NIJ FY22 Evaluation of OJP Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) Projects | O NIJ 2022 171279

Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2022 171279

The NIJ FY22 Evaluation of OJP Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) Projects grant is a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funding opportunity focused on research and evaluation rather than direct service delivery. Its central purpose is to fund rigorous, independent evaluations of projects supported under the FY 2022 Office of Justice Programs (OJP) CVIPI solicitation, with the broader goal of building credible evidence about which community-based strategies reduce violent crime, how well they work, and under what conditions they are most effective. The opportunity aligns with DOJ priorities around civil rights and racial equity, access to justice, support for victims and justice-involved individuals, strengthening community safety, addressing evolving threats, and improving trust between law enforcement and communities, and it is explicitly connected to the DOJ Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime.

A key feature of this solicitation is that NIJ is not seeking stand-alone evaluation proposals in isolation. To be eligible, an applicant must actively collaborate with an organization that is applying to the FY 2022 OJP CVIPI solicitation as an Expansion and Enhancement project site, and the evaluation application must clearly document that partnership through a signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) or letter of support. NIJ will only consider evaluation proposals tied to OJP CVIPI Categories 3 and 4, meaning applicants need to ensure that their partner site is pursuing those specific categories under the OJP program and that the evaluation design is clearly connected to that work.

The evaluations NIJ is soliciting are expected to look at both outcomes and impacts, as well as implementation. In practical terms, that means proposals should not only measure whether violence-related outcomes change, but also include process or implementation evaluation elements that examine how the program is delivered, what components were actually implemented, challenges and facilitators in real-world settings, fidelity to the intended model, partnership dynamics, and contextual factors that may influence results. NIJ is emphasizing the value of this knowledge for strengthening the evidence base around community-based violence intervention and prevention approaches, especially as jurisdictions scale and refine strategies intended to reduce serious violence.

Because these projects often depend on administrative data and multi-agency coordination, the solicitation places heavy weight on documentation of partner commitment and data access. Applications that propose evaluation data collection involving juvenile justice, criminal justice, or other agencies are expected to include strong letters of support signed by an appropriate decision-making authority at each partnering agency. These letters should do more than express general enthusiasm; they should indicate a clear willingness to participate and, importantly, acknowledge that de-identified data created, provided, or obtained through the project will be archived at the end of the award with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD). Applicants and partners are encouraged to review NACJD policies and protections in advance, since the program is signaling that data archiving is a standard expectation and should be planned for from the beginning.

The solicitation also sets a concrete timeline expectation for partner arrangements. If selected for funding, grantees are expected to have a formal agreement in place with partnering agencies by October 1, 2022, and that agreement must include provisions that enable the required data archiving. For collaborative projects where multiple agencies will use federal funds to carry out the work, NIJ clarifies that only one entity can submit the application as the primary applicant; other participating organizations must be structured as subrecipients. This is meant to avoid confusion about accountability and ensure there is a single lead entity responsible for compliance, reporting, and performance.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and city or township governments; special districts; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribes and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofits with and without 501(c)(3) status; for-profit organizations (including small businesses); and other entities. Federal agencies may apply as well, though any award to a federal agency would be made through an inter-agency reimbursable agreement. At the same time, foreign governments, foreign organizations, and foreign colleges and universities are not eligible to apply.

There are also policy compliance conditions that may affect project partners, especially where law enforcement agencies are involved. To advance Executive Order 13929 on Safe Policing for Safe Communities, state, local, and campus law enforcement agencies must be certified by an approved independent credentialing body or have begun the certification process to be eligible for FY 2022 DOJ discretionary grant funding, including funds received through subawards. The certification requirements include that the agency use-of-force policies comply with applicable laws and prohibit chokeholds except where deadly force is legally permissible. In addition, the solicitation states that all recipients and subrecipients, including for-profit organizations, must forgo any profit or management fee, reinforcing that the funding is intended to support allowable project costs rather than generate profit.

From an administrative standpoint, this opportunity is a discretionary grant in the science and technology/research and development category (CFDA 16.045), administered by NIJ. The posted application closing date was June 7, 2022, and the award ceiling listed for this opportunity is $1,900,000. Overall, the solicitation is best understood as an NIJ investment in high-quality evaluation of real-world community violence intervention and prevention expansions, with strong emphasis on documented partnerships, access to credible data, careful attention to implementation, and long-term public value through archiving de-identified data for future research.

• The National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY22 Evaluation of OJP Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) Projects" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.045.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-04-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-06-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,900,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, 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, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for O NIJ 2022 171279

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