Frequently Asked Questions
General information on JusticeMakers
What is JusticeMakers?
Why is JusticeMakers important?
What is the purpose of justicemakers.net?
The Rating Process
What is the rating about?
How do you determine the winner?
What if two projects have the same rating?
Who can participate in the rating?
Are the competitors allowed to rate their own project?
How many times can I rate a project?
How can I rate a specific project?
Can I read the whole project before rating it?
How can I let my friends and colleagues know about the rating?
How can a finalist achieve a high rating?
Preliminary Application Questions
How do I access the online application?
Will other people be able to see my application?
Do I need to "Submit" my preliminary application to make it public?
Why would I wait to "Submit Prelim Application"?
I submitted my project idea and I'd like to make additional changes. What can I do?
Is there a secondary application?
Understanding the JusticeMakers Competition
What are the dates of the competition?
How do I enter the competition?
What will I receive if I win the competition?
How will the winners be selected?
Who can enter the competition?
Can I remain anonymous?
Does it cost anything to enter?
How will the competition work?
What languages can I use to apply?
What are examples of good ideas for promoting justice in my community?
Contributing to JusticeMakers
How can I contribute to JusticeMakers?
Background on JusticeMakers
How is JusticeMakers funded?
How is JusticeMakers different from Ashoka's Changemakers?
Is Ashoka involved in JusticeMakers?
Background on International Bridges to Justice
How is JusticeMakers connected to International Bridges to Justice?
What is International Bridges to Justice (IBJ)?
How is IBJ funded?
What is IBJ's mission?
General Information on JusticeMakers
What is JusticeMakers?
JusticeMakers is an online community that shares intellectual capital and best practices in the field of criminal justice and provides an online support structure for criminal justice stakeholders around the world. The site hosts competitions, facilitates discussions, shares IBJ's online defender eLearning training curricula, and connects passionate members of the criminal defense community with their counterparts from around the world.
A project of International Bridges to Justice (IBJ), JusticeMakers seeks to unleash the collective energies of criminal defenders from around the world and realize the vast potential of international human rights legislation. International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that was founded in 2000 with a vision to end torture in the 21st Century through the just implementation of criminal laws. IBJ works with the public defender, or legal aid lawyer, to reinforce the protection for, and the individual dignity of, people facing criminal prosecution in developing and transitional countries. JusticeMakers represents IBJ’s first programmatic foray into the online world and the platform upon which we hope to dramatically scale our impact
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Why is JusticeMakers important?
1. JusticeMakers empowers and supports criminal defense experts around the world to provide immediate assistance to people facing criminal prosecution.
2. As a publicity tool, JusticeMakers brings criminal defense to the forefront of the human rights conversation. This, in turn, will bring more resources - both in terms of funding and personnel - to the criminal justice movement.
3. The competition creates an online, interactive community for criminal justice advocates. The site provides participants with ongoing support, feedback, and a venue for collaboration, and it will do so long after the first competition has concluded.
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What is the purpose of justicemakers.net?
Justicemakers.net was created as a gathering place for the global criminal justice community. We will host competitions, facilitate discussions, and connect you to extraordinary individuals from around the world who share your passions for criminal defense. Ultimately, we hope the site can help you to realize your dreams of a more just and equitable future.
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The Rating Process
What is the rating about?
During a competition, registered users have the opportunity to rate each project idea on a scale of 1 to 5. Seven of the $5,000 awards will be granted by JusticeMakers' Judges who will rate the finalist’s project on the basis of specific judging criteria. The eighth cash prize will be granted to the project idea which has received the highest aggregate score from registered JusticeMakers community members through the rating process. Currently, as there is no ongoing competition, you will not be able to rate projects. This feature will become active once we begin our second JusticeMakers competition.
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How do you determine the winner?
As a result of the rating process, the project with the highest aggregate score wins the People’s Choice Award.
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What if two projects have the same rating?
If there are two or more projects that share the highest aggregate score, the project which received the largest number of evaluations wins.
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Who can participate in the rating?
Only registered JusticeMakers users can participate. Registration for JusticeMakers is free, and is open to anyone who has a passion for justice.
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Are the competitors allowed to rate their own project??
Competitors are allowed to rate their own project.
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How many times can I rate a project?
Each registered user can rate each project once. You can thus rate as few or as many projects as you want but their rating will only count once per project. While you can actually go through the rating process several times, your rating will only be registered once.
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How can I rate a specific project?
At the moment, registered users cannot evaluate a specific project because there is no ongoing competition. Once we announce our second competition, registered users will be able to evaluate a specific project by going to Competition > Browse Projects in the top navigation, selecting the project, and clicking the "Rate Me" icon at the top of the page.
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Can I read the whole project before rating it?
Should registered users want to learn more about a project before assigning a score, they can click the project name at the top of the evaluation page to be taken to the detailed project application. They would simply click the "Rate Me" icon to return to the evaluation page.
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How can I let my friends and colleagues know about the rating?
Encourage your friends, colleagues, family and community members and partners to register on JusticeMakers.net. Having done this, they will be able to rate your project idea. You will find in the resource page a template letter that you can send to your friends. Also, post one of the JusticeMakers Rating Banners on your website to let your users know about this opportunity to have their voice heard. These are available on the resources page of the site.
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How can a finalist achieve a high rating?
Here are some specific steps finalist can take to boost their rating:
1. They can select and upload a compelling project image. This can be an image of one of their previous projects, an image of your community, etc. They should go through the rating process guide for specific do’s and don’ts relating to pictures. They can always email their photo to us directly at
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2. They should ensure that their answer to the first question on the Secondary Application - "Briefly summarize your project" meets the following criteria:
a. It is under the 500 character count, including spaces. (They can check this by pasting their response in Microsoft Word and using the Tools > Word Count Function.) Responses that are longer than this 500 character limit will be automatically truncated to meet the criterion.
b. The message clearly communicates the location, beneficiaries, the activities and the likely impact of the project, and does so in language ordinary people can understand.
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Preliminary Application Questions
How do I access the online application?
Try clicking "Go to Application" in the navigation on the left hand side (after you login).
If you are yet to complete the mandatory profile fields, you will get an alert telling you that there are certain fields missing. After providing this information, try again clicking "Go to Application" in the navigation on the left hand side.
You will be asked to confirm that your profile is complete. You will then be logged out so the system can process your request.
Login again. You should see an "Edit Prelim Application" link available in the left hand navigation bar.
Click "Edit Prelim Application," to gain access to the fields where you can provide your project information.
This feature will become available once we begin our next competition.
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Will other people be able to see my application?
Any information on you provide will be available to the general public as soon as you click the "Update" button at the bottom of the Profile or Preliminary Application form.
You can adjust these settings by going to Edit Profile > Profile Privacy Control.
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Do I need to "Submit" my preliminary application to make it public?
No. You can share your project information simply by clicking the "Update" button at the bottom of the preliminary application form.
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Why would I wait to "Submit Prelim Application"?
This is beneficial should you want to solicit feedback on your project idea and edit the content prior to the official submission deadline. When you follow the “Submit Prelim Application” link, your project is locked for evaluation.
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I submitted my project idea and I'd like to make additional changes. What can I do?
Email us at
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and we'll be happy to assist you.
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Is there a Secondary Application?
Yes. After a preliminary judging period, qualifying competitors will get access to a secondary application where they can provide additional information about their project ideas.
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Understanding the JusticeMakers Competition
What are the dates of the competition?
The first round of the inaugural JusticeMakers competition was launched in late June, 2008. Winners were announced in late October, 2008. The dates of our upcoming competition are yet to be announced, so please check back soon for more information.
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How do I enter the competition?
Go to www.justicemakers.net/register.
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What will I receive if I win the competition?
Winners will receive (among other benefits to be named):
1. $5,000 to implement their idea locally
2. Global exposure via JusticeMakers press releases and events
3. Access to secondary funders through JusticeMakers’ partner organizations.
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How will the winners be selected?
Seven winners will be selected by a panel of esteemed judges who are experts in criminal justice. An additional winner will be selected by a public rating system.
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Who can enter the competition?
Participants could include (but are not limited to) police, public defenders, prosecutors, and government officials. Participants could be anyone, anywhere in the world, with an understanding of their local criminal justice system and an idea to protect people facing criminal prosecution.
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Can I remain anonymous?
Yes. All users will have the ability to remain anonymous in their interactions with other members of the site. While anonymity is not encouraged, we recognize that criminal justice reform can be an intimidating and confrontational task. To that end, we want to protect the people who are bold enough to come forward with solutions. (For the purposes of due diligence and distribution of prizes, users must provide their contact information to JusticeMakers staff.)
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Does it cost anything to enter?
Entry in the JusticeMakers competition is entirely free of charge.
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How will the competition work?
The basic flow of the competition is as follows:
Registration and Creation of Public Profile > Preliminary Application with Community Feedback > Finalists Selected > Detailed Application with Community Feedback > Evaluation and Public Rating > Winners Announced.
Applicants start by providing basic information about themselves and their background in criminal justice. They then outline basic information about a specific, tangible idea for improving criminal justice in their home communities. The idea is published on the website, along with the applicants’ personal profile. After a period of feedback from other members of the community, applicants finalize their idea descriptions for a preliminary round of judging. Those applicants making it to the final round will be asked to provide detailed information as to how they would implement the idea should they receive the prize money. Again, there will an opportunity to receive feedback on their application before final submission. Winners will be determined through a combination of a public rating system and evaluation by a panel of esteemed judges.
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What languages can I use to apply?
Applications will be accepted in English, Spanish and French. With that said, we encourage all applicants to apply in English if possible. This will cut down on our need for translators and make your original work more widely accessible to the criminal justice community.
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What are examples of good ideas for promoting justice in my community?
There are dozens, if not hundreds of wonderful ideas to promote criminal justice in your own community. Nonetheless, we understand that it might be difficult to think concretely about such a abstract concept as criminal justice. To that end, here are some ideas we found particularly promising:
- Legal aid lawyers are based at police stations to ensure accused persons have access to counsel.
- Childcare at the courthouse to make it easier for women defendants to attend proceedings.
- A mobile arraignment court so more accused persons understand the charges against them.
- Community service programs and alternatives to custodial sentencing to ease overcrowding in prisons.
- A microfinance legal insurance product so people have funding to secure counsel.
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Contributing to JusticeMakers
How can I contribute to JusticeMakers?
JusticeMakers is a project of International Bridges to Justice. To make a donation via credit card through Network for Good, please click here.
For those donors looking to have a specific impact, we have two options:
1. Contribute to the overall pool of prize money, ensuring that more innovators get the funding they need to realize their ideas.
2. Earmark funds for projects stemming from specific regions or nationalities.
Funding Partners making larger contributions to JusticeMakers can also set the overall theme of a competition - ensuring that criminal justice community is focused on the topics you find most dear.
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Background on JusticeMakers
How is JusticeMakers funded?
JusticeMakers is funded through the generous support of individual donors.
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How is JusticeMakers different from Ashoka's Changemakers?
JusticeMakers is an online competition that serves innovators within criminal justice, focusing on themes such as rule of law, fair trial, and the prevention of torture. JusticeMakers is an initiative of International Bridges to Justice. Changemakers, by contrast, uses its competition to address a broad spectrum of issues, ranging from healthcare to sport to tourism. Changemakers is a project of Ashoka. If you are interested in solving problems in your community that do not relate specifically to criminal justice, Changemakers may be a more relevant competition.
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Is Ashoka involved in JusticeMakers?
We are very much inspired by Changemakers and owe a great deal of thanks to the Ashoka team for their guidance in JusticeMakers’ development. With that said, JusticeMakers is an independent initiative of International Bridges to Justice.
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Background on International Bridges to Justice
How is JusticeMakers connected to International Bridges to Justice?
JusticeMakers is an initiative of International Bridges to Justice (IBJ). JusticeMakers represents IBJ's first programmatic foray into the online world, and the platform upon which IBJ hopes to dramatically scale its impact. Through the online community, JusticeMakers competitions, and online eLearning training curricula, JusticeMakers allows IBJ to reach countless more people with its message and programming.
It is an ideal project for IBJ because it amplifies the impact of our existing portfolio of criminal defense initiatives.
1. JusticeMakers enables the cross-fertilization of participants' ideas with those of IBJ's program staff.
2. It also provides a testing ground for criminal defense initiatives before they are brought to scale through IBJ's in-country programming.
3. JusticeMakers also serves to map initiatives within the criminal defense sector, pinpointing those areas where IBJ could be adding value.
4. JusticeMakers helps source potential recruits for future country programs as IBJ takes its model to scale.
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What is International Bridges to Justice (IBJ)?
International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization that was founded in 2000 with a vision to end torture in the 21st Century through the just implementation of criminal laws. IBJ's experience has shown that legal counsel at the earliest stages of defense can reduce instances of torture by as much as 80%. Thus, IBJ works with the public defender, or legal aid lawyer, to reinforce the protection for, and the individual dignity of, people facing criminal prosecution in developing and transitional countries. Since its inception, IBJ has pioneered this practical approach to human rights, and is now poised to catalyze legal transformation in countries worldwide.
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How is IBJ funded?
IBJ is funded by a variety of state, private and individual donations. Funding partners include the Skoll Foundation, the United Nations Fund for Victims of Torture, Ashoka, and Echoing Green, among others.
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What is IBJ's mission?
In recognition of the fundamental principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) is dedicated to protecting the basic legal rights of ordinary citizens in developing countries. Specifically, IBJ works to guarantee all citizens the right to competent legal representation, the right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to a fair trial.
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