OVW Research and Evaluation Program
Active
- Assistance listing
- 16.026
- Agency
-
Offices Boards and Divisions
Department of Justice
- Grant awards
- 62 $27,766,064 in federal obligations
Program facts
- Also known as
- R&E
- Assistance types
-
- Project Grant
- Cooperative Agreement
- Block Grant
- Treasury account
-
- 15-0409-0-1-754
- More information
Program details come from SAM.gov Assistance Listings. Updated . Grant award figures come from USAspending.gov.
About this program
The Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) funds research and evaluation projects investigating evidence-based approaches to preventing and addressing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, under Assistance Listing 16.026, with the most recent grant awards issued January 1, 2025.
The program has disbursed 62 grants since 2016, with consistent recent activity averaging six to nine awards per year over the past five years. The portfolio totals $27.8 million in combined federal obligations. OVW dominates funding, accounting for 60 awards worth $27.1 million federal dollars obligated, with the Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs contributing the remaining 2 awards totaling $694 thousand. The assistance-type mix is predominantly Project Grants (87 percent of awards), with smaller shares of Block Grants (10 percent) and Cooperative Agreements (3 percent).
Funded activities include rigorous evaluations of victim services and offender interventions—including quasi-experimental and randomized controlled trials of batterer intervention programs, economic empowerment and flexible financial assistance models for survivors, court-based protective order processes, trauma-informed yoga and art-based healing programs, sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) care models including telehealth delivery, domestic violence intervention projects, and risk assessment tools. Recent awards fund secondary analysis of Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) implementation in carceral settings ($396 thousand), evaluation of community violence intervention programs addressing the intersection of gun violence and intimate partner violence ($500 thousand), development and evaluation of culturally tailored trauma-informed yoga for women of color survivors ($480 thousand), and pilot testing of adolescent relationship abuse prevention for sexual and gender diverse youth ($497 thousand). Award sizes typically cluster in the $400–550 thousand range over project periods of 24 to 36 months, with one Cooperative Agreement mega-award of $2.6 million for the Violence Against Women Act Measuring Effectiveness Initiative.
Eligible applicants include states (including territories), units of local government, federally recognized Indian tribal governments, nonprofit organizations, and institutions of higher education. Applications are submitted through Grants.gov and the Department of Justice JustGrants system. Recent opportunities include the FY 2025 Research and Evaluation Initiative (due September 23, 2025), which solicits researcher-practitioner partnerships employing qualitative, mixed-method, quasi-experimental, and experimental designs on topics where stronger evidence would help OVW grantees align work with effective practices. A companion FY 2025 Cooperative Agreement opportunity closed March 4, 2025. An FY 2026 continuation award to the University of Southern Maine for the Measuring Effectiveness Initiative was posted August 19, 2026.
Objective and description
- Objective
The purpose of the Research and Evaluation (R & E) Program is to further develop and make maximum use of the evidence base for approaches to combatting domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. By generating more knowledge about
Eligibility
- Applicant eligibility
Eligible applicants are limited to: States (including territories), units of local government, federally recognized Indian tribal governments as determined by the Secretary of the Interior, nonprofit organizations (including tribal nonprofit organizations), institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions of higher education)
- Beneficiary eligibility
This program prioritizes research on topics for which a stronger evidence base would help OVW grantees use federal funds most effectively.
- Credentials and documentation
Criteria for award selection is specified in the program notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
- Uses of assistance
OVW is interested in funding research and evaluation to generate knowledge in the six areas of study listed below: 1. Justice: Ways the justice system can effectively pursue and achieve justice in cases involving VAWA crimes, with justice broadly understood to include autonomy for victims, accountability for offenders, procedural fairness for all, and restorative justice 2. Victims' needs: How victimization and its aftermath affect people's lives, and what victims need to cope, heal, and achieve safety and justice. 3. Cultures, disparities, and access: Ways that cultural differences and social inequalities matter in terms of where and to whom people go for help, and whether people are able to access justice and get services that are useful to them. 4. Impact: Short- and long-term impact of the justice system's response, victim services, and other VAWA-funded interventions on victim safety and offender accountability. 5. Indicators of success: What success looks like and how to measure it-for victims pursing safety and justice, for offenders being held accountable for their violence, and for people who work with victims and offenders. 6. Reducing recidivism: How to prevent violence from recurring.
- Length and time phasing of assistance
Information regarding length of awards will be included in an annual notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the program.
How to apply
- Application procedure
Applicants must apply through the on-line Grants.gov portal and the Department of Justice's JustGrants System.
- Criteria for selecting proposals
Criteria for award selection is specified in the program notice of funding opportunity (NOFO).
- Award procedure
Upon approval by the Office on Violence Against Women, online notification is sent to the applicant agency. The Authorized Representative must accept the award online.
- Time to approval or disapproval
Applicants will be notified by the end of the fiscal year.
- Renewals
Renewals are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Grant opportunities
Show all 14
Grant awards
Latest 10 of 62 listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Top recipients by federal obligations
| Rank | Recipient | Federal obligations | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University Of Maine System | $3,098,924 | 11% |
| 2 | The Urban Institute | $1,876,881 | 7% |
| 3 | The University Of South Dakota | $1,344,480 | 5% |
| 4 | Yale Univ | $1,187,246 | 4% |
| 5 | The University Of Central Florida Board Of Trustees | $1,000,000 | 4% |
| 6 | University Of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. | $916,727 | 3% |
| 7 | University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill | $899,789 | 3% |
| 8 | University Of California, LOS Angeles | $892,198 | 3% |
| 9 | University System Of New Hampshire | $846,127 | 3% |
| 10 | Fund For The City Of New York, Inc. | $843,178 | 3% |
10 of 42 recipients listed here. See the rest on GovTribe.
Federal obligations by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Federal obligations |
|---|---|
| FY2026 | -$5,669 |
| FY2025 | -$27,224 |
| FY2024 | $3,600,000 |
| FY2023 | $5,740,580 |
| FY2022 | $3,426,746 |
| FY2021 | $2,268,632 |
| FY2020 | $2,078,572 |
| FY2019 | $2,117,462 |
| FY2018 | $2,734,000 |
| FY2017 | $2,204,637 |
| FY2016 | $3,628,328 |
Show all 11
Quick answers
What is Assistance Listing 16.026?
Assistance Listing 16.026 is OVW Research and Evaluation Program, a federal grant program run by Offices Boards and Divisions (Department of Justice).
What is the CFDA number for OVW Research and Evaluation Program?
Its CFDA number is 16.026: Assistance Listing numbers were called CFDA numbers before 2018.
How much funding has Assistance Listing 16.026 awarded?
62 grant awards under 16.026 have obligated $27,766,064 in federal funds to 42 recipients.
Who receives the most funding from 16.026?
The recipients obligated the most under OVW Research and Evaluation Program are University Of Maine System ($3,098,924), The Urban Institute ($1,876,881) and The University Of South Dakota ($1,344,480).
How much did 16.026 obligate in fiscal year 2025?
Grants under 16.026 obligated -$27,224 in federal funds in fiscal year 2025.
Are there open grant opportunities under 16.026?
No opportunity listed under 16.026 is open now. The latest, OVW Fiscal Year 2026 Violence Against Women Act Measuring Effectiveness Initiative - Request for Required Documents, was posted on August 19, 2026.
On GovTribe
See this program's full record
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