NIJ-2018-13638.pdf

Notice Regarding the solicitation “Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics” February 15, 2018: NIJ-hosted a webinar to discussion on February 1, 2018. The transcripts and slides from the webinar have been added to the end of this document.

February 15, 2018: OJP has combined the Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative in a single document collectively referred to as the Budget Detail Worksheet. See “Budget Information and Associated Documentation” below for more information about the Budget Detail Worksheet and where it can be accessed.

January 17, 2018: Budget language has been modified and updated language will be provided as an addendum at a later date.

The original solicitation document begins on the next page.

OMB No. 1121-0329 Approval Expires 11/30/2020

U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking applications for funding innovative doctoral dissertation research in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics that is relevant to providing solutions to prevent and control crime, and ensure the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. This program furthers the Department’s mission by sponsoring research to provide objective, independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to meet the challenges of crime and justice, particularly at the state and local levels.

Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Applications Due: March 12, 2018

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are degree-granting academic institutions in the United States and its territories. To be eligible, the institution must be fully accredited by one of the regional institutional accreditation agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Under this solicitation, the applicant institution must apply as the sponsoring institution for the doctoral candidate conducting dissertation research relevant to NIJ’s criminal justice mission.

All recipients and subrecipients (including any for-profit organization) must forgo any profit or management fee.

An applicant may submit more than one application under this solicitation, but each application must propose sponsoring a different doctoral candidate’s dissertation research.

Deadline

Applicants must register with Grants.gov at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html prior to submitting an application. All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on March 12, 2018.

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, 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.

https://www.usdoj.gov/ https://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ http://nij.gov/Pages/welcome.aspx http://nij.gov/Pages/welcome.aspx https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html

NIJ-2018-13638

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, 606-545-5035, at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html, 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 may email the NIJ contact identified below within 24 hours after the application deadline to request approval to submit its 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-2018-13638

Release date: January 11, 2018 https://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Grants-govInfo.htm https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html mailto:support@grants.gov https://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 Matching 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

Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

(CFDA # 16.562)

A. Program Description

Overview

The Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (GRF-STEM) program provides awards to accredited academic institutions to support graduate research leading to doctoral degrees in topic areas that are relevant to preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. Applicant academic institutions sponsoring doctoral students are eligible to apply only if:

1. The doctoral student’s degree program is in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) discipline; and

2. The student’s proposed dissertation research has demonstrable implications for addressing the challenges of preventing or controlling crime and/or the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States.

Statutory Authority: Any awards under this solicitation would be made under statutory authority provided by a full-year appropriations act for FY 2018. As of the writing of this solicitation, the Department of Justice is operating under a short-term "Continuing Resolution";

no full-year appropriation for the Department has been enacted for FY 2018.

Program-Specific Information

Degree-granting academic institutions are encouraged to sponsor outstanding and promising doctoral students whose dissertation research has direct implications for preventing and controlling crime, and/or ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States.

Academic institutions sponsoring doctoral students whose disciplines are in the social and behavioral sciences should consider submitting their applications under the forthcoming “NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship Program in the Social and Behavioral Sciences” (GRF-SBS) solicitation. Answers to frequently asked questions about the GRF-SBS program are posted at https://www.nij.gov/GRF-SBS.

Awards are anticipated to be made to successful applicant institutions in the form of grants to cover fellowships for the sponsored doctoral students. Each fellowship provides up to three years of support usable within a five-year period. For each year of support, NIJ provides the degree-granting institution a stipend of $35,000 usable toward the student’s salary and related costs, and up to $15,000 to cover the student’s tuition and fees, research expenses, and related costs (see Section B. Federal Award Information). The award will be made for the entire cumulative fellowship amount (up to three years of funding). Although the award is made for the https://www.nij.gov/GRF-SBS full amount, after the first year each annual funding increment is withheld pending annual demonstration of continued enrollment and adequate progress toward the degree. This is a change from program policy in previous fiscal years; new fellows awarded in FY 2018 will no longer be required to submit full application packages for annual supplemental funding.

Successful applicants must demonstrate clearly how the proposed dissertation research will advance criminal justice practice and/or policy in the United States. Proposals addressing one or more of the following six areas are particularly encouraged:

• Reducing crime, particularly violent crime (not just related to policing)

• Protecting police officers and other public safety personnel

• Issues concerning the opiate abuse epidemic

• Victimization (specifically with respect to human trafficking)

• Supporting prosecutors in their efforts to meet their mission

• Illegal immigration issues

Applicants contemplating research relevant to the forensic sciences may consider the problem areas highlighted by NIJ’s Forensic Science Technology Working Group (TWG), which identifies current technology challenges encountered in operational forensic science laboratories.

Additional research needs of the forensic science community can be found at the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) website.

Applicants may also consider NIJ’s Science and Technology Objectives for the application of technology across law enforcement, courts, corrections, and forensic science communities.

Under an NIJ cooperative agreement, the RAND Corporation publishes assessments of current and future high-priority criminal justice technology needs across a range of topic areas, which may be consulted for further guidance.

While the above priorities are provided as possible focus areas for proposed research, they should not be considered as limiting the range of eligible research. All eligible applicants proposing research in STEM fields of study with demonstrated relevance to criminal justice practice and/or policy in the United States are invited to apply.

Applicant Information

The applicant under this solicitation will be a degree-granting academic institution in the United States or its territories. To be eligible, the academic institution of record must be fully accredited by one of the regional institutional accreditation agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. An applicant institution sponsoring a doctoral student is eligible to apply only if the doctoral student satisfies the Doctoral Student Eligibility Requirements. Applications from students who apply as individuals will be removed from consideration.

The academic institution’s institution-wide research office (e.g., office of sponsored research) must complete and submit an application electronically using Grants.gov (see What an https://www.nij.gov/topics/forensics/Pages/forensic-operational-requirements.aspx https://www.nist.gov/topics/forensic-science/osac-research-development-needs https://www.nist.gov/topics/forensic-science/osac-research-development-needs https://www.nij.gov/topics/technology/Pages/science-technology-research-objectives.aspx https://www.nij.gov/topics/technology/Pages/identifying-technology-needs.aspx

Application Should Include). If allowed by the applicant institution, the sponsored doctoral student should be identified as the project’s principal investigator.

The applicant must demonstrate that the sponsored graduate student is enrolled in a qualifying doctoral degree program at the time of application. This should take the form of a document from the Office of the Registrar, or an equivalent university- or college-wide office with the authority to verify status. A transcript may be accepted if it clearly indicates the student’s current full-time enrollment in the qualifying doctoral degree program.

Doctoral Student Eligibility Requirements

The graduate student must:

1. Be enrolled full-time in a doctoral degree program in a STEM discipline at the eligible academic institution; and

2. Propose a dissertation research topic that is relevant to addressing the challenges of crime, and/or the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States (see What an Application Should Include).

The doctoral student need not have a dissertation committee at the time the application is submitted, nor is it necessary for the student’s dissertation topic to have been accepted by the committee. However, if the application is selected for award, grant funds will be withheld until the applicant academic institution submits proof that the student’s dissertation topic has been accepted by the committee and that it is substantively the same as that proposed in the application.

If the doctoral student has an approved topic at the time of application, then it should be noted in a statement of support from the doctoral student’s dissertation committee chair (see Dissertation Committee Chair Requirements). If the doctoral student’s topic has not been approved at the time of application, then the expected dates by which the doctoral student will meet this requirement should be indicated in the project timeline (see “Proposed project timeline and expected milestones” under Appendices). In addition, the doctoral student’s faculty advisor, department chair, departmental director of graduate studies, or an individual with similar responsibilities must submit a statement of support at the time of application. That statement of support should generally follow the outline provided below for the statement of support from the dissertation committee chair, including all relevant elements.

Even though an award may be made, access to award funds will be withheld until the required documentation is received and approved by the NIJ Program Office. NIJ anticipates that award notifications will be made on or before September 30, 2018. The applicant academic institution and the doctoral student are cautioned not to anticipate the availability of fellowship funds for meeting any necessary or required expenses until the requirements stipulated above have been met in full. Awarded applicants may receive fellowship funding only while the student is actively enrolled in the doctoral degree program and carrying out research for the dissertation identified in the applicant’s funding application.

Human subjects protection paperwork including Institutional Review Board (IRB) documentation and a completed privacy certificate are not required at the time of application. If awarded, and if applicable, funds will be withheld until submission and NIJ approval of any required Human Subjects Protection paperwork and/or a completed Privacy Certificate. The Privacy

Certificate must be signed by the academic institution’s IRB chair. For information on NIJ’s Human Subjects and Privacy Protection requirements, see www.nij.gov/nij/funding/humansubjects/welcome.htm.

Dissertation Committee Chair Requirements

Although a fellowship may be awarded based on consideration of a letter of support from the faculty advisor, department chair, departmental director of graduate studies, or individual with similar responsibilities, the NIJ Program Office must receive a signed statement of support from the sponsored doctoral student’s dissertation committee chair prior to authorizing the disbursement of award funds (applicants can expect to see conditions to that effect attached to any such award). If the dissertation committee has accepted the student’s topic at the time of application, that statement of support must be submitted as part of the application. If the topic has not been accepted by the time of application, it must be submitted as soon as is reasonable after the topic has been approved. The approved dissertation topic must remain substantively similar to that initially proposed.

The statement of support should:

• Evaluate the doctoral student’s proposed project.

• Describe the current status of the proposed work.

• Outline any other outstanding work, academic or otherwise, toward completion of the degree.

• Verify the date on which the dissertation research project is expected to be ready to begin.

• Comment on the student’s potential to complete the dissertation successfully.

• Indicate that the doctoral student has his/her full support.

• Describe the dissertation committee chair’s role in monitoring the project and present evidence of both the department’s and the dissertation committee chair’s abilities to mentor doctoral candidates through the completion of their degrees.

• Verify that the dissertation committee chair will review and approve all progress reports prior to their submission to NIJ.

An application that does not include the statement of support from (1) the dissertation committee chair; or (2) the doctoral student’s faculty advisor, department chair, departmental director of graduate studies, or individual with similar responsibilities will be removed from consideration.

For information on application elements designated as critical by NIJ under this solicitation, see page 14.

http://www.nij.gov/nij/funding/humansubjects/welcome.htm

Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products

The ultimate goal of this solicitation is to increase the pool of researchers who are engaged in providing STEM-based solutions to problems relevant to criminal justice policy and practice in the United States. Through the GRF-STEM program, NIJ supports research by promising doctoral students as they train to become the creators of future innovation. This is consistent with the following national research and development (R&D) priorities (https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/ostp/fy2019-administration-research-development-budget-priorities.pdf):

• Supporting Innovative Early-Stage Research The groundwork for the development and eventual commercialization of new technologies is laid by basic and early-stage applied research. These are the stages of inquiry typically undertaken in STEM doctoral dissertation research, which is the specific focus of the GRF-STEM program. Support of graduate student research is a particularly cost-effective way to promote the generation of potentially transformative knowledge and technology.

• Developing a Future-Focused Workforce The training of the American workforce through STEM education, a critical component of maintaining American competitiveness, is a national priority. This program supports the training of young scientists capable of meeting future science and technology workforce demands. NIJ’s GRF-STEM seeks to engage these emerging researchers to help meet the needs of America’s criminal justice practitioners, while simultaneously developing their skills to contribute broadly to America’s R&D enterprise.

Deliverables

Recipients of awards made under this solicitation will be required to deliver annual and final progress reports and quarterly financial reports to NIJ by specified deadlines (see Section F.

Federal Award Administration Information). The final deliverables for awards under this solicitation are:

• An official signed copy of the doctoral student’s defended dissertation.

• A list of scholarly products, as well as products developed for broad dissemination to informal audiences, resulting from the dissertation research.

Such scholarly products may take the form of published, peer-reviewed journal articles or indexed conference abstracts, book chapter(s) or book(s) in the academic press, technological prototypes, software, patented inventions, or similar scientific products. Products developed for broad dissemination to informal audiences may take the form of websites, webinars, podcasts, informational documents, online tools, or other similar products.

Upon submission, the dissertation may be archived at the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Doctoral students who participate in the GRF-STEM program are encouraged but are not required to archive their dissertation data in venues appropriate to their scientific communities.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/ostp/fy2019-administration-research-development-budget-priorities.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/ostp/fy2019-administration-research-development-budget-priorities.pdf http://www.ncjrs.gov/ http://www.ncjrs.gov/

The Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products are directly related to the performance measures that demonstrate the results of the work completed. Applicants should visit OJP’s Current Funding Opportunities page at https://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/CurrentFundingOpportunities.htm to view the specific reporting requirements for this grant program.

Performance Measures

OJP will require each successful applicant to submit regular performance data that demonstrate the results of the work carried out under the award (see “General Information about Post- Federal Award Reporting Requirements” in Section F. Federal Award Administration Information).

Applicants should visit OJP’s performance measurement page at www.ojp.gov/performance to view the specific reporting requirements for this grant program.

The application should demonstrate the applicant’s understanding of the performance data reporting requirements for this grant program and detail how the applicant will gather the required data should it receive funding.

Please note that applicants are not required to submit performance data with the application.

Performance measures information is included as an alert that successful applicants will be required to submit performance data as part of the reporting requirements under an award.

Objective

Performance Measure(s)

Data Recipient Provides

Conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics 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, and products of the work performed under the NIJ award (including, at minimum, a final research report).

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. An official signed copy of the doctoral student’s successfully defended and accepted final dissertation.

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

https://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/CurrentFundingOpportunities.htm https://www.ojp.gov/performance

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. Evaluation research projects may also address a wide range of research questions beyond those focused on the effectiveness or impact of a technology. Different research designs may be more appropriate for different research questions and at different stages of technology development. The setting, other contextual factors, and resources should be taken into account when selecting an evaluation design. In all cases, applications are expected to propose the most rigorous evaluation design appropriate for the research questions to be addressed. Applications that include evaluation research should consider the feasibility of including cost/benefit analysis.

Applicants are encouraged to review evidence rating criteria at https://www.crimesolutions.gov/about_starttofinish.aspx for further information on high-quality evaluation design elements.

B. Federal Award Information

NIJ expects to make up to 10 awards of up to $150,000 each, with an estimated total amount awarded of up to $1,500,000. Awards will be made for periods of performance of up to five years, while providing up to three years of funding within that timespan.

Each fellowship award made under this 2018 solicitation will be for the entire fellowship term, as requested — up to a 60-month (five-year) project period. The amount requested may not exceed three years of funding ($150,000 maximum). Although the full amount is awarded upfront, after the first year each annual funding increment is withheld pending receipt and approval by NIJ of:

1) Continued active enrollment in the doctoral degree program.

2) Verification (in the form of a signed letter from the dissertation committee chair) that the doctoral student is actively carrying out research and making satisfactory progress toward the dissertation topic originally proposed (or substantively similar to that originally proposed).

Current GRF-STEM fellows should not apply to this funding opportunity. Annual funding supplements for current fellows awarded in previous fiscal years will continue to be processed as described in the solicitations under which they were originally awarded.

Each year of support includes a $35,000 allowance usable toward a salary/stipend for the student and related costs, and up to $15,000 to cover the student’s tuition and fees, research expenses, and related costs. The $35,000 allowance for salary/stipend and related costs may include fringe benefits (if applicable) and health insurance, at the applicant institution’s discretion. Under this solicitation, research expenses and related costs may include any combination of the doctoral student’s tuition, student fees, project costs, professional society membership fees, or conference travel, among other allowed expenses during the award period of performance (see complete Budget Information, including “What will not be funded”).

https://www.crimesolutions.gov/about_starttofinish.aspx

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, 2019.

Although NIJ anticipates that funds awarded under this GRF-STEM solicitation will be made available on January 1, 2019, the applicant academic institution and doctoral student are cautioned not to anticipate the availability of funds for meeting any necessary or required expenses for the 2019 Winter Quarter or Spring Semester until the requirements stipulated under Doctoral Student Eligibility have been met in full.

The total period of performance of an award will not exceed five years. The applicant’s budget narrative and budget detail worksheet should reflect the entire proposed project timeline of up to three years of funding, in discrete 12-month increments. The Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) should reflect the cumulative funding request.

Award funding may be received only while the fellow is actively enrolled in the initially identified doctoral degree program and actively carrying out research toward his/her dissertation. Should certain unforeseen and/or temporary circumstances arise that preclude the fellow from actively pursuing the dissertation research, the fellow is expected to notify NIJ via his/her academic institution representative. The fellow’s award funding may be temporarily suspended at the discretion of NIJ.

Fellowship funds may be used to support only the student who was the subject of the initially reviewed and awarded application, and are not transferable to any other student.

Students do not directly receive awards. The academic institution, as the grant recipient, will be responsible for, among other things, the administration of grant funds and for distributing payments to the fellowship recipient. When an award has been activated, it is expected that the academic institution will draw down funds based on immediate disbursement/reimbursement requirements. Funds should not be paid to the doctoral student in a lump sum but rather should be disbursed over time as project costs are incurred or anticipated. Recipients should time their drawdown requests to ensure that federal cash-on-hand is the minimum needed for disbursements/reimbursements to be made immediately or within 10 days.

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 to make any award under this solicitation 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 - FY 2017 Awards” in the OJP Funding Resource Center at https://ojp.gov/funding/index.htm.

https://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/SolicitationRequirements/index.htm https://ojp.gov/funding/index.htm

Financial Management and System of Internal Controls Award recipients and subrecipients (including recipients or subrecipients that are pass-through entities1) must, as described in the Part 200 Uniform Requirements2 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 at https://ojpfgm.webfirst.com/. (This training is required for all OJP recipients.)

Also, applicants should be aware that OJP collects information from applicants on their financial management and systems of internal controls (among other information) which is used to make award decisions. Under Section D. Application and Submission Information, applicants may access and review the OJP Financial Management and System of Internal Controls Questionnaire (https://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/FinancialCapability.pdf) that OJP requires all applicants (other than an individual applying in his/her personal capacity) to download, complete, and submit as part of the application.

Budget Information

What will not be funded:

1 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.

2 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.

https://ojpfgm.webfirst.com/ https://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/FinancialCapability.pdf

• 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 for dissertation research by doctoral students who are not pursuing research related to crime, and/or the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States.

• Direct administrative expenses or indirect costs of the institutional applicant.

• Conference, meeting or training activity hosted by the applicant. (Conference, meeting or training attendance by the fellow, if included in the fellowship application and budget, may be allowable.)

Cost Sharing or Matching 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. Requests for approval of pre-agreement costs will not be considered under this solicitation.

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 percent 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 year3. The 2017 salary table for SES employees is available at the Office of Personnel Management website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/17Tables/exec/html/ES.aspx. 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 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.

3 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.

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/17Tables/exec/html/ES.aspx https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/17Tables/exec/html/ES.aspx

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.html. 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 - FY 2017 Awards” in the OJP Funding Resource Center at https://ojp.gov/funding/index.htm.

C. Eligibility Information

For eligibility information, see title page.

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

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 https://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/PostawardRequirements/chapter3.10a.html https://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/SolicitationRequirements/index.htm https://ojp.gov/funding/Explore/SolicitationRequirements/index.htm https://ojp.gov/funding/index.htm application elements as critical: Program Narrative, Budget Detail Worksheet, Budget Narrative, verification of enrollment in a qualifying degree program, undergraduate and graduate transcripts (official or unofficial), and statement of support from the dissertation committee chair (or, if the student does not yet have a committee, the student’s faculty advisor, department chair, departmental director of graduate studies, or an individual with similar responsibilities).

NOTE: OJP has combined the Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative in a single document collectively referred to as the Budget Detail Worksheet. See “Budget Information and Associated Documentation” below for more information about the Budget Detail Worksheet and where it can be accessed.

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

Please review the “Note on File Names and File Types” under How to Apply to be sure applications are submitted in permitted formats.

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. On the SF-424, current OJP award recipients, when completing the field for “Legal Name” (box 8a), 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.) Also, these recipients should enter the Employer Identification Number (EIN) in box 8c 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 its official legal name in box 8a, its address in box 8d, its EIN in box 8b, and its Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in box 8c of the SF-424. A new applicant entity should attach official legal documents to their applications (e.g., articles of incorporation, 501(c)(3) status documentation, organizational letterhead etc.) to confirm the legal name, address, and EIN entered into the SF-424. OJP will use the System for Award Management (SAM) to confirm the legal name and DUNS number entered in the SF-424; therefore, an applicant should ensure that the information entered in the SF-424 matches its current registration in SAM. See the How to Apply section for more information on SAM and DUNS numbers.

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.”) https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/12372.html

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 250-400 words. Project abstracts not submitted in the template below should be—

• Written for a general public audience.

• Submitted as a separate attachment with “Project Abstract” as part of its file name.

• Single-spaced, using the form’s standard 12-point font (with 1-inch margins).

As a separate attachment, the project abstract will not count against the page limit for the program narrative.

All project abstracts should follow this detailed template available at ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/ProjectAbstractTemplate.pdf. Formatting cannot be altered in this template; therefore, the above formatting requirements do not apply.

3. Program Narrative

The program narrative section of the application should not exceed 12 double-spaced pages in 12-point font with 1-inch margins. If included in the main body of the program narrative, tables, charts, figures, and other illustrations will count toward the 12-page limit for the narrative section. The project abstract, table of contents, appendices, and government forms do not count toward the 12-page limit.

If the program narrative fails to comply with these length-related restrictions, NIJ may consider such noncompliance in peer review and in final award decisions.

The following sections should be included as part of the program narrative.4

Program Narrative Guidelines:

a. Title Page (not counted against the 12-page program narrative limit).

The title page should include:

• The title of the project

4 As noted earlier, if the proposed program or project 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 set out each phase clearly. (In appropriate cases, the expected scholarly product(s) from a particular phase may vary from those described above.)

See generally “Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products” under “Program-Specific Information,” above.

https://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/ProjectAbstractTemplate.pdf

• Submission date

• Funding opportunity number

• Name and complete contact information (address, telephone number, and e-mail address) for both the applicant academic institution and the principal investigator (i.e., the sponsored doctoral student, if allowed by the academic institution).

• Name of the enrolled doctoral program (degree field)

• Keywords for the fields of study

b. Resubmit Response (if applicable) (not counted against the 12-page program narrative 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: (1) the title, submission date, and NIJ-assigned application number of the previous application, and (2) a brief summary of revisions to the application, including responses to previous feedback received from NIJ.

c. Table of Contents and Figures (not counted against the 12-page program narrative limit).

d. Main Body

The main body of the program narrative should describe the proposed project in depth. The following sections should be included as part of the program narrative:

• Statement of the Problem and Research Questions. This section should address the need for research in the area of study. Applicants should discuss current gaps in data, research, and knowledge. As part of this discussion, applicants should present a review of the literature and discuss previous research relevant to these problems.

This section should identify the proposed research questions and discuss the purpose, goals, and objectives of the proposed project. The relevance of the proposed research to criminal justice in the United States should be clearly articulated, as well as the potential significance of the proposed research to the particular field of study.

• Project Design and Implementation. Applicants should provide a detailed description of the analytical methods that will be used to address the research questions. Design elements should follow directly from the project’s goals and objectives. Applicants should describe the data acquisition methodology in detail and demonstrate the validity and relevance of the data to be collected. Applicants should justify the methods of data analysis planned, address the feasibility of the project overall, speculate on potential challenges that may arise, and discuss plans to mitigate difficulties that may be encountered.

This section should include a discussion of the deliverables, including planned scholarly products and a plan for dissemination to appropriate audiences. Applicants should also identify plans, if appropriate, to make the results available to interested criminal justice practitioners and policymakers in a form that is readily accessible and useful to them.

• Capabilities/Competencies. This section should describe the experience and capabilities of the doctoral student, the research advisor or committee chair (if applicable), and the academic…