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Social and Behavioral Science

The National Institute of Justice SORNA Challenge: Developing Strategies to Measure the Implementation Costs and Public Safety Benefits of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA)

Challenge Closed

This challenge has closed. This page is kept available for informational purposes.
We would like to thank everyone who submitted an idea under this Challenge. We know our Challenge questions are tough, and in this case, no submission met the Challenge, so we will not award a prize.

On this page find:

NIJ FY 13 Research and Evaluation on Transnational Issues Trafficking in Persons, Transnational Organized Crime and Violent Extremism

Closing Date

NIJ seeks proposals for funding research and evaluation projects that support Federal, State, local, and tribal criminal justice agencies in meeting the challenges posed to them by transnational issues such as transnational organized crime, trafficking in persons, and radicalization to violent extremism. Proposals should develop and analyze information and data that have clear implications for criminal justice in the following focus areas: (1) transnational offenders...

NIJ FY 13 Research and Evaluation on Radicalization to Violent Extremism in the United States

Closing Date

NIJ seeks proposals for research on radicalization to violent extremism as it occurs in the United States, and for evaluation of promising practices to prevent or mitigate radicalization in U.S. communities. The goal of this research is to aid State, local, and tribal criminal justice agencies and their attendant communities in implementing programs that prevent or counter radicalization to violent extremism. Proposals should develop and...

NIJ FY 13 Exploratory Research on the Impact of the Growing Oil Industry in the Dakotas and Montana on Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking

Closing Date

NIJ seeks proposals to conduct exploratory, mixed-methods research, employing both quantitative and qualitative data collection, related to the impact (if any) of the oil industry on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the Dakotas and Montana. Research proposed may be focused at the Federal, State, local, and/or tribal levels.​

Second Chance Act: What Have We Learned About Reentry Programs So Far?

June 2013

Interview with Ron D'Amico, Social Policy Research Associates. Offender reentry into the community is a pressing social problem. The number of inmates released every year from the nation's prisons increased fourfold over the past three decades.

Since the Second Chance Act (SCA) was passed in 2008, more than $250 million has been awarded to government agencies and non-profits for programs to help offenders successfully reenter society. NIJ is doing an in-depth study of 10 sites to determine the effectiveness of these reentry programs.

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NIJ FY 13 Research and Evaluation on Policing

Closing Date

NIJ seeks proposals to conduct research on policing to promote officer safety and wellness, understand the impact of police technology on crime control and disorder, promote police integrity, and explore the costs and benefits of the consolidation of police agencies at the State, local, and tribal levels. Effective practices in these areas are of critical importance to improving law enforcement operations and ensuring trust and...

NIJ FY 13 Research and Evaluation on Justice Systems: Investigator-Initiated

Closing Date

NIJ seeks proposals for social and behavioral science research on, and evaluations related to, justice systems topics relevant to State, local, tribal, or Federal criminal and juvenile justice policy and practice. Application titles should clearly indicate the justice systems focus area selected. Most justice systems topics, including but not limited to general policing, corrections (institutional, community, and offender reentry), and courts (prosecution, defense including indigent...

NIJ FY 13 Basic Scientific Research to Assess Youth With Sexual Offending Behavior

Closing Date
As part of a collaborative effort with and funding from the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking (SMART), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) seeks proposals for basic scientific research in the development and validation of a risk assessment tool with both static and dynamic factors designed for use in criminal and juvenile justice systems to estimate the short-term risk that...

NIJ FY 13 Research on Offender Decision-Making

Closing Date
NIJ seeks proposals for funding for research related to adult offender decision-making with respect to crime. NIJ is particularly interested in research to extend the rational choice models or expand into other theories and models (e.g., behavioral economics, business models, or cognitive models) in order to advance our understanding of adult offenders’ decision-making process. Proposed research also should consider issues such as social context, emotions...