BJA FY 22 Law Enforcement National Initiatives to Improve Public Safety, Enhance Agency Operations via Training, Recruitment and Retention and Building Community Trust | O BJA 2022 171310

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2022 171310

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), within the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs (OJP), released the FY 2022 grant opportunity titled "BJA FY 22 Law Enforcement National Initiatives to Improve Public Safety, Enhance Agency Operations via Training, Recruitment and Retention and Building Community Trust" (Funding Opportunity Number: O-BJA-2022-171310). This is a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement, which typically means BJA expects to have substantial involvement in guiding, coordinating, or collaborating on the work during the award period rather than simply issuing funds and stepping back. The opportunity sits under CFDA 16.734 and is framed around improving public safety and strengthening law enforcement and criminal justice operations through national-level training and technical assistance.

At its core, the solicitation reflects OJP priorities around civil rights and racial equity, increasing access to justice, supporting crime victims and people impacted by the justice system, strengthening community safety, protecting the public from emerging threats, and improving trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. The purpose is to fund four national, in-scope training and technical assistance (TTA) efforts that can support law enforcement and broader criminal justice stakeholders in key operational areas. The emphasis on "national initiatives" signals that BJA is looking for programs with reach, scalability, and the ability to deliver consistent, high-quality support across jurisdictions, rather than a single local or state-only effort.

The funding is designed to improve agency operations through practical supports like training, recruitment and retention assistance, and community trust-building strategies. While the summary information does not list each TTA topic area in detail, the title and description make clear that the work should help agencies strengthen day-to-day performance and capacity, address workforce challenges (such as hiring, onboarding, and keeping qualified personnel), and enhance legitimacy and trust through practices aligned with civil rights, equity, and community-centered policing principles. Because the solicitation explicitly references supporting crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, applicants should anticipate that BJA values approaches that reduce harm, improve fairness, and promote accountability alongside operational effectiveness.

Eligible applicants are broad and include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and other entities as further clarified in the solicitation's eligibility section. This wide eligibility suggests BJA is open to a range of national providers and intermediaries, including universities with research-to-practice capacity, established nonprofits that run national training networks, and specialized organizations that can deliver technical assistance at scale. Given the cooperative agreement structure, strong applicants typically demonstrate not only expertise but also the ability to coordinate with federal partners, manage national stakeholder relationships, and track performance in a way that aligns with BJA expectations.

Financially, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $4,450,000 and an expected total of five awards. The solicitation was posted on April 29, 2022, with an original closing date of June 8, 2022. The combination of a multi-million-dollar ceiling and a small number of expected awards indicates BJA was aiming to fund a limited set of sizeable, high-impact national TTA projects rather than many smaller, localized programs. In practical terms, applicants would be expected to propose robust delivery plans such as curricula, toolkits, peer learning networks, remote and onsite technical assistance, and other scalable methods that can reach many agencies and stakeholders while maintaining quality and measurable outcomes.

Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a federal investment in national training and technical assistance infrastructure for law enforcement and criminal justice partners, with a clear policy direction: operational improvement must go hand-in-hand with civil rights protections, equitable access to justice, victim-centered approaches, and tangible efforts to build and maintain community trust.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 22 Law Enforcement National Initiatives to Improve Public Safety, Enhance Agency Operations via Training, Recruitment and Retention and Building Community Trust" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.734.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 29, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 08, 2022. (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 $4,450,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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