THE GAMMA RAY POLARIMETER EXPERIMENT (GRAPE) IS DESIGNED TO INVESTIGATE ONE OF THE MOST EXOTIC PHENOMENA IN THE UNIVERSE GAMMA-RAY BURSTS (GRB). THERE HAS BEEN INTENSE OBSERVATIONAL AND THEORETICAL RESEARCH IN RECENT YEARS BUT RESEARCH IN THIS AREA HAS BEEN LARGELY FOCUSED ON STUDIES OF TIME HISTORIES SPECTRA AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS. THEORETICAL MODELS SHOW THAT A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF THE INNER STRUCTURE OF GRBS INCLUDING THE GEOMETRY AND PHYSICAL PROCESSES CLOSE TO THE CENTRAL ENGINE REQUIRES THE EXPLOITATION OF GAMMA-RAY POLARIMETRY. OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS WE HAVE DEVELOPED THE GRAPE INSTRUMENT TO MEASURE THE POLARIZATION OF GAMMA-RAYS FROM GRBS OVER THE ENERGY RANGE OF 50 TO 500 KEV. GRAPE IS A LARGE FOV INSTRUMENT WITH A SENSITIVE ENERGY RANGE COVERING THE PEAK ENERGY DISTRIBUTION OF GRBS. THE DESIGN IS BASED ON AN ARRAY OF INDEPENDENT MODULES EACH OF WHICH CONSISTS OF AN ARRAY OF (HIGH-Z AND LOW-Z) SCINTILLATOR ELEMENTS READ OUT BY A MULTI-ANODE PMT (MAPMT). OUR EVENTUAL GOAL IS TO FLY GRAPE ON A LONG DURATION BALLOON (LDB) PLATFORM OR AN ORBITING PLATFORM TO COLLECT DATA ON A SIGNIFICANT SAMPLE OF GRBS ALLOWING US TO PLACE CONSTRAINTS ON FUNDMENTAL GRB MODELS. OUR EXPERIENCE WITH TWO BALLOON FLIGHTS (IN 2011 AND 2014) COUPLED WITH FURTHER DESIGN EFFORTS FOCUSED ON ORBITAL PAYLOADS HAS LED TO AN IMPROVED POLARIMETER DESIGN. THE NEW DESIGN EMPLOYS A LARGE NUMBER OF OPTICALLY-ISOLATED SCINTILLATOR CUBES WITH INDEPENDENT SILICON PHOTOMULTIPLIER READOUT ARRANGED IN A THREE-DIMENSIONAL ARRAY. THE RESULTING THREE-DIMENSIONAL LOCATION DATA PROVIDES A MODERATE LEVEL OF COMPTON IMAGING CAPABILITY (1 SIGMA ANGULAR RESOLUTION OF 10-15 DEGREES). THE IMAGING CAN NOT ONLY BE USED TO DETERMINE THE GRB LOCATION (ALBEIT WITH LIMITED ACCURACY) IT CAN ALSO BE USED TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE INSTRUMENTAL BACKGROUND BY LIMITING THE IMPACT OF THE COSMIC DIFFUSE FLUX IMPROVING THE POLARIZATION SENSITIVITY. IT IS THE BACKGROUND REDUCTION THAT IS MOST IMPORTANT IN THIS CASE. WE HAVE ALREADY EVALUATED SOME COMPONENTS OF THIS DESIGN AND ARE NOW PREPARED TO EMBARK ON AN EFFORT TO FABRICATE A PROTOTYPE TO BE VALIDATED ON A HIGH ALTITUDE BALLOON FLIGHT. THE PROPOSED FOUR YEAR PROGRAM COVERS THE FABRICATION OF A PROTOTYPE INSTRUMENT AND AN ENGINEERING BALLOON FLIGHT PALESTINE IN THE SUMMER OF 2021.