Deadline: 20 April 2020
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking applications to fund research and evaluation projects that support and inform federal, state, local, and tribal criminal justice agencies and victim service providers in responding to the challenges that trafficking in persons (also referred to as “human trafficking,” or “trafficking”) pose in their jurisdictions.
The goal of this research program is to contribute to the building of a comprehensive and extensive understanding of human trafficking as it occurs in the United States, and to provide federal, state, local, and tribal criminal justice agencies with evidence-based knowledge and tools to address this type of crime as it occurs in their communities. The primary objective of this solicitation is to produce research studies that will fill gaps in the existing research literature, and build on existing work to provide necessary insights in priority areas. A second objective of this solicitation is to fund research that will provide the empirical basis upon which to formulate and implement policies and programs to address human trafficking in the United States.
With this solicitation, NIJ continues to build upon its research and evaluation efforts to better understand, prevent, and respond to trafficking in persons in the United States. Applicants should propose research projects that — first and foremost — have clear implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the United States.
Priority Areas
NIJ is interested in research projects addressing both sex and labor trafficking. NIJ is particularly interested in research responding to the following priority areas:
- Labor trafficking research
- Research projects that contribute to the body of evidence concerning labor trafficking in the United States to help state and local law enforcement, as well as victim service providers, to better assist these types of victims.
- Demand reduction research
- Research projects including, but not limited to: efficacy/outcome evaluations of demand programs; research regarding the impact of demand policy (e.g., policy specific to decrease demand, decriminalization/legalization) of sex work and its relationship to sex trafficking. This may include comparative research of international policies that address decriminalization, however, adequate comparisons to the U.S. are required.
- Research to identify the health and wellness effects of trafficking victimization
- Research to identify the short- and long-term physical and physiological effects of trafficking victimization on the victim to better inform the most effective types of services for individuals who are identified as victims of these crimes.
- Profiling recruitment tactics
- Research on the profiling recruitment tactics used by traffickers on victims (sex and/or labor trafficking).
Award Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $2,500,000
- Award Ceiling: $500,000
Eligibility Criteria
- In general, NIJ is authorized to make grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with eligible entities as listed below:
- States (including territories);
- Units of local government;
- Federally recognized Indian tribal governments that perform law enforcement functions (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior);
- Nonprofit and for-profit organizations (including tribal nonprofit and for-profit organizations);
- Institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions of higher education).
- Foreign governments, foreign organizations, and foreign colleges and universities are not eligible to apply. Federal agencies are eligible to apply. (Any award made to a federal agency will be made as an inter-agency reimbursable agreement.)
- All recipients and subrecipients (including any for-profit organization) must forgo any profit or management fee.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=323805