Opportunity Information: Apply for NIJ 2020 17308
The Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) offered this discretionary grant opportunity, titled "Research and Evaluation on School Safety, Fiscal Year 2020" (Funding Opportunity Number NIJ 2020 17308), to support rigorous research aimed at improving safety in K-12 school settings. The central purpose of the solicitation was twofold: first, to fund studies that dig into the root causes of school violence, and second, to evaluate how well certain federally funded school safety initiatives are working in practice. In particular, NIJ targeted evaluations of projects supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) or the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) under the STOP School Violence Act, signaling a focus on evidence-building around real-world interventions already being implemented with federal support.
Funding was offered through a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates a closer working relationship between the award recipient and the federal agency than a standard grant. That structure is often used when the agency expects to be substantially involved in shaping, monitoring, or coordinating aspects of the research and evaluation work, such as refining study design expectations, ensuring consistent methodological standards, or facilitating access to program sites and administrative data connected to STOP School Violence Act initiatives. The activity categories listed for the solicitation reflected that blend of applied criminal justice policy and research: law, justice, and legal services alongside science and technology and other research and development.
NIJ anticipated that at least $2,000,000 would be available to support the solicitation, with the possibility of additional funding coming from BJA. The award ceiling was set at $2,000,000, and NIJ expected to make about two awards, suggesting a relatively competitive process with an emphasis on a small number of sizable, high-impact projects rather than many smaller ones. The solicitation was posted on February 3, 2020, with an original application deadline of April 13, 2020, placing it on a typical federal research grant timeline of roughly two months from announcement to closing.
Eligibility was broad and included many categories of potential applicants that are commonly positioned to conduct school safety research or evaluations at scale. Eligible applicants included state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; nonprofit organizations (both those with 501(c)(3) status and those without, other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and other applicants as described in the solicitation's additional eligibility language. This wide eligibility pool suggests NIJ intended to attract proposals from academic research teams, research and evaluation firms, nonprofit research organizations, and governmental entities that have direct operational ties to school safety programming and access to relevant data.
Overall, the opportunity was designed to strengthen the evidence base on what drives school violence and what actually reduces it, using research and evaluation tied closely to STOP School Violence Act funded efforts. By prioritizing both root-cause research and program effectiveness evaluation, NIJ positioned the solicitation to generate findings that could inform policy decisions, guide implementation improvements for school safety initiatives, and help federal, state, and local partners invest in approaches with demonstrated results.Apply for NIJ 2020 17308
- The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the law, justice and legal services, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research and Evaluation on School Safety, Fiscal Year 2020" 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 Feb 03, 2020.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 13, 2020. (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.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 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), 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, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NIJ Research and Evaluation on School Safety (FY 2020)
1) What is the official title and funding opportunity number for this grant?
The opportunity is titled "Research and Evaluation on School Safety, Fiscal Year 2020" and the Funding Opportunity Number is NIJ 2020 17308.
2) Which federal agency offered this funding opportunity?
The opportunity was offered by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), National Institute of Justice (NIJ).
3) What is the overall purpose of this solicitation?
The solicitation had two main goals: (1) support rigorous research that examines the root causes of school violence in K-12 settings, and (2) evaluate the real-world effectiveness of certain federally funded school safety initiatives.
4) What types of projects was NIJ looking to fund?
Based on the description provided, NIJ was interested in projects that either:
- Study underlying drivers and root causes of school violence in K-12 schools, or
- Evaluate how well specific federally funded school safety initiatives work in practice.
5) What specific initiatives were NIJ particularly interested in evaluating?
NIJ targeted evaluations of projects supported by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) or the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) under the STOP School Violence Act.
6) Is this grant focused on K-12 school settings or higher education?
The opportunity is focused on improving safety in K-12 school settings.
7) What kind of award mechanism is used for this opportunity?
Funding was offered through a cooperative agreement, rather than a standard grant.
8) What does it mean that the award is a cooperative agreement?
A cooperative agreement typically indicates a closer working relationship between the recipient and the federal agency. In this opportunity, it suggests NIJ expected to be substantially involved in aspects of the research and evaluation work, such as helping refine study design expectations, maintaining methodological consistency, monitoring progress, and/or facilitating access to relevant program sites and administrative data tied to STOP School Violence Act initiatives.
9) What activity categories are associated with this solicitation?
The activity categories listed reflect a blend of applied policy and research, including:
- Law, justice, and legal services
- Science and technology
- Other research and development
10) How much funding did NIJ anticipate being available?
NIJ anticipated that at least $2,000,000 would be available to support the solicitation, with the possibility that additional funding could come from BJA.
11) What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling was set at $2,000,000.
12) How many awards did NIJ expect to make?
NIJ expected to make about two awards, indicating a competitive process focused on a small number of larger projects.
13) When was the solicitation posted?
The solicitation was posted on February 3, 2020.
14) What was the application deadline?
The original application deadline was April 13, 2020.
15) What does the timeline suggest about the application window?
Based on the posted date and the original deadline provided, the timeline reflects a roughly two-month window from announcement to closing.
16) Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was broad. Eligible applicants included:
- State governments
- County governments
- City or township governments
- Special district governments
- Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
- Federally recognized Native American tribal governments
- Nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education)
- Nonprofit organizations without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education)
- For-profit organizations other than small businesses
- Other applicants as described in the solicitation's additional eligibility language
17) Are institutions of higher education eligible even though the focus is K-12?
Yes. Both public/state-controlled and private institutions of higher education were listed as eligible applicant types, which aligns with NIJ seeking research and evaluation capacity even when the setting of the work is K-12 schools.
18) Are tribal governments eligible to apply?
Yes. Federally recognized Native American tribal governments were included in the eligibility list.
19) Are nonprofit organizations eligible?
Yes. Nonprofits were eligible, including those with 501(c)(3) status and those without 501(c)(3) status (in both cases, other than institutions of higher education).
20) Are for-profit organizations eligible?
Yes. For-profit organizations other than small businesses were included as eligible applicants.
21) What is the relationship between NIJ and the STOP School Violence Act in this opportunity?
NIJ prioritized building evidence around interventions already being implemented with federal support under the STOP School Violence Act, specifically by encouraging evaluations of BJA- or COPS-supported projects funded under that Act.
22) What kind of impact was NIJ aiming for with this research?
The opportunity was designed to strengthen the evidence base on what drives school violence and what reduces it. The intent was to generate findings that could inform policy decisions, improve implementation of school safety initiatives, and guide federal, state, and local investments toward approaches with demonstrated results.
23) Does the opportunity emphasize research, evaluation, or both?
Both. The solicitation explicitly included (1) root-cause research on school violence and (2) evaluations of the effectiveness of certain federally funded school safety initiatives.
24) Why might NIJ have expected only about two awards?
The provided details suggest NIJ aimed to fund a small number of larger, high-impact projects (up to the $2,000,000 ceiling), rather than many smaller awards.
25) Which DOJ components are mentioned in connection with the initiatives being evaluated?
Two DOJ components are explicitly mentioned: the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).
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