NIJ FY24 Evaluating Strategies to Advance the Implementation of Evidence-Based Policies and Practices | O NIJ 2024 172002

Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2024 172002

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY24 Evaluating Strategies to Advance the Implementation of Evidence-Based Policies and Practices" (Opportunity No. O-NIJ-2024-172002) is a discretionary grant program focused on closing the gap between what research shows works in the criminal justice field and what actually gets adopted and sustained in real-world policy and practice. The central idea is not to generate entirely new evidence about crime control interventions, but to increase the impact of the strong research evidence that already exists by testing practical ways to get that evidence used more consistently and effectively by the people who make and influence decisions in justice systems.

NIJ is looking for rigorous research and demonstration projects that draw on implementation science, meaning proposals should be grounded in established theories and methods about how organizations adopt new practices, how change spreads through systems, and what helps or blocks sustained implementation. The solicitation emphasizes developing, supporting, and evaluating strategies that improve how research evidence is understood, trusted, selected, applied, and maintained over time. The intended beneficiaries of these strategies include policymakers, agency executives and managers, intermediaries such as technical assistance providers or professional associations, and other decision-makers who shape justice outcomes through funding choices, operational policies, training standards, and performance expectations.

The projects NIJ wants to fund are expected to be highly credible and methodologically strong, with a clear focus on measuring whether implementation strategies actually improve evidence use and produce meaningful changes in practice. That generally implies structured demonstration efforts paired with serious evaluation designs, such as experimental or strong quasi-experimental approaches where feasible, along with careful measurement of implementation outcomes (for example, adoption, fidelity, feasibility, acceptability, reach, and sustainability). In other words, NIJ is supporting work that does more than recommend best practices; it is supporting work that tests concrete mechanisms for getting best practices embedded into routine decision-making and operations across the justice ecosystem.

Administratively, this opportunity is offered as a grant under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development funding activity category, with CFDA number 16.560. The solicitation was created on February 28, 2024, with an original closing date of May 14, 2024. NIJ anticipated making about 4 awards, with an award ceiling of $2,750,000 per award. Taken together, those details signal that NIJ expects relatively substantial projects, often multi-partner efforts, with enough scope and resources to implement and evaluate change strategies in real operational settings.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments and other Native American tribal organizations; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not institutions of higher education in that category); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; small businesses; and other eligible entity types. This wide eligibility aligns with the subject matter: implementation work often requires partnerships among researchers, practitioner agencies, and intermediary organizations, and NIJ appears to be leaving room for many configurations of applicants that can credibly run applied demonstrations and evaluations.

Overall, the opportunity is aimed at improving how evidence-based policies and practices actually take hold in criminal justice settings by funding research-backed, testable implementation strategies. The emphasis is on real-world impact: strengthening the pathways through which research evidence reaches decision-makers, gets translated into operational choices, and is implemented in ways that last, with careful evaluation to determine what works, for whom, and under what conditions.

• The National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY24 Evaluating Strategies to Advance the Implementation of Evidence-Based Policies and Practices" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-28.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-05-14. (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 $2,750,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, 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 2024 172002

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