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.Apply for NIJ 2019 15288
- 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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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the name of this funding opportunity?
The opportunity is titled FY 2019 Investigator-Initiated Research and Evaluation on Firearm Violence.
Which agency is offering this grant?
The grant is offered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), which is part of the U.S. Department of Justice.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number?
The Funding Opportunity Number is NIJ 2019 15288.
What is the main purpose of this solicitation?
The main purpose is 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, and to strengthen the national evidence base on what drives firearm violence and what works to prevent it.
Is this grant for direct services or for research and evaluation?
This solicitation is explicitly centered on research and evaluation, not service delivery. NIJ is looking for projects that can credibly measure impacts, explain mechanisms, and generate findings decision-makers can apply in real-world public safety settings.
What kinds of outcomes is NIJ trying to achieve with these awards?
NIJ is aiming for findings that are both methodologically strong and directly useful to practitioners and policymakers, producing practical, actionable public safety benefits by improving understanding of drivers of firearm violence and identifying effective prevention strategies and policy or practice changes.
What are NIJ's highlighted priority research areas?
NIJ highlights four priority areas of special interest:
- Evaluations of prevention and intervention programs and/or policies intended to reduce firearm violence
- Research on defensive use of firearms and its relationship to firearm violence
- Studies on how plea bargaining firearm charges affects firearm violence
- Research to improve understanding of mass shooters and mass shooting incidents in ways that inform local prevention
What does NIJ mean by "investigator-initiated" research?
Based on the description, NIJ is open to firearm-violence-related proposals as long as they meet high scientific standards. While NIJ highlights priority areas, applicants may propose other rigorous firearm-violence research and evaluation topics that align with the solicitation's goals.
What types of projects fit the first priority area (evaluations of programs/policies)?
This includes evaluations of prevention and intervention initiatives intended to reduce firearm violence, including those implemented by communities, law enforcement, courts, schools, or public health partners, as long as the design can generate clear evidence on effectiveness, implementation, and outcomes.
What is NIJ looking for under the defensive firearm use priority?
NIJ is signaling interest in careful empirical research that clarifies whether, when, and how defensive gun use affects outcomes such as victimization, escalation, injury severity, or broader rates of violence, using credible data sources and appropriate methods.
What does the plea bargaining priority focus on?
This area focuses on how the criminal justice system processes firearm-related cases, and how prosecutorial decisions and plea negotiations (including charge reductions, sentencing outcomes, and case dispositions) may influence deterrence, incapacitation, recidivism, and community-level firearm violence outcomes.
What does NIJ want related to mass shootings?
NIJ encourages research that improves understanding of mass shooters and mass shooting incidents in ways that produce locally actionable prevention knowledge, such as insights that can strengthen local prevention strategies, threat assessment approaches, information sharing, and intervention planning.
How many awards did NIJ expect to make?
NIJ anticipated making approximately 4 awards.
What is the maximum award amount?
The award ceiling is $2,000,000 per award.
What does the award ceiling suggest about project scope?
The ceiling indicates NIJ expected to support substantial research or evaluation efforts, potentially including multi-year work with multiple partners, extensive data collection, and/or complex analytic approaches.
What is the CFDA number for this program?
The program is listed under CFDA 16.560.
How is this opportunity categorized?
It is categorized under law, justice, and legal services as well as science and technology and other research and development.
When was the opportunity created?
The opportunity was created on February 26, 2019.
What was the original application deadline?
The original application deadline was April 29, 2019.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad. Eligible applicants include:
- State governments
- County governments
- 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
- Individuals
- Other entities as described in NIJ's additional eligibility guidance
Are universities eligible to apply?
Yes. Both public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education are eligible.
Are nonprofits eligible to apply?
Yes. Nonprofit organizations are eligible, including organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (as specified in the solicitation).
Are for-profit organizations eligible to apply?
Yes. For-profit organizations other than small businesses are listed as eligible.
Can individuals apply?
Yes. Individuals are included among eligible applicants.
Can local governments apply?
Yes. County, city or township, and special district governments are included in the eligibility list.
Are tribal governments eligible?
Yes. Federally recognized Native American tribal governments are eligible.
What general topic area must projects address to fit this solicitation?
Projects should focus on firearm violence, specifically prevention and reduction of intentional, interpersonal firearm violence and/or public mass shootings, using research and evaluation designs that can produce credible, policy-relevant evidence.
What does NIJ emphasize about the kind of evidence it wants?
NIJ emphasizes evidence that is scientifically rigorous, can credibly measure impacts, can explain mechanisms, and can inform practical decisions by practitioners and policymakers.
How does this solicitation relate to DOJ priorities?
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, by funding research that can directly improve public safety practice and decision-making.
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