NIJ-2017-12000.pdf

Notices regarding the solicitation “W.E.B. Du Bois Program of Research on Race and Crime FY 2017”

February 2, 2017: Answers to questions have been posted. To assist applicants in completing their proposals, NIJ has made the answers to questions received available for this funding opportunity. Visit https://nij.gov/funding/pages/solicitation-qa.aspx#NIJ-2017-12000 for questions and answers to help prepare your application.

The original solicitation document begins on the next page.

https://nij.gov/funding/pages/solicitation-qa.aspx#NIJ-2017-12000

U.S. Department of Justice OMB No. 1121-0329

Office of Justice Programs Approval Expires 12/31/2018

National Institute of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) seeks investigator-initiated proposals in two funding categories under the W.E.B.

Du Bois Program of Research on Race and Crime: (1) Scholars who are advanced in their careers; and (2) Fellows who are early in their careers. The program supports research on the intersections of race, offending, victimization, and/or the fair administration of justice for both juveniles and adults. It furthers the Department’s mission by advancing knowledge regarding the confluence of crime, justice, and culture in various societal contexts.

W.E.B. Du Bois Program of Research on Race and Crime FY 2017

Applications Due: March 31, 2017

Eligibility

In general, NIJ is authorized to make grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, 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), and certain qualified individuals. For-profit organizations must agree to forgo any profit or management fee. Foreign governments, foreign organizations, and foreign colleges and universities are not eligible to apply.

NIJ welcomes applications under which two or more entities would carry out the federal award;

however, only one entity may be the applicant. Any others must be proposed as subrecipients (“subgrantees”).1 The applicant must be the entity that would have primary responsibility for carrying out the award, including administering funding and managing the entire project, including monitoring and appropriately managing any subawards (“subgrants”).

Under this solicitation, any particular applicant entity may submit more than one application, as long as each application proposes a different project in response to the solicitation. Also, an entity may be proposed as a subrecipient (“subgrantee”) in more than one application.

NIJ may elect to fund applications submitted under this FY 2017 solicitation in future fiscal years, dependent on, among other considerations, the merit of the applications and on the availability of appropriations.

Deadline

Applicants must register with Grants.gov prior to submitting an application. All applications are due by 11: 59 p.m. eastern time on March 31, 2017.

1 For additional information on subawards, see "Budget and Associated Documentation" under Section D. Application and Submission Information.

http://www.usdoj.gov/ http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ http://nij.gov/Pages/welcome.aspx http://nij.gov/Pages/welcome.aspx http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html

NIJ-2017-12000

To be considered timely, an application must be submitted by the application deadline using Grants.gov, and the applicant must have received a validation message from Grants.gov that indicates successful and timely submission. OJP urges applicants to submit applications at least 72 hours prior to the application due date, in order to allow time for the applicant to receive validation messages or rejection notifications from Grants.gov, and to correct in a timely fashion any problems that may have caused a rejection notification.

OJP encourages all applicants to read this Important Notice: Applying for Grants in Grants.gov.

For additional information, see How to Apply in Section D. Application and Submission Information.

Contact Information

For technical assistance with submitting an application, contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 800-518-4726 or 606-545-5035, or via email to support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov Support Hotline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except on federal holidays.

An applicant that experiences unforeseen Grants.gov technical issues beyond its control that prevent it from submitting its application by the deadline must email the NIJ contact identified below within 24 hours after the application deadline in order to request approval to submit a late application. Additional information on reporting technical issues appears under “Experiencing Unforeseen Grants.gov Technical Issues” in the How to Apply section.

For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Response Center: toll-free at 1-800-851-3420; via TTY at 301-240-6310 (hearing impaired only); email grants@ncjrs.gov; fax to 301-240-5830; or web chat at https://webcontact.ncjrs.gov/ncjchat/chat.jsp. The NCJRS Response Center hours of operation are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. eastern time on the solicitation close date. General information on applying for NIJ awards can be found at www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/welcome.aspx. Answers to frequently asked questions that may assist applicants are posted at www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/faqs.aspx.

Grants.gov number assigned to this solicitation: NIJ-2017-12000

Release date: January 6, 2017 http://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Grants-govInfo.htm mailto:support@grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html mailto:responsecenter@ncjrs.gov https://webcontact.ncjrs.gov/ncjchat/chat.jsp http://www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/welcome.aspx http://www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/welcome.aspx http://www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/faqs.aspx

Contents

A. Program Description

Overview

Program-Specific Information

Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products

B. Federal Award Information

Type of Award

Financial Management and System of Internal Controls

Budget Information

Cost Sharing or Match Requirement

Pre-Agreement Costs (also known as Pre-award Costs)

Limitation on Use of Award Funds for Employee Compensation; Waiver

Prior Approval, Planning, and Reporting of Conference/Meeting/Training Costs

Costs Associated with Language Assistance (if applicable)

C. Eligibility Information

D. Application and Submission Information

What an Application Should Include

How to Apply

E. Application Review Information

Review Criteria

Review Process

F. Federal Award Administration Information

Federal Award Notices

Administrative, National Policy, and Other Legal Requirements

General Information about Post-Federal Award Reporting Requirements

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)

H. Other Information

Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552 and 5 U.S.C. 552a)

Provide Feedback to OJP

Application Checklist

W.E.B. Du Bois Program of Research on Race and Crime FY 2017

(CFDA No. 16.566)

A. Program Description

Overview

A general research priority for NIJ is to identify and understand the dynamics of the criminal justice system that may result in disparities based on gender, race, or ethnicity. The W.E.B. Du Bois Program supports quantitative and qualitative research on the intersections of race, offending, victimization, and the fair administration of justice for both juveniles and adults. It furthers the Department’s mission by advancing knowledge regarding the confluence of crime, justice, and culture in various societal contexts. This solicitation seeks investigator-initiated proposals to conduct research on topics linked to race and crime in the context of violence and victimization, crime and crime prevention, and justice systems.

Applicants may propose research on other topics that are clearly linked to research on race and crime; however, priority consideration will be given to proposals to study:

Homicide and other violence in minority communities

Criminal court topics including screening and assessment, legal defense systems, and sentencing reform

NIJ seeks applications in two funding categories:

1. W.E.B. Du Bois Scholars in Race and Crime Research – Researchers who are advanced in their careers (awarded a terminal degree at least six years prior to December 30, 2017) may apply for 36-month (or less) grants with funding up to $500,000 for research that excludes projects that only analyze secondary data; a plan for Principal Investigator(s) (PIs) to mentor less experienced researchers is required.

2. W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship for Research on Race and Crime – Researchers who are early in their careers (awarded a terminal degree within six years prior to December 30, 2017) may apply for 24-month (or less) grants with funding up to $100,000 for secondary data analysis projects, or up to $150,000 for research projects involving primary data collection; residency at NIJ is encouraged, but is not required.

Applicants must specify, in the title of their application, to which category they are responding.

Statutory Authority: Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (sections 201 and 202).

Program-Specific Information

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was an early leader in the struggle for racial equality in the U.S. As a social scientist, Du Bois used objective methods to challenge discriminatory ideologies and institutions to advocate for social change. The Philadelphia Negro,2 published by Du Bois in 1899, was a groundbreaking sociological study of the city’s African American community. It was one of the first research projects to combine urban ethnography, social history, and descriptive statistics. As a result of this work, Du Bois was acknowledged as the father of social science.

Since FY 2000, NIJ has supported the W.E.B. Du Bois Program to advance the field of research on race and crime in the U.S. with funding for Fellows who are early in their careers. Past Fellows have examined policing, courts, corrections, and other topics, but most often victimization and offending in immigrant and other contexts. Examples include: violence against women and children in indigenous cultures; dispute-related violence among blacks and Hispanics in urban settings; Arab-American experiences with respect to crime and victimization;

rates of violence and victimization among different racial and ethnic groups in immigrant communities; and correlations between marriage and desistance among first and second generation immigrants.

Many Fellows have applied quantitative methods such as using national survey, police department, and other archival data for longitudinal, multilevel, and other statistical analyses.

With increased NIJ grant funding to promote mixed method approaches, some Fellows have incorporated primary data collection including qualitative research into their protocols. Examples include: structured surveys with undocumented migrant workers about victimization and reporting; focus groups with the Albanian diaspora in communities affected by organized crime;

and a survey experiment testing the effect of exposure to racialized cues on support for justice reinvestment.

See the W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship webpage3 for a brief description of the program, a list of past Fellows and their projects, and links to research reports and other publications.

In FY 2016, NIJ expanded the program to include a new funding category with support for more extensive research projects led by experienced PIs who could provide mentoring to less experienced researchers. NIJ awarded several new grants under the Scholar and Fellowship funding categories, including research on youth violence and victimization, policing and racial bias in traffic stops, and civilian oversight and review boards. The variety of research methods proposed were broad: analyzing department of corrections records to examine restrictive housing placement decisions for racial and gender disparities in punishment; exploring an innovative “data scraping” computer application to compile data from newly released court records to examine case processing disparity; and conducting Q-sorts of information from interviews with LGBTQ people of color about intersectional subjection in police interactions.

See NIJ’s website for details on grants awarded under the program’s FY 2016 solicitation.4

2 Du Bois, W. E. B. (1899). The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.

3 W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship Program, http://nij.gov/funding/fellowships/dubois-fellowship/pages/welcome.aspx.

4 W.E.B. Du Bois Program Solicitation FY 2016 awards, http://www.nij.gov/funding/awards/pages/awards-list.aspx?solicitationid=4452.

http://nij.gov/funding/fellowships/dubois-fellowship/pages/welcome.aspx http://www.nij.gov/funding/awards/pages/awards-list.aspx?solicitationid=4452 http://www.nij.gov/funding/awards/pages/awards-list.aspx?solicitationid=4452

Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products

In support of NIJ’s goal to advance knowledge regarding the confluence of crime, justice, and culture in various societal context, the objective of this solicitation is to promote research on the intersections of race, offending, victimization, and the fair administration of justice for both juveniles and adults. The scope of the solicitation is defined as investigator-initiated research on race and crime applicable to state, tribal, and local jurisdictions funded under two categories that vary in eligibility and grant requirements: Scholars and Fellowships.5 Guidance on NIJ’s research topic priorities, funding categories, and resources for secondary data analysis for this solicitation is provided below.

Priority Research Topics

NIJ seeks proposals for research to identify and understand those dynamics of the criminal justice system that may result in disparities based on gender, race, or ethnicity. Topics may relate to violence and victimization, crime and crime prevention, and justice systems (including law enforcement, courts, and corrections). Applicants may propose research on other topics that are clearly linked to research on race and crime; however, priority consideration will be given to proposals to study homicide and other violence in minority communities, as well as criminal court topics including screening and assessment, legal defense systems, and sentencing reform.

1. Homicide and Other Violence in Minority Communities

NIJ has supported various projects to examine U.S. crime trends and their driving forces.

Between 2013 and 2015, the Roundtable on Crime Trends organized by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine explored “the predominant explanations for the crime drop: the economy, incarceration, policing and environmental factors, such as lead exposure or neighborhood context/conditions, or social trends such as immigration patterns, demographic trends, legalization of abortion or marriage patterns.”6 Many of these topics have been examined by past W.E.B. Du Bois Fellows. In April 2011, NIJ collaborated with the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) on a Neighborhoods and Crime Research Working Group Meeting,7 to review lessons learned from past research and identify methods considerations and issues in the study of neighborhoods and crime; participants included experts on the National Neighborhood Crime Study (NNCS), the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods, and the Peterborough Adolescent and Young Adult Development Study. Most recently, NIJ commissioned a paper, Documenting and Explaining the 2015 Homicide Rise:

Research Directions,8 that explored possible explanations using a sample of 56 large U.S.

cities. That paper provides a framework for this solicitation’s interest in research on homicide and other violence in minority communities, to include the hypothetical notion of a “Ferguson” effect on crime that may spark violence in communities with chronic discontent or lead police to disengage from vigorous enforcement activities.

5 If awarded, applicants will be required to provide documentation of their terminal degree with the date it was awarded, and documentation of their tenure status at their sponsoring organization; a signed letter from an authorized representative on organizational letterhead will meet this requirement.

6 The Roundtable on Crime Trends, http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/CLAJ/CurrentProjects/DBASSE_081065.

7 Neighborhoods & Crime Research Working Group Meeting, https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/244258.pdf.

8 Documenting and Explaining the 2015 Homicide Rise: Research Directions, https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249895.pdf.

http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/CLAJ/CurrentProjects/DBASSE_081065 https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/244258.pdf https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/249895.pdf

Research currently funded by NIJ includes a partnership with the National Science Foundation for a grant using NNCS data to explore the recursive relationship between crime and changing neighborhood conditions, especially racial and ethnic inequality.9 An FY 2015 NIJ grant10 to develop a gun violence prosecutor-court database is intended to provide operational resources to those agencies, and to support research on disproportionate charging rates and court dispositions such as from a minority threat theory perspective. In FY 2016, NIJ awarded a grant11 to study the impact of state firearms laws on reducing Black, White, and Hispanic firearm-related homicides.

NIJ seeks proposals for mixed methods research on race and crime that examines homicide and other violence in minority communities in state, tribal and local jurisdictions. Examples of research questions include, but are not limited to:

What community characteristics, including social capital or other factors, promote or inhibit crime?

Are criminogenic or protective factors transmitted through family and/or social networks?

Do disproportionate incarceration rates interact with community and social factors to promote or inhibit crime?

2. Criminal Court Research

Research, evaluation, policy, and cost analysis on criminal court topics relevant to adults who are arrested or convicted represents a long-standing yet underserved topic area. Proposals may focus on one or more phases of the criminal case process — from prosecution to disposition and appeal. Applicants are encouraged to review NIJ’s criminal court research portfolio webpage12 for information on projects funded outside the W.E.B. Du Bois Program that may be relevant.

In particular, NIJ is interested in research on screening and assessment, criminal legal defense services, and sentencing reform applicable to state, tribal, and local jurisdictions.

a) Screening and Assessment

Building on the legacy of sentencing commissions that developed structured sentencing guidelines for transparency and consistency, developers have created tools designed for standard screening and assessment according to objective and measurable predictors of outcomes of interest. These include tools to: predict the probability of failure to appear for pretrial release recommendations; screening for mental health or other treatment needs and referral to alternative programs; and assessment to measure criminogenic risk, needs, and responsivity for sentencing recommendations. Potential concerns include the perpetuation of racial, ethnic, or other bias. To the extent that criminal history is disproportionate for select populations, the use of screening and assessment tools

9 Collaborative Research: Crime and Community in a Changing Society, The National Neighborhood Crime Study 2, https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1357207&HistoricalAwards=false.

10 Evaluating the law enforcement, prosecutor, and court response to firearm-related crimes in St. Louis, http://nij.gov/funding/awards/pages/award-detail.aspx?award=2015-IJ-CX-0015.

11 Impact of State-Level Firearms Laws on Homicide Rates by Race/Ethnicity, http://www.nij.gov/funding/awards/pages/award-detail.aspx?award=2016-MU-MU-0047.

12 NIJ Courts, http://nij.gov/topics/courts/Pages/welcome.aspx.

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1357207&HistoricalAwards=false http://nij.gov/funding/awards/pages/award-detail.aspx?award=2015-IJ-CX-0015 http://www.nij.gov/funding/awards/pages/award-detail.aspx?award=2016-MU-MU-0047 http://nij.gov/topics/courts/Pages/welcome.aspx that heavily weight criminal history can lead to disparity in pretrial release, diversion, and access to treatment and other rehabilitative services.

NIJ seeks proposals for research on race and crime in the context of screening and assessment relevant to adult criminal courts. Examples of research questions include, but are not limited to:

Is there inherent racial, ethnic, or other bias in the tools used that may influence measurement?

Is there implicit bias in protocols for tool administration that may influence recommendations?

What impact do biased tools and/or protocols have on case outcomes and access to programs and services?

What approaches can jurisdictions take to evaluate tools and protocols and minimize potential bias?

b) Criminal Legal Defense Services

The Department’s Access to Justice Initiative13 has identified several areas for improvement in the delivery of legal defense services guaranteed to the indigent, such as promoting accessibility, ensuring fairness, and increasing efficiency. NIJ has responded with grants to study public defender versus contract attorney assignment to homicide cases, holistic defense services, and decisions to waive counsel in juvenile court. Some jurisdictions are unable to provide services that would benefit indigent defendants at each stage of the court process in a timely manner. There is also a growing concern for the working poor who are ineligible for publicly-funded services, but unable to afford attorney fees.

NIJ seeks proposals for research on race and crime in the context of legal defense services relevant to adult criminal courts. Examples of research questions include, but are not limited to:

What are the racial, ethnic, or other correlates of access to criminal legal services by the indigent and/or working poor?

At what stages of the court process is access limited, and what are the consequences for case outcomes?

What cost-efficient approaches can jurisdictions take to identify and minimize unequal access concerns?

c) Sentencing Reform

NIJ is interested in policies and practices that promote cost-efficient and unbiased alternatives to incarceration without jeopardizing public safety, due process, or fairness

13 DOJ’s Office for Access to Justice, https://www.justice.gov/atj.

https://www.justice.gov/atj in the administration of justice. In recognition of the 25th anniversary of the Sentencing Reform Act, NIJ collaborated with BJS and other agencies to produce an Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) summer workshop14 to promote federal sentencing and other data analysis. Under NIJ’s Data Resources Program, NIJ then funded research on: the impact of Booker, Ball, and Kimbrough decisions;

prosecutorial decision making across district courts; and organizational efficiency and early disposition programs. NIJ has funded several state and local sentencing policy analyses, the last being a policy analysis of New York State Rockefeller Drug Law Reform (that found mandatory minimum changes increased diversion to treatment but unevenly across boroughs).

NIJ seeks proposals for research on race and crime in the context of sentencing reform relevant to adult criminal courts. Examples of research questions include, but are not limited to:

Are select populations differentially affected by changes in sentencing legislation designed to improve case processing and court outcomes?

Are differences in case processing or court outcomes related to the legislation, its implementation, and/or unintended consequences?

What approaches can jurisdictions take to evaluate legislation and implementation and minimize potential bias?

Funding Categories

1. W.E.B. Du Bois Scholars in Race and Crime Research

Prospective scholars from all social, behavioral, and other disciplines are welcome to apply.

Applicants must:

Possess a terminal degree in their respective field.

Have received a terminal degree prior to December 30, 2011.

NIJ is soliciting proposals for advanced Scholars to conduct innovative, multi-disciplinary, multi-method research studies that build on past research and explore new boundaries of the race and crime field. NIJ seeks proposals that will make significant theoretical and/or methodological contributions, and inform practice and policy relevant to state, tribal, and local jurisdictions and their stakeholder communities. Applications must state specific research questions, including how the proposed project is designed to advance current research, and how research findings have the potential to add substantially to the knowledge base of the proposed line of inquiry. Because of the nature of this category, proposed projects that focus solely on secondary data analysis will not be considered under this funding category.

14 ICPSR Summer Workshop on Sentencing and Other Federal Case Data Analysis, http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/sumprog/ussc.html.

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/content/sumprog/ussc.html

A secondary goal of the W.E.B. Du Bois Scholars Program is to grow the field of well-trained researchers studying race and crime. Scholars must propose a mentorship component to the study that goes beyond hiring graduate and undergraduate students as project staff.

Applications must describe a general mentorship plan, with details on how the proposed research will contribute to mentoring and training junior researchers, graduate students and/or undergraduate students by the Scholar and research partners. This general mentorship plan must be provided as an appendix to the application.

For mentorship plan approval as part of the grant award process, NIJ will require:

The curriculum vitae/resume of the individual(s) to be mentored.

A career development plan for the mentee(s).

A description of the use of resources for the mentoring enterprise, such as research work space and equipment, statistical software, and other research support.

A description of the availability of activities (including classes, seminars, and informal opportunities) for interaction with other scientists.

Training in career skills, such as grant-writing and effective presentations.

A statement that at least one peer-reviewed journal article that comes from the project will be first authored by the mentee(s).

2. W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship for Research on Race and Crime

Prospective scholars from all social, behavioral, and other disciplines are welcome to apply.

Applicants must:

Possess a terminal degree in their respective field.

Not have been awarded tenure by December 30, 2017.

NIJ is soliciting proposals for Fellowships from researchers who are early in their careers, to conduct qualitative and/or quantitative research that may be limited to secondary data analysis. This category offers talented researchers — who lack experience as a principal investigator — an opportunity to elevate independently generated research and ideas to the level of national discussion. Fellowship applicants may propose a short-term residency at NIJ with a clear justification including proposed activities that would support their research goals; however, residency is not a Fellowship requirement and security clearance must be completed before residency may begin. No additional funds are available to support travel, living expenses, or other costs associated with a residency that should be detailed in the budget application.

Secondary Data Analysis Resources

NIJ supports original research using existing data available from the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD)15 and other public sources to enhance understanding of crime and criminal justice and inform criminal justice policy and practice.

Required Data Sets and Associated Files and Documentation. Any recipient of an award under this solicitation will be expected to submit to NACJD all data sets that result in whole or in part from the work funded by the award, along with associated files and any documentation necessary for future efforts by others to reproduce the project’s findings and/or to extend the scientific value of the data set through secondary analysis. For more information, see “Program Narrative” in Section D. Application and Submission Information.

For applicants that will be accessing administrative or other data from external organizations, they are encouraged to submit memorandum of understanding (MOU), data agreements, or other documentation verifying that the applicant and organization(s) will adhere to NIJ’s requirement to make available data from all NIJ-funded research.

In addition to these deliverables (and the required reports and data on performance measures described in Section F. Federal Award Administration Information), NIJ expects scholarly products to result from each award under this solicitation, taking the form of one or more published, peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles, and/or (if appropriate) law review journal articles, book chapter(s) or book(s) in the academic press, technological prototypes, patented inventions, or similar scientific products.

The Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products are directly related to the performance measures set out in the table immediately below.

15 National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD/.

http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/NACJD/

Performance Measures

Objective

Performance Measure(s)

Data Recipient Provides

Conduct research in social and behavioral sciences having clear implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the United States.

1. Relevance to the needs of the field as measured by whether the project’s substantive scope did not deviate from the funded project or any subsequent agency-approved modifications to the scope.

2. Quality of the research as demonstrated by the scholarly products that result in whole or in part from work funded under the NIJ award, such as published, peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles, and/or (as appropriate for the funded project) law review journal articles, book chapter(s) or book(s) in the academic press, technological prototypes, patented inventions, or similar scientific products.

3. Quality of management as measured by such factors as whether significant project milestones were achieved, reporting and other deadlines were met, and costs remained within approved limits.

1. Quarterly financial reports, semi-annual and final progress reports of the work performed under the NIJ award, and, if applicable, an annual audit report.

2. List of citation(s) to all scholarly products that resulted in whole or in part from work funded under the NIJ award.

3. If applicable, each data set that resulted in whole or in part from work funded under the NIJ award.

Evaluation Research

If an application includes an evaluation research component (or consists entirely of evaluation research), the application is expected to propose the most rigorous evaluation design appropriate for the research questions to be addressed.

If the primary purpose of the evaluation is to determine the effectiveness or impact of an intervention (e.g., program, practice, or policy), the most rigorous evaluation designs may include random selection and assignment of participants (or other appropriate units of analysis) to experimental and control conditions. In cases where randomization is not feasible, applicants should propose a strong quasi-experimental design that can address the risk of selection bias.

Applications that propose meta-analysis of existing evaluation studies must establish clear inclusion criteria that favor and provide separate analysis of effect sizes for randomized and strong quasi-experimental studies. Applicants are encouraged to review evidence rating criteria on the CrimeSolutions.gov website for further information on high-quality evaluation design elements.

Applications that include evaluation research should consider including cost/benefit analysis. In cases where evaluations find that interventions have produced the intended benefit, cost/benefit analysis provides valuable and practical information for practitioners and policymakers that aids decision-making.

Evaluation research projects may address a wide range of research questions beyond those focused on the effectiveness or impact of an intervention. Different research designs may be more appropriate for different research questions and at different stages of program development. In all cases, applications are expected to propose the most rigorous evaluation design appropriate for the research questions to be addressed.

B. Federal Award Information

NIJ anticipates up to $3 million will be available to fund multiple grant awards in two (2) funding categories:

Category 1: W.E.B. Du Bois Scholars in Race and Crime Research – Prospective Scholars may propose projects that range in budgets up to $500,000. Applicants may not propose solely secondary data analysis projects. Applicants may propose a project period of up to 36 months.

Category 2: W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship for Research on Race and Crime – Prospective Fellows may propose projects that range in budgets up to $150,000; however the scope of work of the project must be commensurate with the budget. Applicants who propose to conduct primary data collection may request budgets up to $150,000. Applicants who propose to conduct solely secondary data analysis may request budgets up to $100,000. Regardless of the research method, applicants may propose a project period of up to 24 months.

To allow time for (among other things) any necessary post-award review and financial clearance by OJP of the proposed budget (and for any associated responses or other action(s) that may be required of the recipient), applicants should propose an award start date of January 1, 2018.

If the applicant is proposing a project that reasonably could be conducted in discrete phases, with each phase resulting in completion of one or more significant, defined milestones, then NIJ strongly recommends that the applicant structure the application—specifically including the narrative, expected scholarly products, timelines/milestones, and budget detail worksheet and budget narrative—to clearly set out each phase. (This is particularly the case if the applicant proposes a project that will exceed—in cost or the length of the period of performance—the amount or length anticipated for an individual award (or awards) under this solicitation.) Given limitations on the availability to NIJ of funds for awards for research, development, and evaluation, this information will assist NIJ in considering whether partial funding of applications would be productive. (If, in FY 2017, NIJ elects to fund only certain phases of a proposed project, the expected scholarly products from the partial-funding award may, in some cases, vary from those described above.)

NIJ may, in certain cases, provide additional funding in future years to awards made under its research, development, and evaluation solicitations, through supplemental awards. In making decisions regarding supplemental awards, NIJ will consider, among other factors, the availability of appropriations, OJP’s strategic priorities, and OJP’s assessment of both the management of the award (for example, timeliness and quality of progress reports), and the progress of the work funded under the award.

All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds, and to any modifications or additional requirements that may be imposed by law.

Type of Award

NIJ expects that any award under this solicitation will be in the form of a grant. See Administrative, National Policy, and Other Legal Requirements, under Section F. Federal Award

Administration Information, for a brief discussion of important statutes, regulations, and award conditions that apply to many (or in some cases, all) OJP grants.

Please note: Any recipient of an award under this solicitation will be required to comply with DOJ regulations on confidentiality and protection of human subjects. See “Requirements related to Research” under “Overview of Legal Requirements Generally Applicable to OJP Grants and Cooperative Agreements” in the OJP Funding Resource Center.

Financial Management and System of Internal Controls

Award recipients and subrecipients (including recipients or subrecipients that are pass-through entities16) must, as described in the Part 200 Uniform Requirements17 as set out at 2 C.F.R.

200.303:

(a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that provides reasonable assurance that [the recipient (and any subrecipient)] is managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls should be in compliance with guidance in “Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government” issued by the Comptroller General of the United States and the “Internal Control Integrated Framework”, issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

(b) Comply with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal awards.

(c) Evaluate and monitor [the recipient’s (and any subrecipient’s)] compliance with statutes, regulations and the terms and conditions of Federal awards.

(d) Take prompt action when instances of noncompliance are identified including noncompliance identified in audit findings.

(e) Take reasonable measures to safeguard protected personally identifiable information and other information the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity designates as sensitive or [the recipient (or any subrecipient)] considers sensitive consistent with applicable Federal, state, local, and tribal laws regarding privacy and obligations of confidentiality.

To help ensure that applicants understand applicable administrative requirements and cost principles, OJP encourages prospective applicants to enroll, at no charge, in the DOJ Grants Financial Management Online Training, available here.

16 For purposes of this solicitation, the phrase “pass-through entity” includes any recipient or subrecipient that provides a subaward (“subgrant”) to carry out part of the funded award or program.

17 The "Part 200 Uniform Requirements” means the DOJ regulation at 2 C.F.R Part 2800, which adopts (with certain modifications) the provisions of 2 C.F.R. Part 200.

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Budget Information

What will not be funded:

Applications primarily to purchase equipment, materials, or supplies. (A budget may include these items if they are necessary to conduct research, development, demonstration, evaluation, or analysis.)

Applications that are not responsive to this specific solicitation.

Cost Sharing or Match Requirement

See “Cofunding” paragraph under item 4 (“Budget and Associated Documentation”) under What an Application Should Include in Section D. Application and Submission Information.

Pre-Agreement Costs (also known as Pre-award Costs)

Pre-agreement costs are costs incurred by the applicant prior to the start date of the period of performance of the federal award.

OJP does not typically approve pre-agreement costs; an applicant must request and obtain the prior written approval of OJP for all such costs. All such costs incurred prior to award and prior to approval of the costs are incurred at the sole risk of the applicant. (Generally, no applicant should incur project costs before submitting an application requesting federal funding for those costs.) Should there be extenuating circumstances that make it appropriate for OJP to consider approving pre-agreement costs, the applicant may contact the point of contact listed on the title page of this solicitation for the requirements concerning written requests for approval. If approved in advance by OJP, award funds may be used for pre-agreement costs, consistent with the recipient’s approved budget and applicable cost principles. See the section on “Costs Requiring Prior Approval” in the DOJ Grants Financial Guide for more information.

Limitation on Use of Award Funds for Employee Compensation; Waiver

With respect to any award of more than $250,000 made under this solicitation, a recipient may not use federal funds to pay total cash compensation (salary plus cash bonuses) to any employee of the recipient at a rate that exceeds 110% of the maximum annual salary payable to a member of the federal government’s Senior Executive Service (SES) at an agency with a Certified SES Performance Appraisal System for that year.18 The 2017 salary table for SES employees is available at the Office of Personnel Management website. Note: A recipient may compensate an employee at a greater rate, provided the amount in excess of this compensation limitation is paid with non-federal funds. (Non-federal funds used for any such additional compensation will not be considered matching funds, where match requirements apply.) If only a portion of an employee’s time is charged to an OJP award, the maximum allowable compensation is equal to the percentage of time worked times the maximum salary limitation.

The Director of the National Institute of Justice may exercise discretion to waive, on an individual basis, this limitation on compensation rates allowable under an award. An applicant that requests a waiver should include a detailed justification in the budget narrative of its

18 OJP does not apply this limitation on the use of award funds to the nonprofit organizations listed in Appendix VIII to

2 C.F.R. Part 200.

http://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/index.htm http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/16Tables/exec/html/ES.aspx application. An applicant that does not submit a waiver request and justification with its application should anticipate that OJP will require the applicant to adjust and resubmit the budget.

The justification should address — in the context of the work the individual would do under the award — the particular qualifications and expertise of the individual, the uniqueness of a service the individual will provide, the individual’s specific knowledge of the proposed program or project, and a statement that explains whether and how the individual’s salary under the award would be commensurate with the regular and customary rate for an individual with his/her qualifications and expertise, and for the work he/she would do under the award.

Prior Approval, Planning, and Reporting of Conference/Meeting/Training Costs

OJP strongly encourages every applicant that proposes to use award funds for any conference-, meeting-, or training-related activity (or similar event) to review carefully—before submitting an application—the OJP policy and guidance on approval, planning, and reporting of such events, available at www.ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/PostawardRequirements/chapter3.10a.htm. OJP policy and guidance (1) encourage minimization of conference, meeting, and training costs; (2) require prior written approval (which may affect project timelines) of most conference, meeting, and training costs for cooperative agreement recipients and of some conference, meeting, and training costs for grant recipients; and (3) set cost limits, which include a general prohibition of all food and beverage costs.

Costs Associated with Language Assistance (if applicable)

If an applicant proposes a program or activity that would deliver services or benefits to individuals, the costs of taking reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to those services or benefits for individuals with limited English proficiency may be allowable. Reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to services or benefits may include interpretation or translation services, where appropriate.

For additional information, see the "Civil Rights Compliance" section under “Overview of Legal Requirements Generally Applicable to OJP Grants and Cooperative Agreements” in the OJP Funding Resource Center.

Participant Support Costs and Incentives for Social Science Research

NIJ has established policies concerning the use of reasonable and justified stipends (including travel costs) and incentives to support research integrity; please see Participant Support Costs and Incentives for Social Science Research at http://www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/research-participant-costs-and-incentives.aspx for guidance on requests for approval and proper tracking protocol.

C. Eligibility Information

For eligibility information, review the Category 1 and Category 2 descriptions.

For information on cost sharing or match requirements, see “What an Application Should Include” in Section D. Application and Submission Information.

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D. Application and Submission Information

What an Application Should Include

This section describes in detail what an application should include. An applicant should anticipate that if it fails to submit an application that contains all of the specified elements, it may negatively affect the review of its application; and, should a decision be made to make an award, it may result in the inclusion of award conditions that preclude the recipient from accessing or using award funds until the recipient satisfies the conditions and OJP makes the funds available.

Moreover, an applicant should anticipate that an application that OJP determines is nonresponsive to the scope of the solicitation, or that OJP determines does not include the application elements that NIJ has designated to be critical, will neither proceed to peer review nor receive further consideration. For this solicitation, NIJ has designated the following application elements as critical: Program Narrative, Budget Detail Worksheet, Budget Narrative, and resumes/curriculum vitae of key personnel. (For purposes of this solicitation, “key personnel” means the principal investigator, and any and all co-principal investigators.) An applicant may combine the Budget Narrative and the Budget Detail Worksheet in one document. However, if an applicant submits only one budget document, it must contain both narrative and detail information. Please review the “Note on File Names and File Types” under How to Apply to be sure applications are submitted in permitted formats.

OJP strongly recommends that applicants use appropriately descriptive file names (e.g., “Program Narrative,” “Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative,” “Timelines,” “Memoranda of Understanding,” “Resumes”) for all attachments. Also, OJP recommends that applicants include resumes in a single file.

1. Information to Complete the Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

The SF-424 is a required standard form used as a cover sheet for submission of pre-applications, applications, and related information. Grants.gov and OJP’s Grants Management System (GMS) take information from the applicant’s profile to populate the fields on this form. When selecting "type of applicant," if the applicant is a for-profit entity, select "For-Profit Organization" or "Small Business" (as applicable).

To avoid processing delays, an applicant must include an accurate legal name on its SF-

424. Current OJP award recipients, when completing the field for “Legal Name” should use the same legal name that appears on the prior year award document which is also the legal name stored in OJP’s financial system. On the SF-424, enter the Legal Name in box 5 and Employer Identification Number (EIN) in box 6 exactly as it appears on the prior year award document. An applicant with a current, active award(s) must ensure that its GMS profile is current. If the profile is not current, the applicant should submit a Grant Adjustment Notice updating the information on its GMS profile prior to applying under this solicitation.

A new applicant entity should enter the Official Legal Name and address of the applicant entity in box 5 and the EIN in box 6 of the SF-424. An applicant must attach official legal documents to its applications (e.g., articles of incorporation, 501C3, etc.) to confirm the legal name, address, and EIN entered into the SF-424.

Intergovernmental Review: This solicitation ("funding opportunity") is not subject to Executive Order 12372. (In completing the SF-424, an applicant is to answer question 19 by selecting the response that the “Program is not covered by E.O. 12372.”)

2. Project Abstract

The project abstract is a very important part of the application, and serves as an introduction to the proposed project. NIJ uses the project abstract for a number of purposes, including assignment of the application to an appropriate review panel. If the application is funded, the project abstract typically will become public information and be used to describe the project.

Applications should include a high-quality project abstract that summarizes the proposed project in…