Competitive solicitations

The Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (GRF-STEM) provides awards to accredited academic institutions to support graduate research leading to doctoral degrees in topic areas that are relevant to ensuring public safety, preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. Applicant academic institutions sponsoring doctoral students are eligible to apply only if...

The Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI) funds rigorous research to produce practical knowledge that can improve the safety of schools and students. The initiative is carried out through partnerships between researchers, educators and other stakeholders, including law enforcement and mental health professionals. Projects funded under the CSSI are designed to produce knowledge that can be applied to schools and school districts across the nation for...

It is not known how many unanalyzed sexual assault kits (SAKs) there are nationwide . Evidence from sexual assaults like weapons, bedding, clothing, and SAKs can be used to corroborate that a crime occurred, identify or eliminate a person suspected of perpetrating a crime, and ascertain whether a suspect may have been involved in other crimes. SAKs contain biological and trace evidence, along with other...

The goal of this research program is to provide a more comprehensive and extensive understanding of domestic radicalization as it occurs in the United States, and to provide State, local and tribal criminal justice agencies evidence-based tools to address it. The primary objective of this solicitation is to produce research studies that improve this understanding by filling gaps in the existing research or expanding on...

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for funding for research, development, and/or evaluation projects to explore the ability of mobile device technologies to help enable adult correctional systems more effectively supervise increased numbers of persons under community supervision. Related to this, NIJ is also interested in exploring the potential of mobile device-based solutions to provide an improved means to locate and track offenders under community...

NIJ seeks proposals to conduct research on policing to improve policing practices and public safety at the State, local, and tribal levels. In 2015, a task force was created by President Barack Obama to examine the current state of policing in the United States. In response to a number of high profile events across the nation involving the police, the panel provided recommendations on promising...

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) seeks innovative research proposals to empirically assess pressing issues in institutional corrections. Interested applicants should submit proposals that address any of the three categories below. NIJ anticipates that up to $8 million may become available for awards under this solicitation. 1. Advancing science: Responding to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Report, The Growth of Incarceration in the United...

NIJ seeks proposals for funding to assist in defraying the costs associated...

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for research and evaluation projects that will: 1. Identify and inform the forensic community of best practices through the evaluation of existing laboratory protocols; and 2. Have a direct and immediate impact on laboratory efficiency and assist in making laboratory policy decisions. The intent of this program is to direct the findings of the research and evaluation toward the...

With this solicitation, subject to available funding, NIJ seeks proposals for important research work and scholarship as part of the 2016 NIJ Visiting Fellows Program. Awards made under the NIJ Visiting Fellows Program will bring leading researchers and others into residency at NIJ to make important scholarly contributions in their chosen fields of criminology or criminal justice research, and to work with the NIJ Director...

NIJ FY 16 Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

NIJ FY 16 Graduate Research Fellowship Program in the Social and Behavioral Sciences

NIJ is seeking proposals to conduct a process evaluation of the Firearms Locks Distribution and Safe Storage Program sponsored by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The project funded through this solicitation will be a companion to the activities funded by BJA under the solicitationFirearm Locks Distribution and Safe Storage Program: FY 2015 Competitive Grant Announcement. As stated in the BJA solicitation, the purpose of...

NIJ FY 15 Optimizing the Use of Video Technology to Improve Criminal Justice Outcomes

NIJ is seeking proposals for funding under the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI) to support rigorous research that produces practical knowledge that can improve the safety of schools and students. The initiative is carried out through partnerships between researchers, educators and other stakeholders, including law enforcement and mental health professionals. Projects funded under the CSSI are designed to produce knowledge that can be applied to...

NIJ seeks proposals for funding to assist in defraying the costs associated with postconviction DNA testing in cases of violent felony offenses (as defined by State law) in which actual innocence might be demonstrated. Funds may be used to identify and review such postconviction cases and to locate and analyze associated biological evidence.

NIJ is seeking proposals for criminal justice research and evaluation that includes a researcher-practitioner partnership component. Through researcher-practitioner partnerships, criminal justice practitioners can gain new skills in assessing programs and measuring outcomes. Likewise, criminal justice researchers can better understand the goals and purposes criminal justice practitioners seek to achieve. Ultimately, these partnerships provide criminal justice practitioners with practice- and policy-relevant information while affording researchers the...

NIJ is seeking proposals for research and evaluation relating to bias crime (a.k.a. hate crime) victimization. As compared with analogous crimes, bias crime is associated with more negative outcomes for victims and communities. NIJ is particularly interested in funding research to:  Develop and test screening and/or assessment tools to identify bias crime victims.Conduct localized victimization surveys using new and innovative sampling strategies to understand hate crime...

NIJ is seeking proposals for secondary data analysis of the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS) data. Noting a critical need for a national surveillance system that would produce frequent, consistent, and reliable data on the magnitude and nature of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking using consistent definitions and survey methods to evaluate trends over time, the CDC’s National Center...

NIJ seeks proposals for funding projects to study how criminal justice practitioners use research in their decision-making processes and how they implement evidence-based programs or practices. NIJ proposes two distinct research activities under this solicitation.Incorporating the Use of Research in Policy Decisions.Implementation Studies. Applicants may apply to one or both sections of the solicitation; however, proposal titles should clearly identify the section of the solicitation...

NIJ seeks applications to support the scholarship of up to three promising postdoctoral researchers to conduct original data collection and/or secondary data analyses on violence against women (intimate partner violence, sexual violence, teen dating violence, stalking) under the supervision of a mentor.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for innovative, rigorous research to identify and characterize the suicide prevention and intervention strategies currently being used by law enforcement agencies in the United States and, potentially, elsewhere. NIJ is particularly interested in understanding the rational e for the adoption of a particular strategy and what evidence may exist regarding its efficacy

In collaboration with the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART), NIJ seeks creative and innovative proposals for research that examines how information sharing, a key function of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), may have evolved since its implementation. Specifically, NIJ is interested in assessing how information sharing has changed how criminal justice agents (e.g., law enforcement, public...

NIJ is seeking proposals to evaluate the effectiveness of State, tribal, and local programs or initiatives designed to respond to crimes committed against Native American women living in tribal communities. NIJ welcomes research that will support tribal-nation building and cultural goals and values. Studies specifically designed to acquire information and knowledge that will enable tribes to make informed decisions about policies, programs, and community action...