Expired Funding Opportunities

The National Institute of Justice’s “Recidivism Forecasting Challenge” aims to increase public safety and improve the fair administration of justice across the United States. The Challenge aims to improve the ability to forecast recidivism using person- and place-based variables with the goal of improving outcomes for those serving a community supervision sentence. Results from the Challenge will provide critical information to community corrections departments that may help facilitate more successful reintegration into society for previously incarcerated persons and persons on parole. 

With this solicitation, NIJ requests proposals from accredited academic institutions design and test models to expedite judicial review for individuals awaiting revocation of their parole or probation for technical violations of their supervision, while linking them to evidence-based services that address the root causes of recidivism. Applications from other than accredited academic institutions will not be accepted.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals from qualified applicants to establish and operate a National Center on Forensics at an accredited university of higher education, with medical and law schools affiliated within the same university system, and in partnership with a full-service and independent state department of forensic science with a medical examiner function, that is located in the same state as the partner accredited university. The center is to provide medico-legal learning opportunities for medical students to train as deputy medical examiners/coroners in underserved rural areas; provide forensic science and legal training to district attorneys, judges, and law enforcement; and develop opportunities, as appropriate, among the designated partners to benefit current and future practitioners in the field.

NIJ plans to seek proposals from qualified applicants to establish and operate a Forensic Technology Center of Excellence to support NIJ’s research, development, testing, and evaluation process and technology transition activities in all areas of forensic science.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous basic or applied research and development projects. An NIJ forensic science research and development grant supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed project that will 1) Increase the body of knowledge to guide and inform forensic science policy and practice; or 2) Lead to the production of useful material(s), device(s), system(s), or method(s) that have the potential for forensic application.

This solicitation seeks applications for research and evaluation studies to produce practical knowledge that has the potential to improve the examination and interpretation of physical evidence in forensic science laboratories. Proposals are expected to identify the forensic science discipline(s) intended to benefit from the project.

With this solicitation, NIJ requests proposals for rigorous scientific research to identify best practices to reduce the trauma of children affected by child pornography investigations.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects examining the impact of pretrial strategies on the administration of justice and public safety. Specifically, NIJ seeks applications for projects examining the impact on the administration of justice and public safety of pretrial detention healthcare, data-driven interventions, prosecutorial discretion, decriminalization of certain offences, and bail reform.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects to better understand the factors that lead to violent disorder and criminal conduct at some protests and demonstrations but not others, and the tactics and strategies that police use to maintain public order. To that end, NIJ seeks applications for funding research projects addressing these two topics 1) police strategies and tactics to respond to violence and maintain order; and 2) the role of extremists in fomenting violence at protests and demonstrations. Applicants’ proposals must clearly indicate to which topic the proposal is being submitted.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects to targeted toward developing a better understanding of the domestic radicalization phenomenon, and advancing evidence-based strategies for effective intervention and prevention. This includes research efforts that explore the radicalization of Americans to white nationalist extremism, and those exploring emerging militant left-wing movements, to identify and advance evidence-based strategies for effective intervention and prevention. NIJ seeks proposals in three areas of focus; 1)research to inform terrorism prevention efforts; 2) research on the reintegration of offenders into the community; and 3) evaluations of programs and practices to prevent terrorism.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects to conduct exploratory research and secondary/open data analysis to assess the range of practices, strategies, and tactics used by police to respond to homelessness. Applicants must propose case studies, among other research activities, to establish the complexity and breadth of public and private agencies, organizations, and institutions connected to the police response to homelessness. 

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects to support the development of objective and independent knowledge and validated tools to reduce violence against women (VAW) (including violence against elderly women and American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls), promote justice for victims of crime, and enhance criminal justice responses. For that reason, this solicitation seeks applications for grant funding to conduct research and evaluation projects examining a broad range of topics, including the crimes of domestic and family violence, homicide, intimate partner and dating violence, rape, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking, along with the associated criminal justice system response, procedures, and policies. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, NIJ is interested in research responding to the following two priority areas: 1) evaluation research on VAW programs, models, practices and 2) VAW research.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks applications to fund new tribal-researcher capacity-building planning grants involving scientists working with tribal nations and organizations to develop tangible and mutually beneficial criminal or juvenile justice research studies that are rigorous and culturally appropriate. Research proposals must be tribally driven and address the challenges of fighting crime and strengthening justice systems in Indian country and Alaska Native villages.

With this solicitation NIJ seeks proposals for research and evaluation projects aimed at understanding and strengthening the accuracy and reliability of a crime laboratory’s systems and processes.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects that address (1) re-allocation of resources and police operations and functions; (2) police use of force and de-escalations tactics and strategies; and (3) tactics and strategies that strengthen police-community relationships. These contemporary issues in policing are also reflected in the strategic priorities and objectives identified in NIJ’s Policing Strategic Research Plan, 2017-2022. Among other areas of interest, NIJ is interested in studies examining the approaches that address the challenges of policing in rural communities.

With this solicitation, NIJ, in collaboration with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), seeks proposals for rigorous research projects that inform policy and practice in the field of juvenile justice. Specifically, this solicitation seeks proposals for studies that advance knowledge and understanding in one of the following two priority topic areas: (1) juvenile justice responses to the COVID-19 pandemic or (2) deinstitutionalization of status offenders. Applications proposing research outside of these two research areas will not be considered.

With this solicitation, NIJ requests proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects to examine reentry initiatives that incorporate promising practices, strategies, or programs. NIJ is interested in supporting multi-site, randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluations of innovative reentry initiatives that are specifically designed to address violent, habitual recidivism; are initiated during an individual’s incarceration and continue in the community; and address multiple criminogenic needs that can be assessed incrementally. 

In collaboration with the Office of Victims of Crime, NIJ is seeking applications in three main areas under this solicitation: 1) research and evaluation of State crime victim compensation programs; 2) research on the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of services to victims of crime; and 3) evaluation of programs that provide services for victims of crime. Applicants should submit proposals that address one of the three topics

With this solicitation, NIJ, in collaboration with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, seeks proposals for rigorous research projects that improve measurement of juvenile reoffending. NIJ encourages applicants to submit proposals for studies that advance knowledge and understanding of juvenile reoffending and aid jurisdictions and juvenile justice agencies in measuring and using juvenile reoffending data appropriately in their efforts to identify priorities, develop responses, and monitor and assess policies and programs.

NIJ seeks proposals for funding to conduct an expansion or extension of one or more ongoing/existing longitudinal research studies that focus on delinquency and crime throughout the life-course of the individual, which may include childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Applicants are encouraged to adopt a holistic approach to the study of child and adolescent development and the emergence, persistence, and desistance of delinquent and criminal offending. The research findings are intended to identify malleable risk and protective factors, which can be effectively targeted in efforts to prevent the onset of delinquency and to intervene in the lives of juvenile and young adult offenders.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects to study the root causes of school violence to include the impact and effectiveness of grants made under the STOP School Violence Act. NIJ is particularly interested in examining understudied approaches to improve school safety. Of most interest are anti-violence interventions and threat assessment.

With this solicitation, NIJ continues to build upon its research and evaluation efforts to better understand, prevent, and respond to trafficking in persons in the United States. Applicants should propose research projects that — first and foremost — have clear implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the United States. With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for research projects addressing the following priority areas: 1) demand reduction research, 2) human trafficking research, evaluation and development; and 3) sex trafficking of American Indian and Alaska Native girls and women research.

With this solicitation, NIJ, in collaboration with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), seeks proposals to support the National Juvenile Court Data Archive (the Archive). The Archive collects, maintains, and makes accessible the nation’s primary source of detailed information on juvenile court case processing of delinquency and status offense cases.

Awards made under this funding opportunity are either made non-competitively or are the result of an administrative funding adjustment.