Anticipated NIJ Fiscal Year 2024 Funding Opportunities

NIJ anticipates releasing funding opportunities in fiscal year (FY) 2024 supporting the following research topics. NIJ typically releases funding opportunities beginning in late fall. All postings are pending available FY 2024 funding and are subject to change.

Because most NIJ funding opportunities are competitive, we cannot have individual conversations with prospective applicants concerning prospective grant proposals.

Measurement of Community Perceptions —  NIJ will seek applications for research on, and demonstration projects of, improved approaches to measuring community perceptions of policing and public safety. Specifically, NIJ will seek to fund research that develops and tests innovative methods to provide representative samples that are accurate across microgeographic areas, cost-effective, able to be implemented frequently, and scalable for use in municipalities of various sizes.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Strategies Designed to Increase the use of Evidence-Based Policies and Practices — NIJ will seek proposals for rigorous demonstration and research projects that will further the impact of existing crime and justice research evidence. Specifically, NIJ will seek proposals to implement and evaluate implementation science-informed practices, including: 1) effective ways to engage change agents and the types of resources needed to promote research understanding and uptake in their respective agencies/organizations, 2) the impact of various narrative techniques and mediums on practitioner evidence awareness and adoption, and 3) innovations designed to increase evidence awareness and informed decision-making through commonly used systems and technologies (for example, police CAD systems).              

Evaluation of BJA Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP) — This solicitation will seek proposals for the evaluation of BJA’s SCIP initiatives, which are formula funds to implement state crisis intervention court proceedings and related programs or initiatives, including, but not limited to, mental health courts, drug courts, and veterans treatment courts. This solicitation and its evaluation parameters will be refined based on consultation with BJA. (This solicitation is being released at the request of BJA.)

Evaluation of OJP Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) Projects — This solicitation will seek applications in two categories: 1) site-based evaluations of programs funded under the OJP FY 2023 and FY 2024 CVIPI solicitations, and of FY 2022 programs applying for additional FY 2024 funding to increase program implementation, outcomes, and sustainability; and 2) evaluations of other community violence programs. This program furthers DOJ’s mission by supporting the development of new knowledge and tools to reduce violent crime and address the challenges of crime and justice in the United States through fundamental and action research.

Field-Initiated Action Research Partnerships — This solicitation will seek proposals designed to build research partnerships that are led by and meet the needs and missions of local criminal justice and service provider entities — including police, corrections, courts, victim services, and forensic organizations — and the communities they serve. Partnerships should focus on applying a data-driven, problem-solving approach to challenges prioritized by agency partners; identifying actionable and measurable responses; implementing changes; and employing an action research evaluation approach to assessing their impact that emphasizes scientific rigor, meaningful stakeholder engagement, ongoing improvement, and long-term sustainability.

Graduate Research Fellowship Program — This solicitation will seek applications for doctoral dissertation research that is relevant to preventing and controlling crime and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal or juvenile justice in the United States. This solicitation is open to doctoral students in all science and engineering fields.

Longitudinal Research on Delinquency and Crime — In collaboration with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), this solicitation will seek applications for expanding and enhancing one or more ongoing or existing longitudinal studies to further explore risk and protective factors for delinquency and crime across the life course. By increasing knowledge about delinquency and crime onset, persistence, escalation, and desistance, this research will inform the design of more effective strategies for prevention and intervention in delinquent and criminal behavior trajectories.

National Baseline Study — The National Baseline Study (NBS) is the flagship of NIJ’s Violence Against Indian Women program, focusing on women living in tribal communities. This solicitation (or procurement contract) will seek proposals to collect reliable data and conduct strategic analyses that address gaps in health and legal service outcomes and in criminal jurisdictions, particularly for people living in Indian country and Alaska Native communities. The NBS will be conducted in geographically dispersed tribal communities across the United States (lower 48 and Alaska) using an NIJ-developed survey instrument. This work might be conducted through one or more grants and/or contracts.

National Juvenile Court Data Archive — In collaboration with OJJDP, this solicitation will seek applications to support the National Juvenile Court Data Archive, the nation’s primary source for the collection, maintenance, and accessibility of detailed information on juvenile court case processing of delinquency and status offense cases.

Novel Psychoactive Substance Discovery, Education, and Reporting Center — This solicitation will seek proposals for an open-access drug early warning system that collaborates with forensic science, public health, and criminal justice agencies to rapidly identify emerging opioids, stimulants, and other drugs known as novel psychoactive substances (NPS) associated with intoxications and adverse events. A key deliverable will be near-real-time reports and methodologies to inform health officials, testing laboratories, law enforcement officers, treatment centers, and other stakeholders.

Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes — This solicitation will seek proposals for foundational or applied research and development projects in the forensic sciences. An NIJ forensic science research and development grant supports a discrete project that will increase the body of knowledge to guide and inform forensic science policy and practice, or lead to the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods that have the potential for forensic application. Specific attention will be given to applications that propose to develop methodologies and technologies designed to mitigate examiner bias and strengthen reliability and statistical studies that analyze how, why, and to what degree of accuracy examiners make decisions. 

Research and Evaluation for the Testing and Interpretation of Physical Evidence in Publicly Funded Forensic Laboratories — This solicitation will seek proposals for research and evaluation projects to identify and inform the forensic community of best practices through the evaluation of existing laboratory protocols or emerging methods. Projects should have a direct and immediate impact on laboratory efficiency and assist with policy decisions.

Research and Evaluation of Services for Victims of Crime — This solicitation will seek applications for evaluation of programs that provide services for victims of crime, research on supporting victims of community violence, and research on financial costs of crime victimization.

Research and Evaluation on 911, Alternative Hotlines, and Alternative Responder Models — This solicitation will seek research and evaluation proposals on the ability of 911 or alternative hotlines (311, 211, 988) to assess public needs and safely, efficiently, effectively, and equitably meet public demand for governmental services. This includes research on the training and operating procedures of call takers and dispatchers. It will also invite proposals to evaluate the effectiveness of models that employ non-sworn first responders in partnership with, or as an alternative to, police response or enforcement, and the use of new methods and technologies to support effective and equitable responses to public requests for assistance.

Research and Evaluation on Corrections — This solicitation will seek proposals for rigorous applied research and evaluation studies on innovations, initiatives, and strategies in both institutional and community corrections. NIJ's FY 2024 priority areas include: 1) interventions to enhance culture and climate; 2) technological innovations to promote safety and security; and 3) initiatives to improve outcomes for incarcerated individuals, specifically the impact of prison-based education programs on reentry outcomes. NIJ will also accept proposals for robust evaluation research in institutional and community corrections.

Research and Evaluation on Desistance From Crime — This solicitation will seek proposals for rigorous evaluations of desistance-focused interventions to advance understanding of strategies that might aid in the desistance process and identify innovative approaches to measure the desistance process and related outcomes. This may include formative evaluations and evaluability assessments in addition to outcome evaluations. NIJ will encourage both research-practitioner partnerships and researcher-initiated applications. 

Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime: Money Laundering, Firearms, and Human Trafficking Nexus — This solicitation will seek proposals for rigorous applied research on drugs and crime to inform the development of evidence-based tools, practices, and policies for state, tribal, and local law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies that address drug trafficking, drug markets, and drug-related violence. The goals of the FY 2024 solicitation are to evaluate effective approaches to disrupting drug crime organizations and networks in three areas: 1) money laundering of illegal proceeds through cryptocurrency and other financial transactions, bulk cash smuggling, businesses (legitimate and illegitimate), and bank transfers; 2) guns used in the commission of drug crimes, trading guns for drugs, and prosecution involving violent crime and weapons enhancements; and 3) the nexus of drug and human trafficking networks, smuggling operations, and exploiting victims to support drug crime organizations and networks.

Research and Evaluation on Firearms Violence and Mass Shootings — This solicitation will seek applications for program evaluation projects that inform efforts to prevent and reduce intentional, interpersonal firearm violence and mass shootings in the United States. Topics may include: 1) insider threat and leakage, safe firearm storage, technical firearm details, mainstream media and social media platforms, and mass shooting prevention; or 2) research on the sources of the firearm used in the commission of a crime and the relationship of those sources to shootings and firearm-related violence in general.

Research and Evaluation on Hate Crimes — This solicitation will seek applications for research and evaluation projects to inform policy and practice to prevent and respond to hate crimes. Topics may include: 1) evaluations of federal-, state-, or locally-funded hate crime initiatives; 2) research and evaluation of interventions to prevent hate crimes; 3) research and evaluation of strategies to improve the reporting, identification, and response to hate crimes; and 4) research and evaluation of strategies to improve outcomes for survivors and their communities.

Research and Evaluation on Policing — This solicitation will seek proposals for rigorous applied research on policing to inform the development of evidence-based tools, practices, and policies for state, tribal, and local law enforcement. The primary focus of this solicitation centers on the question of “what works” to improve and enhance policing practices and safe and equitable outcomes stemming from law enforcement policies and practices. This solicitation will have four research priority areas: 1) policing strategies implemented to solve problems and enhance public safety, 2) investigative practices adopted to increase crime clearance rates, 3) programs that have been developed and implemented to improve the physical and mental health and well-being of police officers, and 4) accountability mechanisms designed to decrease excessive and unnecessary police use of force.

Research and Evaluation on School Safety — In collaboration with BJA, this solicitation will seek applications for rigorous research and evaluation projects to fill knowledge gaps in two topical areas: 1) studies on the root causes and consequences of school violence, and 2) examinations of the impact and effectiveness of school safety approaches implemented for purposes authorized under the STOP School Violence Act.

Research and Evaluation on the Administration of Justice: Prosecution Practice, Justice, Case Tracking, and Workforce — This solicitation will seek proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects examining the impact of court and other criminal justice tools, practices, and policies on the administration of justice and public safety in state, local, and tribal jurisdictions. NIJ’s FY 2024 focus is on prosecution with four research priorities: 1) advancing practice and resource management (case management, technology); 2) promoting fair and impartial administration of justice (conviction integrity, community involvement); 3) building data and research capacity (in-house case tracking, trend analysis); and 4) enhancing the workforce and court workgroup (professional, interagency supports).

Research and Evaluation on Trafficking in Persons — In collaboration with the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), this solicitation will seek applications for research and evaluation projects to address three topical areas: 1) trafficking victimization, 2) rigorous victim services evaluations, and 3) technology and trafficking. Subtopics under trafficking victimization may include forced criminality and an estimation of the prevalence of human trafficking. Rigorous evaluation proposals should focus on impact evaluations with an implementation fidelity component. Subtopics under technology and trafficking may include technology used by traffickers to perpetrate the crime, investigators to investigate cases, and victims to access assistance.

Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women — This solicitation will seek to invest in high-quality evaluations focused on testing practices, programs, or interventions aimed at enhancing law enforcement, prosecutorial, and judicial responses to adolescent relationship abuse, domestic and family violence, homicide and other forms of violent death, intimate partner violence, rape, sex trafficking, sexual assault, and stalking, as well as programs or interventions aimed at improving victim engagement and accountability of those who cause harm. NIJ will prioritize evaluations of trauma-informed or culturally specific programs.

Research on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Topics — In collaboration with OJJDP, this solicitation will seek applications for research and evaluation projects that inform policy and practice in the field of juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. The solicitation categories may include: 1) research on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of youth justice reinvestments in community-based programs (prioritizing collaborative partnerships between community-based organizations and youth justice systems); and 2) evaluations of the effectiveness of school- and community-based prevention programs.

Research on Multidisciplinary Teams — This solicitation will seek applications from accredited research universities for a study on the current landscape of multidisciplinary teams working on sexual exploitation crimes against children. The study should investigate elements of the teams including structure, participants, and outcomes, in addition to best practices for multidisciplinary teams to improve effectiveness, outcomes, and victim well-being.

Research on School-Based Hate Crime — This solicitation will seek applications to conduct a study on hate crimes in the K-12 education system to understand the scope, characteristics, and outcomes of these incidents. Eligibility will be limited to institutions of higher education.

Research on the Abuse, Neglect, and Financial Exploitation of Older Adults — This solicitation will seek proposals for research and evaluation projects related to the abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of older adults aged 60 years or above. Topics may include: 1) evaluations of programs that seek to intervene in, or respond to, the mistreatment of older adults; 2) evaluations of prevention and education programs related to financial fraud and exploitation, including the efficacy of scam-prevention messaging campaigns; 3) research on individuals who abuse older adults; and 4) forensic research involving the development of radiographic evidence and bioinformatic approaches relevant to the abuse of older adults.

Research on the Impact of Technologies for Forensic Science Applications — This solicitation will seek proposals for projects to study how technologies impact criminal justice systems or how the implementation of forensic laboratory programs or practices affect outcomes. NIJ is interested in evaluating the implementation of technologies, methods, or workflow processes to understand the impact on backlog reduction, capacity enhancement, cost/benefit, resource development, and case closure efficiency. NIJ seeks stimulating research and evaluation projects to examine the impact of forensic advances on the criminal justice system and policy changes to adapt to the increased use of forensic evidence.

W.E.B. Du Bois Program of Research on Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Justice System — This solicitation will seek applications for two categories of investigator-initiated research: 1) studies that examine how observed racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system might be reduced through public policy interventions at any point during the administration of justice; and 2) studies that advance knowledge regarding the confluence of race, crime, and justice within the United States.