Document Type
Other
Publication Date
5-2017
College/Unit
Chambers College of Business and Economics
Department/Program/Center
Not Listed
Abstract
Project FORESIGHT is a business-guided self-evaluation of forensic science laboratories across the globe. The participating laboratories represent local, regional, state, and national agencies. Economics, accounting, finance, and forensic faculty provide assistance, guidance, and analysis. Laboratories participating in Project FORESIGHT have developed standardized definitions for metrics to evaluate work processes, linking financial information to work tasks, and functions. Laboratory managers can then assess resource allocations, efficiencies, and value of services—the mission of Project FORESIGHT is to measure, preserve what works, and change what does not.
The benchmark data for the 2015-2016 performance period includes laboratory submissions for a variety of fiscal year definitions. However, all submissions have December 31, 2015 as part of their fiscal year accounting. The majority of submissions follow a July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2016 convention. Others follow a year that begins as early as January 1, 2015 (ending December 31, 2015) while the other extreme includes laboratories with a fiscal year originating October 1, 2015 and ending September 30, 2016.
As of this writing, one hundred thirty-nine laboratories contributed data to the project in 2015-2016. For most areas of investigation, the submitted data offers a large enough sample to elicit good statistical properties. However for Digital Evidence & Processing, and Forensic Pathology, the number of reporting laboratories in these areas is small and fewer inferences may be drawn from the data.
Digital Commons Citation
Speaker, Paul J., "FORESIGHT Benchmark Data 2015-2016" (2017). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 1144.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/1144