Research &Development (R&D

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In order to maintain pace with the many changes in society affecting the court system, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) established a Research & Development Department in 2003.

Institutional research, contributing to the organization’s development, is the focus area. For example, the court may base a new program or specialized division upon a model from another court or similar ones that can be adapted to fit the circuit’s needs. R & D’s role is to identify and review models and write a concept paper projecting implementation of best practices in the 13th Circuit. Click here to view a summary of the role of R&D in the 13th Judicial Circuit.

Services to the 13th Judicial Circuit include:

• Performance Management Report (produced annually in conjunction with the Office of Public Information)
  For existing programs and services, an important part of development pertains to performance measures. Every program and service within the AOC has measures that indicate the number of services, the effectiveness of those services, and the satisfaction of the customers that are served. R & D acts as an advisor in the development of the measures and monitoring for trends. These measures are used to inform the management decisions for the programs or services. The Performance Management Report is published on an annual basis to provide public information regarding the AOC operations. R & D also conducts formal program evaluations periodically to review operations as assigned by the court administrator. Click here to view Court Statistics Recorded Annually.
  
  
• Judges Certification
  As an important development function, every year, R & D prepares a judges certification to request additional judgeships to be assigned to the circuit under the direction of the chief judge and court administrator. The certification is based upon increases in population and rising case filings and requests that additional positions for judges be created and assigned to the 13th Circuit through a State judicial process.
  
  
• Employee Retention and Recognition (in conjunction with Court Personnel Department)
  R & D is involved in projects that involve multiple AOC departments and have office-wide scope. For example, R & D assists the Court Personnel Department in developing ideas for employee retention and recognition in the midst of limited budget capacity for traditional pay increases.
  
  
• Employee Satisfaction Surveys
  R & D conducts surveys to determine the level of employee satisfaction in the AOC and has adapted a survey instrument based on the National Center for State Courts CourTools project. This survey is administered every six months (approx. April and October) to AOC employees to determine the opinions of court staff, and analysis of the results is provided to all AOC departments through the Executive Team. This information is used to provide feedback regarding successful management efforts and focus attention upon areas that may need improvement. Employees contribute valuable ideas through this survey process as well as other traditional methods. Click here for recent Survey Results.


• AOC Routine Services Satisfaction Survey
  Starting in 2008, the AOC started conducting satisfaction surveys for the core business processes performed routinely for judges, judicial assistants, and court staff. The performance of these basic services is measured in part by the level of satisfaction of those receiving the services. The survey will be conducted every six months during the quarters when the Employee Satisfaction Survey is not conducted. Staggering the surveys avoids survey fatigue for respondents and maintains a high return rate. Click here for recent survey results.

R & D is conducted by an M.P.A. (masters degree in public administration) level court operations consultant. The M.P.A. is similar to the M.B.A. in private business with more educational focus within the public or government sector.

.13th Judicial Circuit: Research & Development