJ's research infrastructure, which encompasses research demonstration programs, technology development, and support for innovative programs and policy development. NIJ envisions five strategic challenges in approaching the year 2000: a critical examination of society's response to crime; understanding the nexus between crime and other social concerns; breaking the cycle between various social problems and crime, such as drug abuse and child abuse; creating new technologies for achieving justice; and looking beyond traditional boundaries, both geographical and intellectual, to develop an understanding of crime and justice issues.