The proposed start date should be the estimated date on which the student could reasonably begin work on the dissertation research project, pending demonstration to NIJ of the formation of a dissertation committee and acceptance of the proposed dissertation topic. The proposed fellowship start date should be no earlier than January 1 of the year following application submission.
The practical availability of funds may be delayed pending the fulfillment of administrative award conditions. NIJ cautions the doctoral student and academic institution not to depend on any GRF funds until these requirements have been met.
Yes. Under such circumstances, in addition to all other requirements, the institution must submit an official letter stating that it expects that the student will be enrolled full-time in the doctoral degree program beginning the academic term in which fellowship activity is proposed to begin. Be aware that under these circumstances, if an award is made, NIJ will place a condition on the award withholding funds until full-time enrollment is demonstrated for the academic term in which fellowship activity is proposed to begin.
IRB approval for human subjects research is not required at the time of application. However, if you are awarded a fellowship, access to funds will be withheld until the final approved IRB package, along with a Human Subjects Protection (HSP) form and Privacy Certificate consistent with the IRB package, are received and approved by NIJ. See the guidance at Human Subjects and Privacy Protection and Confidentiality and Privacy Protections. If you already have IRB approval, you should submit these documents with the application to avoid delays in access to funds.
For those who do not yet have IRB approval, the human subjects certification form can be completed by selecting "No assurance has been filed..." under item number 6 "Assurance Status of this Project" to indicate that IRB review is forthcoming.
The privacy certificate can also be completed and include a statement that IRB review is forthcoming.
If awarded, no work may begin until the IRB determination and privacy certificate are submitted, reviewed and approved by NIJ.
Yes, these forms are necessary for all NIJ grants. You should submit them with the application to avoid unnecessary delays in access to fellowship funds. See the guidance at Human Subjects and Privacy Protection and Confidentiality and Privacy Protections for how to properly state that your research does not involve human subjects or that no private data is collected.
The proposal narrative is a research proposal that should include a title page, resubmit response (if applicable), a table of contents, the main proposal body, and any necessary appendices.
The main body of the proposal narrative is the heart of the research proposal. It should address:
- Statement of the problem and research questions.
- Project design and implementation.
- Capabilities and competencies of the student, advisor, and academic environment.
- Potential impact.
The proposal narrative is expected to be the intellectual product of the student. While the involvement of the graduate advisor and others is encouraged in the development of research ideas and in the revision of manuscripts, the student should be the primary author of the research proposal.
If an applicant is resubmitting a proposal previously presented to NIJ but not funded, the proposal narrative should contain a resubmit response of no more than two pages, addressing: (1) the title, submission date, and NIJ-assigned application number of the previous application, and (2) a brief summary of revisions to the application, including responses to previous feedback received from NIJ.
There are no line spacing, font, or formatting requirements other than the page limit specified in the notice of funding opportunity.
The proposal narrative appendices may include:
- Bibliography/references.
- Any tables/charts/graphs, questionnaires, or maps pertaining to the proposed project that are supplemental to, but not essential to, a basic understanding of the main body of the narrative.
- Candidacy timeline and expected milestones.
- If applicable, a description contextualizing the proposed dissertation research relative to, or within, any other work being conducted under an existing NIJ award, which must be specifically identified.
See the current year’s notice of funding opportunity for specific requirements.
Critical application elements that must be submitted as separate documents in JustGrants include:
- Verification of current enrollment.
- Undergraduate and graduate transcripts.
- Statement of Support.
- Biosketches for both the student and the person writing the Statement of Support.
- Current and Pending (Other) Support form for both the student and the person writing the Statement of Support.
Other documents that should be attached to the application with descriptive filenames include:
- Personal statement.
- List of individuals in the application.
- Human Subjects Protection form. Read about NIJ’s human subjects protections requirements.
- Privacy Certificate. Read NIJ’s privacy certificate guidance.
- Request to Use Incentives or Stipends (if applicable). Applicants proposing to use incentives or stipends payments as part of their research project design, must submit an incentive or stipend approval request, as a separate document. Read NIJ’s research subjects incentives policy.
- Data Management, Sharing, and Archiving Plan (DMSAP). Read NIJ’s data archiving guidance.
- Research and Evaluation Independence and Integrity Statement (see OJP Grant Application Resource Guide)
- Gold Standard Science Statement.
- Letters of support (if applicable). Letters of cooperation/support or administrative agreements from organizations collaborating in the project, such as law enforcement and correctional agencies (if applicable).
Each successful applicant (i.e., the host academic institution) may request up to $60,000 per year for up to three years of support (for a maximum total of $180,000).
Each year of support includes:
- $41,000 for the fellow’s Salary and Fringe
- up to $16,000 for Cost of Education Allowance
- up to $3,000 for Research Expenses
Students should work with their university Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) representative to prepare the budget. Applicants are encouraged to consult the Budget Preparation and Submission Information section of the Grant Application Resource Guide for guidance.
The Budget Webform must be submitted with the application and must clearly show a breakdown of all costs associated with every allowable budget category. All proposed expenses must comply with the DOJ Financial Guide and be justified and explained in the Budget Worksheet and Narrative.
Each year of support includes $41,000 for the fellow’s salary and fringe or health insurance. Where possible in accordance with institutional policy, the university should account for the full $41,000 when requesting the personnel expenses of the doctoral student. If the applicant elects not to request the full $41,000 for salary, fringe or health insurance, the remaining funds may not be used for any other purpose or transferred for use under another programmatic budget category.
Up to $16,000 annually may be requested as a Cost of Education Allowance. This may include tuition, fees, and university administrative or indirect costs.
In addition, up to $3,000 annually may be requested under the Research Expenses allowance. This can include research supplies, instrumental user facility time, compensation for human subjects, undergraduate research assistants, data collection site travel, conference travel, or professional society membership fees, among other allowable expenses.
If the university elects not to use the entire $16,000 Cost of Education Allowance for tuition, fees, or administrative or indirect costs, the remaining portion may be used to supplement allowable expenses under the Research Expenses category. In that case, total Research Expenses may exceed $3,000.
For more information on allowable expenses, see the DOJ Financial Guide.