NIJ FY24 Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime: Money Laundering, Firearms, and Human Trafficking | O NIJ 2024 171990

Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2024 171990

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is offering a discretionary funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY24 Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime: Money Laundering, Firearms, and Human Trafficking" (Funding Opportunity Number: O-NIJ-2024-171990; CFDA: 16.560). The program is designed to fund rigorous, applied research that helps criminal justice practitioners better understand and disrupt drug trafficking, drug markets, and drug-related violence. The central idea is to generate practical, evidence-based tools, strategies, and policies that state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies (and other justice partners) can actually use, with a strong emphasis on understanding how drug crime organizations and networks operate and how they can be effectively dismantled.

A key focus of the solicitation is on targeting the enabling systems that allow drug trafficking organizations to thrive. NIJ is specifically interested in research that examines drug-related money laundering, firearms, and human trafficking as interconnected components of broader drug crime ecosystems. In practice, this means proposals may look at how illicit proceeds are moved and hidden, how firearms are acquired and used in drug market violence, and how human trafficking intersects with drug distribution networks, coercion, and exploitation. The goal is not only to describe these problems, but to identify approaches that can disrupt the people, processes, and relationships that sustain these criminal networks.

Awards will be made as cooperative agreements, which typically means NIJ expects a more active role in the project compared to a standard grant, such as involvement in shaping deliverables, ensuring the research stays aligned with operational needs, and supporting dissemination of findings. NIJ anticipates making about 4 awards under this solicitation, with an award ceiling of $3,000,000 per award. The opportunity was created on February 21, 2024, and the original application closing date was May 1, 2024.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) entities); for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits); and other eligible entities. While the solicitation explicitly notes "units of local government," it is structured to support partnerships across sectors, which often aligns well with research efforts that combine practitioner knowledge (law enforcement and justice agencies) with analytic capacity (universities, labs, nonprofits, or specialized firms).

Overall, this NIJ opportunity is aimed at producing actionable research that can strengthen real-world interventions against drug trafficking and related violence by focusing on how criminal organizations finance operations, obtain and use firearms, and intersect with human trafficking. The emphasis on evidence-based outputs signals that NIJ is looking for strong research designs, credible data and methods, and results that translate into clear guidance for policy and practice in the field.

• The National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY24 Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime: Money Laundering, Firearms, and Human Trafficking" 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 2024-02-21.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-01. (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 $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, 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 2024 171990

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