PKG00264631-instructions.pdf

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

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

Research and Evaluation on School Safety, Fiscal Year 2021 Assistance Listing Number # 16.560

Grants.gov Opportunity Number: O-NIJ-2021-44008

Solicitation Release Date: December 21, 2020 2:30 PM

Version: 1

Grants.gov Deadline: February 22, 2021 11:59 PM

Application JustGrants Deadline: March 08, 2021 11:59 PM

Overview The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), is seeking applications for funding for research projects (1) studying the root causes of school violence and (2) the impact and effectiveness of grants made under the STOP School Violence Act. This project furthers the Department’s mission by supporting the development of new knowledge and tools to address the challenges of crime and justice in the United States.

This solicitation incorporates the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide by reference. The OJP Grant Application Resource Guide provides guidance to applicants for the preparation and submission to OJP of applications for funding. If this solicitation expressly modifies any provision in the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide, the applicant is to follow the guidelines in this solicitation as to that provision.

Solicitation Categories

This solicitation does not include Solicitation Categories.

Eligible Applicants:

City or township governments, County governments, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Small businesses, Special district governments, State governments, Other

Other

For purposes of this solicitation, the term “State” means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, O-NIJ-2021-44008 https://www.usdoj.gov/ https://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ https://www.nij.gov/ https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide

American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Foreign governments, foreign organizations, and foreign colleges and universities are not eligible to apply. Federal agencies are eligible to apply. (Any award made to a federal agency will be made as an inter-agency reimbursable agreement.)

To advance Executive Order 13929 Safe Policing for Safe Communities, the Attorney General determined that all state, local, and university or college law enforcement agencies must be certified by an approved independent credentialing body or have started the certification process to be eligible for FY 2021 DOJ discretionary grant funding. To become certified, the law enforcement agency must meet two mandatory conditions: (1) the agency’s use of force policies adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws; and (2) the agency’s use of force policies prohibit chokeholds except in situations where use of deadly force is allowed by law. The certification requirement also applies to law enforcement agencies receiving DOJ discretionary grant funding through a subaward. For detailed information on this new certification requirement, please visit https ://cops.usdoj.gov/SafePolicingEO to access the Standards for Certification on Safe Policing for Safe Communities, Implementation Fact Sheet, and List of Designated Independent Credentialing Bodies.

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

NIJ will consider 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). For additional information on subawards, see the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide.

NIJ may elect to fund applications submitted under this FY 2021 solicitation in future fiscal years, dependent on, among other considerations, the merit of the applications and on the availability of appropriations.

Contact Information Agency Contact Description

Name National Criminal Justice Reference Service Response Center

Title Technical POC

Phone 800-851-3420

Email grants@ncjrs.gov

Information For technical assistance with submitting the SF-424 and SF- LLL in Grants.gov, contact the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 800-518-4726, 606-545-5035, at Grants.gov customer support webpage, or email at support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov Support Hotline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except on federal holidays.

For technical assistance with submitting the full application in DOJ’s Justice Grants System (JustGrants), contact the JustGrants Service Desk at JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov or at

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mailto:JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov

833-872-5175. The JustGrants Service Desk operates 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST Monday - Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, and federal holidays.

An applicant that experiences unforeseen Grants.gov or JustGrants technical issues beyond its control that prevent it from submitting its application by the deadline must email the Nation al Criminal Justice Reference Service Response Center (Response Center) at grants@ncjrs.g ov within 24 hours after the application deadline to request approval to submit its application after the deadline.

For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact the Response Center by telephone at 800–851–3420 or TTY: 301–240–6310 (hearing impaired only) or by email at grants@ncjrs.gov. Response Center hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET on the solicitation close date.

Submission Information In FY 2021, applications will be submitted to DOJ in a NEW two-step process.

Step 1: Applicants will submit an SF-424 and an SF-LLL in Grants.gov at https://www.grants.

gov/web/grants/register.html. To register in Grants.gov, applicants will need to obtain a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and System for Award Management (SAM) registration or renewal.

Step 2: Applicants will submit the full application including attachments in JustGrants at Jus tGrants.usdoj.gov.

To be considered timely, the full application must be submitted in JustGrants by the JustGrants application deadline.

OJP encourages applicants to review, the “How to Apply" section in the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide.

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Contents

Contact Information Program Description

Overview Statutory Authority Specific Information Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Timeline OJP Policy Priority Areas

Federal Award Information Awards, Amounts and Durations Continuation Funding Intent Availability of Funds 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 . 11 Prior Approval, Planning, and Reporting of Conference/Meeting/Training Costs Costs Associated with Language Assistance (if applicable) Period of Performance Duration

Eligibility Information Content of Application Submission

Information to Complete the Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) . 12 Standard Applicant Information (JustGrants 424 and General Agency Information) Proposal Abstract Proposal Narrative Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Timeline Budget and Associated Documentation Are you going to require the applicant to submit the web-based budget detailed form?

Budget Worksheet and Budget Narrative (Web-based Form) Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable) Financial Management Questionnaire (including applicant disclosure of high-risk status) Additional Application Components Curriculum Vitae or Resumes Tribal Authorizing Resolution Timeline Form Letters of Support

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Research and Evaluation Independence and Integrity Statement Bibliography/reference Any tools/instruments, questionnaires, tables/chart/graphs, or maps List of Individuals in the Application Human Subjects Protection Privacy Certificate Request to Use Incentives or Stipends Documentation of Rural Challenges (if applicable) Documentation of High-Poverty Areas or Persistent-Poverty Counties (if applicable) Documentation of Enhanced Public Safety in Qualified Opportunity Zones (if applicable) Documentation of “new investigator” Status Project Management Plan Consortium/Contractual Arrangements Data Archiving Plan Disclosures and Assurances Disclosure of Lobbying Activities Applicant Disclosure of Duplication in Cost Items DOJ Certified Standard Assurances DOJ Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements . . 19 Applicant Disclosure and Justification – DOJ High Risk Grantees (if applicable) How to Apply Submission Dates and Time

Application Review Information Review Criteria Review Process

Federal Award Administration Information Federal Award Notices Administrative, National Policy, and Other Legal Requirements Information Technology (IT) Security Clauses General Information about Post-Federal Award Reporting Requirements .22

Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s) Freedom of Information and Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552 and 5 U.S.C.

552a) Provide Feedback to OJP Performance Measures Application Checklist

Research and Evaluation on School Safety, Fiscal Year 2021 Endnotes

Program Description Overview With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous research and evaluation projects to study the root causes of school violence to include the impact and effectiveness of grants made under the STOP School Violence Act. NIJ is particularly interested in examining understudied approaches to improve school safety. Of most interest are anti-violence interventions and threat assessment.

Applications proposing research involving partnerships with criminal justice or other agencies, should include a strong letter of support, signed by an appropriate decision-making authority from each proposed, partnering agency. A letter of support should include the partnering agency’s acknowledgement that de-identified data derived from, provided to, or obtained through this project will be archived by the grant recipient with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) at the conclusion of the award. Applicants and their potential partners are encouraged to review the NACJD’s policies and protections at ( NACJD). If selected for award, grantees will be expected to have a formal agreement in place with partnering agencies by January 1, 2022. That formal agreement must include a provision to meet the data archiving requirements of the award.

In the case of partnerships that will involve the use of federal award funds by multiple partnering agencies to carry out the proposed project, only one entity/partnering agency may be the applicant (as is the case with any application submitted in response to this solicitation);

any others must be proposed as subrecipients.

Statutory Authority Any awards under this solicitation would be made under statutory authority provided by a full-year appropriations act for FY 2021. 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 2021.

Specific Information Applications must include a carefully developed research strategy with clearly stated research questions; the most rigorous, appropriate research design to answer those questions; a minimally intrusive data collection strategy; provisions for protecting students from unintended harm during the research process; and a plan for sharing findings with practitioners and policymakers who can most benefit from them.

The Root Causes of School Violence

NIJ is interested in receiving proposals that examine the root causes of school violence, including the role of individual factors (e.g., academic performance, prior disciplinary history, mental health, behavioral issues, and student crime or delinquency) and social context (e.g., parenting and the home environment, family conflict/criminality, peer delinquency, and violence/disorder in the school or community).

Evaluation of the Impact and Effectiveness of Grants Made Under the STOP School Violence Act

Though serious violence at school is uncommon, school-based victimization is a significant concern. Schools across the nation have implemented a wide variety of approaches to keep schools and students safe.[1] The Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing School Violence Act of 2018 (STOP School Violence Act)[2] purpose areas call for projects that would support a variety of school safety activities and resources. This solicitation complements the STOP School Violence Act by seeking applications to evaluate the

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https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/pages/NACJD/archiving/deposit-nij-data.html #_edn1 #_edn2 effectiveness of school safety approaches addressing the STOP School Violence Act’s purpose areas.

In recent years, NIJ has made significant investments in research and evaluation efforts to improve school safety and reduce violence at school. In fiscal years 2014-2017, NIJ funded over 90 school safety projects on a wide-variety of topics as part of the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI). Many of these projects have reached conclusion, but some are ongoing. The purpose of CSSI was to develop knowledge about the root causes of school violence, develop strategies for increasing school safety, and rigorously evaluate innovative school safety strategies.

Under this solicitation, NIJ is seeking applications for projects with clear potential for producing findings that have practical benefits for improving school safety. In order to produce findings with a high potential for influencing school safety practices, researchers are encouraged strongly to work closely with educators and other stakeholders within the schools and in the community: to ask the right questions, prioritize challenges, identify solutions, collect data, and make sense of the findings.

The STOP School Violence Act projects are administered by BJA and the COPS Office. NIJ is seeking evaluations of one or more of the activities or purpose areas funded by BJA or the COPS Office in their FY 2018 - 2020 STOP School Violence Act solicitations. For the purposes of this solicitation, applicants may propose evaluations of school safety projects that have received funding under STOP School Violence Act grants funded by BJA or the COPS Office. Alternatively, applicants may propose evaluations of school safety projects that receive funding from other sources, but still align with the activities and categories defined by the STOP School Violence Act as specified in the solicitations released by BJA and the COPS Office. Activities include, but are not limited to: training to prevent student violence, placement of deterrent measures, development of school threat assessment teams, coordination with local law enforcement, and installation of technology for expedited notification of law enforcement during an emergency.

Applicants proposing to evaluate one or more school safety projects must demonstrate in their application that the project(s) is/are sufficiently developed to support the proposed evaluation.

For example, before a rigorous outcome evaluation may be conducted, the school safety program or activities must have a clearly defined conceptual framework (e.g., logic model).

Approaches well positioned to support a study may include those demonstrating implementation fidelity to a program model and capacity to collect necessary data to support an evaluation.

Within the range of approaches and activities supported by the STOP School Violence Act, NIJ is particularly interested in examining understudied approaches to improve school safety.

Of most interest are anti-violence interventions and threat assessment. Also of interest are technologies, equipment, and other solutions that aid in emergency response.

New Investigator/Early Career Opportunity

NIJ is interested in supporting researchers who are early in their careers and new to NIJ’s research grant portfolios, specifically non-tenured assistant professors, or equivalent full-time staff scientist positions in a research institution, who propose research on topics relevant to NIJ’s Office of Research, Evaluation and Technology (ORET). To that end, NIJ may, in appropriate circumstances, give special consideration in award decisions to applications proposing such researchers as principal investigators (PIs). To qualify, the proposed PI must at the time of application submission:

Hold a non-tenured assistant professor appointment at an accredited institution of higher education in the United States or an equivalent full-time staff scientist position at a research institution in the United States.

Have completed a terminal degree or post-graduate clinical training within the four

(4) years prior to September 30, 2021.

Have never previously received NIJ funding as a PI on a research project with the exception of Graduate Research Fellows or Data Resources Program grantees.

If seeking to be considered for the New Investigator/Early Career Opportunity, the applicant should identify that they are submitting a New Investigator/Early Career proposal on the title page of the application.

Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Timeline Goals

The ultimate goals of this solicitation are to develop knowledge to inform development of evidence-based strategies and practices to reduce school violence.

Objectives

This solicitation has two primary objectives:

To evaluate the impact and effectiveness of school safety approaches that received funding under STOP School Violence Act or that align with the activities and categories defined by the STOP School Violence Act.

To examine root causes of school violence, including the role of individual factors.

Deliverables

Final Research Report. Any recipient of an award under this solicitation will be expected to submit a final research report. Additional information on the final research report requirement for the solicitation is posted on NIJ’s webpage.

Required Data Sets and Associated Files and Documentation. Any recipient of an award under this solicitation will be expected to submit to the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (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.

In addition to these deliverables (and the required reports and data on performance measures), 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.

NIJ expects that there will be an equal effort to make the research findings accessible to practitioner and policymaker audiences.

The Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables are directly related to the performance measures that demonstrate the results of the work completed, as discussed under Application and Submission Information.

OJP Policy Priority Areas

In FY 2021 and in addition to executing any program-specific prioritization that may be applicable, OJP will give priority consideration to applications as follows:

Applications that address specific challenges that rural communities face.

Applications that demonstrate that the individuals who are intended to benefit from the requested grant reside in high-poverty areas or persistent-poverty counties.

Applications that offer enhancements to public safety in economically distressed communities (Qualified Opportunity Zones).

To receive priority consideration under the rural priority, applicants must describe what makes the geographic service area rural (using U.S. Census or other appropriate government data; for assistance, applicants may wish to refer to https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural.html), how isolated the area is from needed services, and how they will address specific challenges in rural communities.

To receive priority consideration under the poverty priority, the applicant must provide information to demonstrate that the individuals who are intended to benefit from the requested grant reside in high-poverty areas or persistent poverty counties. For purposes of this priority consideration, the term ‘‘high-poverty area’’ means any census tract with a poverty rate of at least 20 percent as measured by the 2013–2017 5-year data series available from the American Community Survey of the Census Bureau (applicants may search by census tract at https://www.census.gov/acs/www/data /data-tables-and-tools/narrative-profiles/2017/) and the term ‘‘persistent poverty counties’’ means any county that has had 20 percent or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses and the most recent Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (applicants may search by county at https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/dec/census-poverty.html and at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/saipe.html).

To receive priority consideration under the Qualified Opportunity Zones priority, applicants must include information that specifies how the project will enhance public safety in the specified QOZs.

For resources on QOZs, and for a current list of designated QOZs, see the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s resource webpage, accessible at https://www.cdfifund.gov/pages/opportunity-zones.aspx

OJP policy priority consideration will consist of receiving additional points in the application scoring process. Receipt of priority consideration does not guarantee that an application will be funded; nor will the failure to receive priority consideration necessarily mean that an application will not be funded.

Federal Award Information Awards, Amounts and Durations Anticipated Number of Awards

Anticipated Maximum Dollar Amount of Awards $600,000.00

Period of Performance Start Date

1/1/22 12:00 AM

Period of Performance Duration (Months)

Anticipated Total Amount to be Awarded Under Solicitation $1,000,000.00

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Clarifications Maximum dollar amount for each award: The recent median NIJ grant award amount is approximately $600,000. Applicants are encouraged to propose budgets that match the research activities proposed.

Continuation Funding Intent NIJ may, in certain cases, provide additional funding in future years to awards made under this solicitation, through continuation awards. NIJ will consider, among other factors, NIJ’s strategic priorities, a recipient’s overall management of the award, and progress of award-funded work, when making continuation-award decisions.

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

Funding Instrument Type Grant

Award Type Initial

Is Match Required No

Financial Management and System of Internal Controls Award recipients and subrecipients (including recipients or subrecipients that are pass-through entities) must, as described in the Part 200 Uniform Requirements as set out at 2 C.F.R. 200.303, comply with standards for financial and program management. 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. See OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for additional information.

Budget Information 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 define 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 of time 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 2021, 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.)

https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide#fm-internal-controls

NIJ may elect to fund applications submitted under this FY 2021 solicitation in future fiscal years, dependent on, among other considerations, the merit of the applications and on the availability of appropriations.

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 the purposes of this specific solicitation.

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement See “Cofunding” paragraph under item 5 (“Budget and Associated Documentation”) under “Content of Application Aubmission” in Application and Submission Information.

Pre-agreement Costs (also known as Pre-award Costs) See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide information on Pre-agreement Costs (also known as Pre-award Costs).

Limitation on Use of Award Funds for Employee Compensation:

Waiver See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide information on Limitation on Use of Award Funds for Employee Compensation; Waiver.

Prior Approval, Planning, and Reporting of Conference/Meeting/Training Costs See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for information on Prior Approval, Planning, and Reporting of Conference/Meeting/Training Costs.

Costs Associated with Language Assistance (if applicable) See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for information on Costs Associated with Language Assistance.

Period of Performance Duration

To be determined by the period of performance of awarded applications. Successful applicants will be expected to complete the work proposed within a five-year period of performance.

Eligibility Information For eligibility information, see the title page.

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For information on cost sharing or match requirements, see “Content of Application Submission” in Application and Submission Information.

Content of Application Submission The following application elements MUST be included in the application submission for an application to meet the basic minimum requirements (BMR) to advance to peer review and receive consideration for funding:

Program Narrative, Budget Worksheet and Budget Narrative (web-based form), Curriculum Vitae/Resumes for Key Personnel. (Curriculum Vitae for key personnel (For purposes of this solicitation, “key personnel” means the principal investigator, and any and all co-principal investigators.)

See the “Application Elements and Formatting Instructions” section of the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for information on what happens to an application that does not contain all the specified elements or that is nonresponsive to the scope of the solicitation.

Information to Complete the Application for Federal Assistance

(SF-424)

The SF-424 will be submitted in Grants.gov. The SF-424 is a required standard form used as a cover sheet for submission of pre-applications, applications, and related information. See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for additional information on completing 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.”)

Standard Applicant Information (JustGrants 424 and General Agency Information) The Standard Applicant Information section of the JustGrants application is pre-populated with the SF-424 data submitted in Grants.gov. Applicants will need to review the Standard Applicant Information in JustGrants and make edits as needed. Within this section, applicants will need to: add zip codes for areas affected by the project; confirm their Authorized Representative; and verify the organization's legal name and address.

Proposal Abstract A proposal abstract (no more than 400 words) summarizing the proposed project including primary activities, products and deliverables, the service area, and who will benefit from the proposed project, will be completed in the JustGrants Web-based form.

Proposal Narrative

The proposal narrative should be submitted as an attachment in JustGrants. The attached document should be double-spaced, using a standard 12-point Times New Roman font; have no less than 1-inch margins; and should not exceed 30 pages. Pages should be numbered and submitted as an attachment. If the proposal narrative fails to comply with these length-related restrictions, NIJ may negatively consider such noncompliance in peer review and in final award decisions.

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The following sections must be included as part of the proposal narrative:

a. Title Page (not counted against the proposal narrative page limit)

The title page should include:

Project title.

Submission date.

Funding opportunity number.

Principal Investigator (and any co-principal investigators).

Unique author identifier (e.g., ORCID, ResearcherID, Scopus Author ID), if available.

Requests for consideration under “new investigator” and/or “priority areas of research” areas.

Key words, including science focus areas.

Contact information (that is, name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address) for both the applicant and the principal investigator.

b. Resubmit Response (if applicable) (not counted against the proposal narrative page limit.)

If an applicant is resubmitting an application presented previously to NIJ, but not funded, the applicant should indicate this. A statement should be provided, no more than two pages, addressing: (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 proposal narrative page limit)

d. Main Body

1. Statement of the Problem.

The statement of the problem should address the need for research in this area.

Applicants should discuss current gaps in data, research, and knowledge, including those for particular justice sectors, for certain populations, and to answer questions relevant to current policy and practice needs and public interests. It is not uncommon for multiple problems to exist simultaneously (for example, there may be a criminal justice problem affecting public safety, a current technical challenge/need identified by forensic practitioners, as well as a scientific/technology gap between the current state of the art and a desired solution) and applicants should discuss each of these clearly and justify the importance of the separate issues. As part of this discussion, applicants should present a review of previous literature and discuss previous research related to these problems.

2. Project Design and Implementation.

Applicants should provide a detailed description of the strategies to implement this research project and address the research questions. Design elements should follow directly from the research project’s goals and objectives and address the program-specific information noted in the solicitation. Applicants should describe the research methodology and analysis plan in detail and demonstrate the validity and usefulness of the data they will collect. Applicants should consider the rigor and soundness of the methodology and analytical and technical approaches for the proposed research and address the feasibility of the proposed project and potential challenges or problems in carrying out the activities.

3. Potential Impact.

Applicants should describe the potential impact of the research and how it may inform or improve criminal or juvenile justice-related policy, practice, or theory in the United States. The applicant should include a discussion of the proposed dissemination plan to produce scholarly products and to make information available to broader interested audiences, such as criminal justice practitioners or policymakers.

4. Capabilities and Competencies.

This section should describe the experience and capability of the applicant organization, key staff, and any proposed subgrantees (including consultants) that the applicant will use to implement and manage this effort and the federal funds under this award, highlighting any previous experience implementing projects of similar scope, design, and magnitude. Applicants should address:

Experience and capacity to work with the proposed data sources in the conduct of similar research efforts.

Experience and capacity to design and implement rigorous research and data analysis projects.

Experience producing and disseminating meaningful deliverables.

Applicants should also outline the management plan and organization that connects to the goals and objectives of the project.

5. Appendices (not counted against the proposal narrative page limit) include:

If the application (including the budget) identifies any proposed non-competitive agreements that are or may be considered procurement "contracts" (rather than subawards), for purposes of federal grants administrative requirements, the applicant also must list the entities with which the applicant proposes to contract.

List of other agencies, organizations, or funding sources to which this application has been submitted (if applicable).

Note: applicants are not required to submit performance data with the application.

Rather, 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.

OJP will require each successful applicant to submit regular performance data that demonstrate the results of the work carried out under the award. The performance data directly relate to the goals, objectives, and deliverables identified under “Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables” on page 8.

A list of performance measure questions for this program can be found on page 23.

Applicants can also visit OJP’s performance measurement page at www.ojp.gov/performance for an overview of performance measurement activities at

OJP.

Award recipients will be required to submit performance measure data in quarterly financial reports, semi-annual progress reports, and the Final Research Report. Further guidance on the post-award submission process will be provided, if selected for award.

Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Timeline Applicants will submit the project's goals, objectives, deliverables, and timelines in the JustGrants Web-based form. See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for additional information.

Budget and Associated Documentation Are you going to require the applicant to submit the web-based budget detailed form?

Yes

Budget Worksheet and Budget Narrative (Web-based Form) Applicants will complete the JustGrants web-based budget form. See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for additional information.

The following paragraph (on “Cofunding”) expressly modifies the “Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement” provisions in the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide. The applicant is to follow the guidance in the following paragraph instead of the guidance stated under the “Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement” heading in the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide.

Cofunding: An award made by NIJ under this solicitation may account for up to 100 percent of the total cost of the project. The application should indicate whether it is feasible for the applicant to contribute cash, facilities, or services as non-federal support for the project. The application should identify generally any such contributions that the applicant expects to make and the proposed budget should indicate in detail which items, if any, will be supported with non-federal contributions.

For additional match information, see the “Cost Sharing or Match Requirement” section under Federal Award Information.

If a successful application proposes a voluntary match amount, and OJP approves the budget, the total match amount incorporated into the approved budget becomes mandatory and subject to audit.

Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable) Applicants will submit their indirect cost rate agreement by uploading the agreement as an attachment in JustGrants. See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for additional information.

https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide#budget-prep https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide#budget-prep https://www.ojp.gov/funding/apply/ojp-grant-application-resource-guide#budget-prep

Financial Management Questionnaire (including applicant disclosure of high-risk status) Applicants will download the questionnaire in JustGrants and submit by uploading the completed questionnaire as an attachment in JustGrants. See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for additional information.

Additional Application Components

Applicants will attach the additional requested documentation in JustGrants.

Curriculum Vitae or Resumes Curriculum vitae or resume of the principal investigator and any and all co-principal investigators. In addition, curriculum vitae, resume, or biographical sketches of all other individuals (regardless of “investigator” status) who will be significantly involved in substantive aspects of the proposed project (including, for example, individuals such as statisticians used to conduct proposed data analysis).

Tribal Authorizing Resolution

If applicable, applicants will submit the Tribal Authorizing Resolution by uploading the resolution as an attachment in JustGrants. An application in response to this solicitation may require inclusion of information related to a tribal authorizing resolution as an attachment. See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for information on tribal authorizing resolutions.

Timeline Form Proposed project timeline and expected milestones.

Letters of Support Letters of cooperation/support or administrative agreements from organizations collaborating in the project, such as law enforcement and correctional agencies (if applicable).

Research and Evaluation Independence and Integrity Statement If an application proposes research (including research and development) and/or evaluation, the applicant must demonstrate research/evaluation independence and integrity, including appropriate safeguards, before it may receive award funds. Applicants will submit a description of their research and evaluation independence and integrity by uploading the document as an attachment in JustGrants. For additional information regarding demonstrating research/evaluation independence and integrity, including appropriate safeguards, see the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide.

Bibliography/reference Bibliography/references. Provide a bibliography of any references cited in the Project Narrative.

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Any tools/instruments, questionnaires, tables/charts/graphs, or maps pertaining to the proposed project that are supplemental to such items included in the main body of the narrative.

List of Individuals in the Application To assist OJP in assessing actual or apparent conflicts of interest (including such conflicts on the part of prospective reviewers of the application), provide a complete list of the individuals named or otherwise identified anywhere in the application (including in the budget or in any other attachment) who will or may work (or advise or consult) on the proposed research, development, or evaluation project. Applicants should use the “ Proposed Project Staff, Affiliation, and Roles” form available on the NIJ webpage to prepare this list.

Human Subjects Protection Human Subjects Protection paperwork (documentation and forms related to Institutional Review Board [IRB] review). See https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/human-subjects-and-privacy-protection. Note: Final IRB approval is not required at the time an application is submitted.

Privacy Certificate Privacy Certificate (for further guidance go to https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/confidentiality-and-privacy-protections and https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/model-privacy-certificate).

Request to Use Incentives or Stipends Applicants proposing to use incentives or stipends payments as part of their research project design, must submit an incentive or stipend approval request, as a separate document, according to the requirements set forth at https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/participant-support-costs-and-incentives-social-scienceresearch.

Documentation of Rural Challenges (if applicable)

As is mentioned above, OJP will give priority consideration in award decisions to applications that address specific challenges that rural communities face. Each applicant proposing to receive priority consideration under the rural priority must provide a sufficient narrative to include what makes the geographic service area rural (using U.S. Census or other appropriate government data), how isolated the area is from needed services, and how it will address specific challenges in rural communities. Applicants will submit the narrative by uploading the document as an attachment in JustGrants.

Documentation of High-Poverty Areas or Persistent-Poverty Counties (if applicable)

As mentioned above, OJP will give priority consideration in award decisions to applications that demonstrate that the individuals who will benefit from the requested grant reside in high-poverty areas or persistent-poverty counties as defined above. Each applicant proposing to receive consideration under the High-Poverty Areas or Persistent Poverty Counties priority must provide a sufficient narrative explanation to identify each specific High-Poverty Area (by census tract number(s)) and/or each specific Persistent-Poverty County where individuals are

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Documentation of Enhanced Public Safety in Qualified Opportunity Zones (if applicable)

As is mentioned above, OJP will give priority consideration in award decisions to designated Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZs). Each applicant proposing to receive priority consideration under the under the Qualified Opportunity Zones priority must provide a sufficient narrative explanation in order for OJP to identify clearly the public safety benefit the applicant anticipates that its project will have on a specified QOZ(s). The narrative and the list of affected QOZs (by census tract number) must be included as an attachment that is clearly labeled as addressing QOZs. The applicant may also include tables, charts, graphs, or other relevant illustrations that may be useful in comprehending the manner in which the proposed project is anticipated to benefit a QOZ(s). Applicants will submit the narrative by uploading the document as an attachment in JustGrants.

Documentation of “new investigator” Status

Documentation of “new investigator” status, if applicable.

Project Management Plan

The project management plan.

Consortium/Contractual Arrangements

Explain the programmatic, fiscal, and administrative arrangements to be made between the applicant organization and the consortium organization(s).

Data Archiving Plan

Data archiving plan. Applicants should anticipate that NIJ will require, through special award conditions, that data sets resulting in whole or in part from projects funded under this solicitation be submitted for archiving with the NACJD. See https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/data-archiving-plans-nij-funding-applicants.

Applications should include as an appendix a brief plan — labeled “Data Archiving Plan” — to comply with data archiving requirements. The plan should provide brief details about proposed data management and archiving, including submission to NIJ (through NACJD) of al l files and documentation necessary to allow for future efforts by others to reproduce the

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https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/data-archiving-plans-nij-funding-applicants https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/data-archiving-plans-nij-funding-applicants project’s findings and/or to extend the scientific value of the data set through secondary analysis. Pertinent files and documentation include, among other things, qualitative and quantitative data produced, instrumentation and data collection forms, codebook(s), any specialized programming code necessary to reproduce all constructed measures and the original data analysis, description of necessary de-identification procedures, and (when required) a copy of the privacy certificate and informed consent protocols.

The plan should be one or two pages in length and include the level of effort associated with meeting archiving requirements.

Note that recipients are strongly encouraged to submit required data sets at least 90 days before the end of the period of performance.

Disclosures and Assurances Applicants will complete the following disclosures and assurances.

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities Applicants will complete and submit the SF-LLL in Grants.gov. See the OJP Grant Application Resource Guide for additional information.

Applicant Disclosure of Duplication in Cost Items Applicants will complete the JustGrants web-based Applicant Disclosure of Duplication in Cost Items form.