The Work Is Hard Enough. Research Shouldn't Be.
Organizations working across the criminal justice ecosystem face a particular challenge: the decisions that matter most require evidence that is hard to find and even harder to translate into action.
Rethink Research closes that gap. We provide strategic research, grant intelligence, and public records analysis so your organization can make informed decisions, pursue the right funding, and build a case for what works — without adding extra burden to your team.
If you're facing a challenging research or funding issue, we can help. Explore our services below.
Our Services
Strategic
Research
Policy moves fast. Our strategic research service synthesizes legislation, policy trends, funding priorities, and program evidence so your organization can make confident, defensible decisions without spending weeks doing it yourself.
Public Records & Data Transparency
When you need more than a policy document, public records tell the real story. We use court records, agency documents, and FOIA requests to surface what is actually happening, providing your organization with primary- source evidence to support decisions, advocacy, or due diligence.
CustoM Grant Research Projects
Funding opportunities are scattered and hard to track. We hand-curate high-fit grant opportunities so you can focus on your mission. Funder analysis, 990 deep dives, grant history reviews, and funding strategy development to support near- and mid-term planning are also available.
About Wendy Davis
Founder & Principal Researcher, Rethink Research

For more than 20 years, I conducted over 1,000,000 court-based public record searches. That work provided a niche, ground-level view of how criminal justice data is created, shared, and used by the courts and other stakeholders.
As record systems became increasingly automated, my focus shifted to how this data moved across organizations and shaped decisions that affected people’s lives. I returned to graduate school to examine how justice-related policy influenced real-world outcomes, especially recidivism.
Through that process, I realized that effective, evidence-based interventions do exist. However, adoption depended on coordination and alignment across sectors. Today, I work with justice-focused organizations to provide research and analysis that supports decisions with generational impact.
If you are facing a research or funding challenge, let's talk.
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