FAQ Listing

Participant support costs, which include stipends, are allowable for some social science research funded by NIJ. See Participant Support Costs and Incentives for Social Science Research for details.

Incentives are generally unallowable because they are considered gifts. Under very specific circumstances, NIJ may approve the use of incentives provided the incentive and amount proposed meet the definition of reasonable. See Participant Support Costs and Incentives for Social Science Research for details.

Review the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide and the following FAQs.

Because notices of funding opportunity are competitive, NIJ staff cannot have individual conversations concerning the notice of funding opportunity with prospective applicants.

For assistance with a specific notice of funding opportunity, contact the OJP Response Cent​er: toll-free at 1-800-851-3420; via TTY at 301-240-6310 (hearing impaired only); email [email protected]; or fax to 301-240-5830.

No, NIJ does not (with extremely rare exceptions). 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.

In general, NIJ funds evaluations of programs, not program delivery or development. But funding may be used to support the collection of data by program staff, for example. At the same time, NIJ encourages researcher/practitioner partnerships for the purpose of developing evidence-based practices and policies. A general rule is that the higher the percentage of funds that appears to support the program itself, the less likely it is that reviewers will consider the application to merit research and evaluation funding from limited resources.

Generally, NIJ provides funding to:

• Educational institutions.
• Public agencies.
• Nonprofit organizations.
• Faith-based organizations.
• Individuals.
• Profitmaking organizations willing to waive their fees.
• Federal agencies, unless specifically stated otherwise in the notice of funding opportunity document.
• Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFDRC). If the notice of funding opportunity does not indicate that applications from “federal agencies” will be accepted, the FFRDC has the option of applying as its private sector entity type, whatever that may be (for-profit, non-profit, etc.), and a grant or cooperative agreement could be awarded to the entity that administers the FFRDC.

Some notices of funding opportunity have special eligibility criteria, which are defined in the notice.

Non-U.S. entities are not eligible for awards. All grant awards are made to U.S. institutions. Where appropriate, however, a U.S. grantee may subcontract with a non-U.S. institution or individual for work necessary to complete project tasks. Such subcontracting is usually anticipated and included in the original grant proposal.

NIJ typically does not fund proposals that are primarily to purchase equipment, materials, or supplies. However, you may budget for such items if they are necessary to conduct applied research, development, demonstration, evaluation, or analysis.

Typically, NIJ funds may not be used for training. 

If your needs for training do not fall under these exceptions, the following resources may be of help:

• Bureau of Justice Assistance
• FEMA's Emergency Management Institute