Evaluation of Project Safe Neighborhoods, FY 2019 | NIJ 2019 15403

Opportunity Information: Apply for NIJ 2019 15403

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), within the U.S. Department of Justice, released a discretionary grant opportunity titled "Evaluation of Project Safe Neighborhoods, FY 2019" (Funding Opportunity Number: NIJ 2019 15403) to fund a large, multi-site evaluation of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is a DOJ-sponsored public safety initiative focused on reducing gun crime through coordinated local strategies. A central feature of PSN is collaboration across multiple criminal justice agencies and community partners at the local level, with U.S. Attorney's Offices expected to play a leading role in organizing local efforts and supporting federal prosecution strategies where appropriate. The core aim of this solicitation is not to fund PSN operations directly, but to rigorously study how PSN is implemented and how effective it is across different places, using a structured evaluation design.

The project NIJ is seeking is broad in scope and is meant to generate evidence at two levels: local and national. First, the awardee would conduct between eight and ten site-level evaluations in different local jurisdictions. These site studies are intended to capture how PSN looks on the ground in diverse settings, including differences in partnerships, enforcement priorities, prevention approaches, community engagement, and coordination mechanisms led by U.S. Attorney's Offices. Second, the project includes a national assessment of PSN, which would synthesize findings across sites and examine PSN as a nationwide initiative. Together, these components are designed to answer both practical implementation questions (what strategies are being used, how are partners working together, what barriers and facilitators exist) and outcome questions (whether and how PSN efforts are associated with reductions in gun crime and related violence, and what features of PSN may be tied to stronger results).

NIJ indicated an intention to fund the work in two phases. The initial phase would begin under this FY 2019 award, and there is an opportunity for additional funding to support a second phase starting in FY 2021. This phased structure signals that the evaluation is expected to be multi-year and complex, potentially involving early planning and site selection, baseline data development, implementation and process analysis, followed by longer-term outcome assessment and cross-site synthesis once sufficient time has passed to observe measurable effects.

The funding mechanism for this opportunity is a cooperative agreement, which typically means NIJ expects substantial involvement during the project period, such as coordination on evaluation design choices, site selection considerations, methodological standards, deliverables, or dissemination. The solicitation listed an award ceiling of $3,000,000 and anticipated making one award, suggesting NIJ intended to fund a single lead organization (or lead applicant with partners/subrecipients) to manage the full portfolio of local evaluations plus the national assessment.

Eligibility for this opportunity was broad and included 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 tribal governments; nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); individuals; for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other than small businesses); and other applicants as described in the solicitation's additional eligibility information. The program is associated with CFDA number 16.560 and falls under the Law, Justice, and Legal Services activity category.

Key dates provided were a posting/creation date of February 13, 2019, and an original application closing date of May 1, 2019. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a single, high-dollar, multi-year research and evaluation award meant to produce credible, policy-relevant evidence about PSN's implementation and impact across multiple jurisdictions, while also delivering a national-level understanding of how the initiative functions and what results it yields.

• The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Evaluation of Project Safe Neighborhoods, 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 13, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 01, 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 $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 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, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NIJ 2019 15403

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: