Guidance for Applicants and Awardees

NIJ awards grants and agreements for:

• Research, development and evaluation (CFDA 16.560). NIJ funds physical and social science research, development and evaluation projects about criminal justice through competitive notices of funding opportunity. The focus of the notices varies from year-to-year based on research priorities and available funding.
• Research fellowships. NIJ strengthens and broadens the pool of researchers looking at criminal justice issues through fostering various fellowship programs which provide opportunities to the researcher community. Learn more about NIJ's fellowship programs.

NIJ does not fund proposals primarily to purchase equipment, materials or supplies, or to provide direct services.

Look for current funding opportunities:

• NIJ's open funding opportunities.
• OJP-wide open funding opportunities.

You also can:

• Review a list of forthcoming funding opportunities from NIJ.
• Sign up for an e-mail update whenever we release a new notice of funding opportunity.

Unsolicited Proposals. NIJ does not (with extremely rare exceptions) accept unsolicited proposals. NIJ’s fiscal year (FY) program implementation process begins in the third quarter, guided by the President’s budget and informed by Congressional deliberations during the appropriations process. Consequently, NIJ’s budget is effectively allocated to defined funding opportunities and related activities before the fiscal year begins. There is no funding available for proposals that do not respond to the objectives and requirements in NIJ’s posted funding opportunities.

Get registered! If you are interested in receiving OJP funding, get registered on Grants.gov and in the System for Awards Management, and do it soon. You cannot submit any OJP applications until you do. Registration, especially with Grants.gov, may take approximately 3-5 business days. OJP strongly encourages applicants to start registration as soon as possible. Learn more from OJP's Grants 101.

Read the materials. Familiarize yourself with NIJ and OJP grants and related requirements. Read the notice of funding opportunity carefully for specific requirements and review:

• OJP Grant Application Resource Guide
• DOJ Grant Application Submission Checklist
• NIJ's Frequently Asked Funding Questions
• Performance Measures for Award Applicants
• The DOJ Financial Guide
• Human Subjects and Privacy Protection Information

Although Grants.gov and JustGrants require you to submit application packages online, which includes filling out several online forms, you will still need to write the bulk of your proposal in a word processing application.

Write the Program Narrative

The Program Narrative includes an abstract, table of contents, main body and appendixes that provide details about your proposed project. Each notice of funding opportunity defines the page limit for the main body of the program narrative.

For further guidance, see:

• Applications Proposing Evaluation Research
• Performance Measures for Award Applicants
• NIJ Funding FAQs (see the About the Program Narrative section)
• Grants 101 — Write the Proposal

Develop Your Budget

Although the degree of specificity of any budget will vary depending on the nature of the project and OJP agency requirements, a complete, well-thought-out budget serves to reinforce your credibility and increase the likelihood of your proposal being funded. The narrative you enter in the Budget Detail Worksheet should clearly connect your budget to your project goals, objectives, and activities. 

Cofunding. An award made by NIJ under a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) may account for up to 100% of the cost of the project. However, the application should indicate whether it is feasible for the applicant to contribute cash, facilities, or services as non-federal support for the project. If feasible, the application should identify the contributions. The proposed budget should indicate in detail which items will be supported with non-federal contributions. If an application that is selected for award proposes a voluntary match, and the budget is approved, the match amount becomes mandatory and subject to audit.

For further information, review:

• The "Financial Guide" for allowable costs.
• NIJ's Funding FAQs (see the About the Budget section)
• Grants 101 — Develop a Budget

Additional Application Components

 Applications to NIJ NOFOs are expected to include 14 additional research-related components (as applicable), attached in JustGrants, one of which is a required application component. They are:

• Gold Standard Science: Applicants for NIJ funding should include within their application a clear statement of commitment to complying with the principles and tenets of Gold Standard Science (GSS) as described in Executive Order 14303, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Memorandum providing guidance on implementing GSS, and the Department of Justice’s GSS webpage.
• Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Forms *Required*: To meet the requirements of National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM-33) for transparency regarding potential conflicts of interest and foreign entanglements, applicants for NIJ funding are required to submit the Biographical Sketch common form and the Current and Pending (Other) Support common form (accessible at NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance - Division of Institution and Award Support (BFA/DIAS) | NSF - National Science Foundation). These forms must be provided for principal and co-principal investigators and other key personnel (e.g., project directors) involved in the proposed research. In addition to ensuring transparency, these forms help reviewers assess the qualifications, expertise, and capacity of researchers to complete the proposed work.
• Tribal Authorizing Resolution (if applicable): An application in response to this NOFO may require inclusion of Tribal authorizing documentation as an attachment. If applicable, the applicant will upload the Tribal authorizing documentation as an attachment in JustGrants. See the Application Resource Guide for information on Tribal authorizing resolutions.
• Research and Evaluation Independence and Integrity Statement: If an application proposes research (including research and development) and/or evaluation, the applicant must demonstrate research/evaluation independence and integrity, including appropriate safeguards, before it may receive award funds. The applicant will upload documentation of its research and evaluation independence and integrity as an attachment in JustGrants. For additional information, see the Application Resource Guide.
• Letters of Support (if applicable): Applications proposing research involving partnerships with juvenile justice, criminal justice or other agencies or community organizations should include a strong letter of support signed by an appropriate decision-making authority from each proposed partnering agency. A letter of support should include the partnering agency’s acknowledgment that de-identified data derived from, provided to, or obtained through an award funded by NIJ will be archived by the grant recipient with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD), or other data repository (for grants funding research in the natural sciences and engineering) at the conclusion of the award. (NIJ understands data to include qualitative data, for example derived from interviews, as well as quantitative data.) Applicants and their potential partners are encouraged to review NIJ’s data archiving guidance. If selected for an award, grantees will be expected to have a formal agreement in place with partnering agencies by January 1, 2027. That formal agreement must include a provision to meet the data archiving requirements of the award. Letters of support should be signed and submitted as one separate attachment to the application in JustGrants.
• Bibliography/References: Provide a bibliography of any references cited in the Proposal Narrative.
• Tools/Instruments, Questionnaires, Tables/Charts/Graphs, or Maps: Any tools/instruments, questionnaires, tables/charts/graphs, or maps pertaining to the proposed project that are supplemental to such items included in the main body of the narrative.
• List of Individuals in the Application: To assist NIJ in assessing actual or apparent conflicts of interest (including such conflicts on the part of prospective reviewers of the application), provide a complete list of the individuals named or otherwise identified anywhere in the application (including in the budget or any other attachment) who will or may work (or advise or consult) on the proposed research, development, or evaluation project. Applicants should use the “Proposed Project Staff, Affiliation, and Roles” form available on the NIJ webpage to prepare this list.
• Human Subjects Protection: All recipients of NIJ funds are required to comply with Department of Justice regulations at 28 CFR Part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). Applicants should submit the Protection of Human Subjects Assurance form (or IRB determination letter, if obtained) as a separate attachment. For further guidance, go to Human Subjects Protection. Note: Final Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval is not required at the time an application is submitted.
• Privacy Certificate: Applicants for NIJ funding must submit a Privacy Certificate regardless of whether the project involves the collection of identifiable data. It should be submitted as a separate attachment. For further guidance, go to Confidentiality and Privacy Protections and Privacy Certificate Guidance.
• Request to Use Incentives or Stipends: Applicants proposing to use incentives, or stipend payments, as part of their research project design must submit an approval request as a separate attachment. The requirements are described at Participant Support Costs and Incentives.
• Project Management Plan and Timeline: Applicants should also outline the management plan and organization that aligns with the project's goals and objectives, including the project management structure, approach, and strategies. Among other factors, that plan should include a description of the anticipated level of effort of key personnel. In addition, applicants should include a project management timeline that documents the timing for project tasks, management, milestones, and deliverables, including interim deliverables.
• Consortium/Contractual Agreements: Explain the programmatic, fiscal, and administrative arrangements to be made between the applicant organization and the consortium organization(s).
• Data Management, Sharing, and Archiving Plan (DMSAP): Applications must include a plan describing how they will comply with NIJ data archiving requirements. The plan should be no more than two pages in length. It should be attached as a separate attachment and labeled “Data Management, Sharing, and Archiving Plan (DMSAP)”. Potential applicants are encouraged to seeNIJ’s data archiving guidance. All plans must be consistent with OJP confidentiality and privacy requirements of 34 U.S.C. § 10231(a) and 28 CFR Part 22. See Confidentiality and Privacy Protections

Sample Applications

View sample applications:

• Expanding on Total Body Score with Use of Geographic Information Systems (pdf, 26 pages)
• Development and Validation of Two Innovative Quantitative Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry Methods for Forensic Toxicology Laboratories (pdf, 63 pages)
• Population Genetics Issues for Forensic DNA Profiles (pdf, 15 pages)
  • Download an accessible version (pdf, 16 pages)[1]
• Can Video Surveillance Reduce Crime? Quantifying the Size and Geographic Extent of CCTV's Impact (pdf, 48 pages)

Once you have written a grant proposal, you must complete the application package and submit it online.

In FY 2021, applications will be submitted to DOJ in a new two-step process.

Step 1: Applicants will submit an SF-424 in Grants.gov at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html. 

Step 2: Applicants will submit the full application including attachments in JustGrants at JustGrants.usdoj.gov.

• Program Narrative.
• Program Budget.
• Budget Narrative.
• Resumes or Curriculum Vitae of Key Personnel, if referred to in the notice of funding opportunity.
• Tribal Resolution, if applicable.

Learn more about how to submit your application from:

• OJP Grant Application Resource Guide
• Grants.gov Applicant Resource

How your application will be reviewed. All proposals are reviewed by independent peer review panels consisting of both researchers and practitioners. Panel members read each proposal, assess the technical merits and policy relevance of the proposed research, and typically meet to discuss their assessments. Panelists are asked to base their reviews on criteria set forth in the notice of funding opportunity. The panel assessments and any accompanying NIJ staff reports are submitted to the NIJ Director. All final grant award decisions are made by the Assistant Attorney General or the NIJ Director. Further reading:

• Learn more about proposal review.
• Supporting new and early career investigators.

Interested in becoming a peer reviewer for NIJ? Learn how.

Award notification. If you are a successful applicant and your project is selected for funding, NIJ will notify you of the award no later than September 30 of the calendar year. If you are unsuccessful, NIJ will issue you a rejection letter by December 30 of the calendar year.

If your proposals is funded, you should carefully read each of the following:

• Award package and special conditions.
• Research, Development, and Evaluation Grant Award Requirements
• OJP Postaward Requirements (pdf, 32 pages), provides step-by-step guidance on what you must do and what you should review to successfully accept your award.
• The DOJ Grants Financial Guide, the primary reference manual for award recipients. Contains compilations of laws, rules and regulations that affect the financial and administrative management of awards.
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations and implementation guidance.
• Data archiving requirements and guidance.

Managing Your Funding

Different NIJ grant programs have different post-award reporting requirements and special conditions. See Research, Development, and Evaluation Grant Award Requirements.

If you are unsure which deliverable requirements apply to your award, please contact the assigned grant manager. See also Grants: NIJ Grant Manager and Scientist Roles and Responsibilities.

We also recommend you review the available training on accepting and managing awards in JustGrants.

Communicating About Your Award: Notices, and Disclaimers

Requirements related to communicating about your award are included within your special conditions. Following are special conditions typically applied to each award. Note that the language and requirements of these conditions may change over time. Review the conditions applied to your award for specific guidance. 

If a proposal is not funded, NIJ will send a notification letter to the applicant’s official contact(s) of record in JustGrants and the Principal Investigator (PI). The letter will explain the peer review process, describe the composition of the peer review panel, and summarize the panel’s assessment of the proposal’s strengths and weaknesses. Applicants desiring a debrief, must submit a request within 14 calendar days of receiving the letter of notification. The request must include specific questions to be discussed during the debrief. It should also include the names, contact information, and roles of the individuals participating in the debrief. 

All requests must be submitted via the NIJ Applicant Request for Debriefing form.