NOFO: Field Initiated – Encouraging Innovation Program (US)

Deadline: 10-Apr-25

The Bureau of Justice Assistance is seeking applications for its Field Initiated: Encouraging Innovation Program to develop and implement new and innovative strategies that address emerging or persistent challenges faced by criminal justice systems in preventing and responding to emerging or chronic challenges that affect multiple agencies within the criminal justice system and many communities across the United States.

The proposals submitted should have the goal of filling the gaps in current knowledge or testing new ideas for addressing public safety and criminal justice issues. Additionally, these proposals should be developed or implemented in a manner that can provide a learning opportunity for other communities or organizations and potentially facilitate replication of the approach.

Goal

To identify, define, and respond to emerging or chronic crime problems or criminal justice system challenges by supporting new and innovative strategies that address these issues, including trying new approaches, addressing gaps in responses, building or translating research knowledge, or building capacity.

Objectives

Develop and implement new and innovative strategies to prevent and reduce crime and enhance public safety.
Develop effective and efficient strategies that can be replicated in the criminal justice system.
Enhance the capacity of criminal justice professionals and the communities to respond to crime and justice system challenges effectively through training and education.
Advance knowledge and build capacity by developing and providing tools and resources for the field.

Focus Areas

BJA invites applicants to propose an innovative or unique solution, strategy, and/or response to address critical and emerging public safety issues identified by law enforcement, prosecutors, and other criminal justice practitioners working in the field. Areas of particular interests to BJA include, but are not limited to:
- Develop innovative and fair responses to combat, address, or otherwise respond to precipitous or extraordinary increases in crime, or in a type or types of crime, such as homicides, assaults, and hate crimes.
- Address and support law enforcement, prosecutors, defense, courts, corrections and other criminal justice agencies and the judiciary in building trust and legitimacy with the communities they serve.
- Build new or alternative strategies and systems such as restorative justice programs, community responder models, diversion programs, and strategies for addressing other public order infractions that can prevent unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system and enhance outcomes for those already involved.
- Accelerate justice through the creation of approaches and tools that build the capacity to gather and analyze data and information to understand key decision points and levers for change to strengthen safety while reducing unnecessary incarceration, community correctional control, and racial disparities.
- Enhance efforts to ensure effective right to counsel and access to justice, addressing the unique challenges faced by rural communities, ensuring system integrity including preventing future errors, addressing legal deserts including collaboration with civil legal supports, and building alternative approaches to address safety concerns.
- Explore innovative approaches that use technology and artificial intelligence to both enhance practices in investigations and prosecutions while safeguarding privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties, as well as manage the increasing complexity of crime related to these tools.
- Develop and/or explore effective strategies to reduce the number of youth (age 18 and over) within the criminal justice system and decrease recidivism rates.

Funding Information

Category 1: State, local, or tribal innovations (with a research partnership):
- Anticipated Number of Awards: 6
- Anticipated Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
- Anticipated Period of Performance Start Date: October 1, 2025
- Anticipated Period of Performance Duration: 36 months
Category 2: National or regional strategies to advance or translate knowledge:
- Anticipated Number of Awards: 4
- Anticipated Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
- Anticipated Period of Performance Start Date: October 1, 2025
- Anticipated Period of Performance Duration: 36 months

Eligibility Criteria

For Category 1: State, local, or tribal innovations with a research partnership:
- Government Entities:
  - State governments
  - County governments
  - City or township governments
  - Special district governments and other units of local government, such as towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state
  - Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
- Educational Organizations:
  - Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
  - Private institutions of higher education
- Public Housing Organizations:
  - Public housing authorities
  - Indian housing authorities
- Nonprofit Organizations:
  - Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (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
- For-Profit Organizations:
  - Organizations other than small businesses
  - Small businesses
For Category 2: National or regional strategies to advance or translate knowledge:
- Educational Organizations:
  - Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
  - Private institutions of higher education
- Public Housing Organizations:
  - Public housing authorities
  - Indian housing authorities
- Nonprofit Organizations:
  - Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (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
- For-Profit Organizations:
  - Organizations other than small businesses
  - Small businesses

For more information, visit Grants.gov.