NIJ FY22 Research and Evaluation on Desistance from Crime | O NIJ 2022 171220

Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2022 171220

The NIJ FY22 Research and Evaluation on Desistance from Crime grant (Funding Opportunity Number O-NIJ-2022-171220) is a discretionary National Institute of Justice funding opportunity focused on building strong evidence about what helps people stop offending over time. It sits within the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs broader priorities of advancing civil rights and racial equity, improving access to justice, supporting crime victims and people impacted by the justice system, strengthening public safety, responding to evolving threats, and improving trust between law enforcement and communities. In practical terms, NIJ is looking for research that does more than describe desistance; it is looking for rigorous evaluations that can credibly test whether specific interventions and strategies actually support desistance and under what conditions they work best.

The core purpose of the solicitation is to fund evaluations of desistance-based interventions. This includes proposals for brand-new evaluations as well as proposals that expand earlier NIJ- or otherwise-funded evaluations, especially by extending follow-up periods so researchers can measure longer-term outcomes. The emphasis on extending follow-up matters because desistance is often a gradual process, and short observation windows can miss delayed effects, relapses, or sustained improvements. NIJ is essentially signaling that it wants designs and measurement strategies capable of capturing real-world change over time, not just immediate post-program outcomes.

A major operational expectation is that projects involving partnerships with criminal justice agencies or other public agencies must be backed by strong, decision-maker level letters of support from each partnering agency. These letters are not meant to be generic endorsements; they should clearly confirm the agency role, access, and cooperation, and they must explicitly acknowledge that de-identified project data (whether created by the study, shared with the research team, or obtained through the work) will be archived at the end of the award with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD). Applicants and partners are encouraged to review NACJD policies and protections in advance so the data-sharing and de-identification expectations are understood early, rather than becoming a problem near the end of the project.

If a proposal is selected for funding, the award comes with an additional coordination requirement: by January 1, 2023, the grantee is expected to have a formal agreement in place with partnering agencies. That agreement must include language that ensures the project can meet the data archiving requirement. The solicitation also clarifies how multi-agency collaborations should be structured financially and administratively. Even if multiple agencies are involved in carrying out the work, only one entity can be the primary applicant; any additional partners receiving federal funds to help implement the project must be included as subrecipients rather than co-applicants. The opportunity also defines "state" broadly to include U.S. states and several U.S. territories and commonwealths (including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands).

The solicitation includes an eligibility-related compliance condition tied to Executive Order 13929, Safe Policing for Safe Communities. For state, local, and university or college law enforcement agencies, eligibility for FY 2022 DOJ discretionary grant funding depends on being certified by an approved independent credentialing body or having begun the certification process. The certification standard includes two mandatory conditions: the agency use-of-force policies must comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws, and they must prohibit chokeholds except where deadly force is legally permitted. This requirement extends to law enforcement agencies that might receive DOJ funds through a subaward as well, meaning project teams need to consider it not only for the lead applicant but also for funded partners. DOJ provides additional guidance and approved credentialing bodies through the COPS Office Safe Policing EO resources.

In terms of who can apply, the eligible applicant list is broad and includes state, county, and city or township governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other entities that fit the solicitation rules. Federal agencies may apply as well, but any award to a federal agency would be made through an inter-agency reimbursable agreement rather than a standard grant. Foreign governments, foreign organizations, and foreign colleges and universities are explicitly ineligible.

Several administrative and budget-related constraints are also highlighted. All recipients and subrecipients, including for-profit entities, must forgo any profit or management fee, which means proposed budgets should reflect actual allowable costs rather than built-in profit margins. The opportunity is categorized as Science and Technology and other Research and Development under CFDA 16.560, consistent with NIJ's role as DOJ's research arm. The original closing date for applications was May 9, 2022, and the posted award ceiling is $2,000,000, indicating NIJ anticipated potentially large, multi-year evaluation efforts with substantial data collection, partnership coordination, and long-term follow-up needs.

Overall, this solicitation is best understood as NIJ seeking high-quality, policy-relevant evaluation research that can inform practice: which interventions help people desist from crime, how and why they work, and whether effects endure. It places heavy emphasis on credible evaluation methods, strong agency partnerships, clear up-front commitments to data access and data archiving through NACJD, and compliance with DOJ-wide conditions tied to safe policing certification when law enforcement agencies are involved.

• The National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY22 Research and Evaluation on Desistance from Crime" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-03-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-05-09. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for O NIJ 2022 171220

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