NOFO: Social Science Research and Evaluation on Forensic Science Systems (US)

Deadline: 24-Mar-25

The National Institute of Justice is requesting grant proposals for rigorous applied social science research and evaluative studies on the forensic science system.

The field of forensic science is changing, particularly as technological advancements improve the criminal justice system’s ability to use forensic evidence more effectively and efficiently. Research is needed to better understand the impact of forensic science on the criminal justice system.

Goal

• The National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants program fosters the development of new knowledge and tools that can be applied to reduce crime and advance justice, particularly at the state and local level.

Objectives

• Develop, demonstrate, and evaluate programs and practices relevant to criminal justice, juvenile justice, and crime victims’ services outcomes.
• Identify and analyze the causes and correlates of crime.
• Improve the functioning of the criminal and juvenile justice systems.
• Develop new methods for the prevention and reduction of crime.
• Develop new methods to detect, investigate, and prosecute crime.
• Enhance the justice research infrastructure.

Priorities

• NIJ will provide priority consideration when making award decisions to applications addressing the following research priorities:
  • Fostering Rigorous and Inclusive Research: Applications proposing methods that include meaningful engagement with the people closest to the subject of study—for example, criminal justice practitioners, community members, business owners, crime survivors, and people who have experienced incarceration—to guide data collection, help interpret findings, and identify implications of research findings for policy and practice.
  • Infusing Evaluation Research with a Strong Implementation Fidelity Component: Applications proposing evaluations of an intervention’s implementation in the field and identifying both their impacts and unintended consequences.
  • Encouraging Interdisciplinary Research: Applications proposing multidisciplinary research teams to build on the complementary strengths of different methods and areas of subject matter expertise.
  • Ensuring Research Evidence is Translated into Actionable Information to Promote Change in the Field: Applications proposing robust, creative, and multi-pronged dissemination strategies that include strategic partnerships with organizations and associations that are best equipped to ensure that research findings lead to changes in policies and practices; with at least 15% of the requested project award funding toward implementing such strategies.

Categories

• With this NOFO, NIJ requests applicants in two categories:
  • Category 1: Social Science Research and Evaluation on the Forensic Science System
    • Forensic science impact on the criminal justice system;
    • Evaluations of the implementation of new and innovative policies and practices;
    • Forensic science workforce.
  • Category 2: Evaluability Assessment of Crime Gun Intelligence (CGI) Resources
    • In collaboration with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), NIJ seeks proposals to examine ATF’s crime gun intelligence resources including evaluability assessments of crime gun intelligence resources (e.g., CGI platforms) and an evaluation plan which includes recommendations on the feasibility of a rigorous evaluation.
    • The evaluability assessments should be developed through, but not limited to, the following research activities: an environmental scan of practice; relevant data collection activities; and the feasibility of data for an outcome evaluation on the platforms used for CGI and firearms trafficking investigations.

Funding Information

• Total amount to be awarded: $3 million.
• Category 1: Social Science Research and Evaluation on the Forensic Science System
  • Anticipated Number of Awards: To be determined by the number of applications received and their merit.
  • Anticipated Award Ceiling: Applicants are encouraged to propose budgets that match the research activities proposed, up to $2.5 million.
  • Anticipated Period of Performance Start Date: January 1, 2026.
  • Anticipated Period of Performance Duration: 36 months.
• Category 2: Evaluability Assessment of Crime Gun Intelligence (CGI) Resources
  • Anticipated Number of Awards: 1.
  • Anticipated Award Ceiling: $500,000.
  • Anticipated Period of Performance Start Date: January 1, 2026.
  • Anticipated Period of Performance Duration: 24 Months.

Application Requirements

• Title Page (not counted against the proposal narrative page limit)
  • The title page should include:
    • Project title.
    • Submission date.
    • Funding opportunity number.
    • Principal Investigator (and any co-principal investigators).
    • Unique author identifier (e.g., ORCID, Researcher ID, Scopus Author ID), if available.
    • Requests for consideration under “new investigator” and/or “research priorities”.
    • Key words, including science focus areas.
    • Contact information (that is, name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address) for both the applicant and the principal investigator.
• Resubmit Response (if applicable) (not counted against the proposal narrative page limit.) If an applicant is resubmitting an application presented previously to NIJ, but not funded, the applicant should indicate this. A statement should be provided, no more than two pages, addressing:
  • The title, submission date, and NIJ-assigned application number of the previous application,
  • A brief summary of revisions to the application, including responses to previous feedback received from NIJ.
• Table of Contents and Figures (not counted against the proposal narrative page limit)
• Main Body
  • Statement of the Problem
  • Project Design and Implementation
  • Potential Impact
  • Capabilities and Competencies
  • Appendices
  • Plan for Collecting the Data Required for This NOFO’s Performance Measures

For more information, visit Grants.gov.