Investigator-Initiated Research and Evaluation on Firearm Violence, FY 2019 | NIJ 2019 15288

Opportunity Information: Apply for NIJ 2019 15288

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), part of the U.S. Department of Justice, released the FY 2019 grant opportunity "Investigator-Initiated Research and Evaluation on Firearm Violence" (Funding Opportunity No. NIJ 2019 15288) to fund scientifically rigorous research and program evaluation focused on preventing and reducing intentional, interpersonal firearm violence and public mass shootings in the United States. The overall purpose is to strengthen the national evidence base on what drives firearm violence, what works to prevent it, and what policy or practice changes can produce practical, actionable public safety benefits. NIJ frames this as an investment in research that is both methodologically strong and directly useful to practitioners and policymakers working on gun crime and gun violence reduction.

The solicitation is explicitly centered on research and evaluation rather than service delivery. NIJ is looking for projects that can credibly measure impacts, explain mechanisms, and generate findings that decision-makers can apply in the real world. While the agency is open to any firearm-violence-related proposals that meet high scientific standards, it highlights four priority areas where it is especially interested in receiving applications. First, NIJ prioritizes evaluations of prevention and intervention programs and/or policies intended to reduce firearm violence. This can include assessing initiatives implemented by communities, law enforcement, courts, schools, or public health partners, as long as the work is designed to produce clear evidence about effectiveness, implementation, and outcomes.

Second, NIJ seeks research examining the defensive use of firearms and its relationship to firearm violence. This priority reflects ongoing debates about whether, when, and how defensive gun use affects victimization, escalation, injury severity, or broader rates of violence. NIJ is signaling interest in careful empirical work that can clarify the real-world impacts and contexts of defensive firearm use, using credible data sources and appropriate methods.

Third, the agency calls for studies on how plea bargaining firearm charges affects firearm violence. This area emphasizes the criminal justice system's processing of firearm-related cases and how decisions made during prosecution and plea negotiations might influence deterrence, incapacitation, recidivism, and community-level violence outcomes. Proposals in this topic would typically explore how prosecutorial practices, charge reductions, sentencing outcomes, and case dispositions connect to later firearm offending and violence trends.

Fourth, NIJ encourages research that improves understanding of mass shooters and mass shooting incidents in ways that inform prevention at the local level. The emphasis is not only on describing incidents, but on producing insights that local jurisdictions can use to strengthen prevention strategies, threat assessment approaches, information sharing, and intervention planning. The goal is practical prevention knowledge that can be applied by local agencies and community partners rather than solely broad national narratives.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant program under CFDA 16.560, categorized under law, justice, and legal services as well as science and technology and other research and development. The opportunity was created on Feb 26, 2019, with an original application deadline of Apr 29, 2019. NIJ anticipated making around 4 awards, with an award ceiling of $2,000,000 per award, indicating support for substantial multi-year research or evaluation efforts that may involve multiple partners, extensive data collection, or complex analytic work.

Eligibility is broad and designed to include the mix of institutions typically capable of conducting high-quality research and evaluation. Eligible applicants include 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; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (as specified); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and individuals, along with other entities as described in NIJ's additional eligibility guidance. This breadth suggests NIJ intended to attract proposals from academic researchers, research firms, practitioner-research partnerships, and public agencies with evaluation capacity.

In summary, this NIJ solicitation is aimed at generating credible, policy-relevant evidence on firearm violence prevention, with particular attention to evaluating interventions and policies, clarifying the effects of defensive gun use, understanding how plea bargaining decisions around firearm charges may shape violence outcomes, and improving locally actionable understanding of mass shootings. It aligns with the Department of Justice priority to prevent and reduce gun crimes, gun-violence-related victimization, and related criminal activity tied to firearm violence, emphasizing research findings that can directly improve public safety practice and decision-making.

• The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the law, justice and legal services, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Investigator-Initiated Research and Evaluation on Firearm Violence, FY 2019" 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 Feb 26, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 29, 2019. (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 $2,000,000.00 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), 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, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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