NIJ FY18 Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime | NIJ 2018 13682

Opportunity Information: Apply for NIJ 2018 13682

The NIJ FY18 Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number NIJ 2018 13682) was a discretionary grant solicitation from the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. It focused on expanding practical, field-relevant knowledge about how the justice system can more effectively deter, investigate, prosecute, and respond to illegal drug activity and its public safety impacts. The program sat within NIJ's "drugs and crime" research portfolio, which emphasizes applied research that can translate into real-world tools, protocols, and policies used by state, local, and tribal jurisdictions.

This solicitation invited investigator-initiated proposals, meaning applicants were expected to bring forward their own well-defined research questions and study designs rather than responding to a single, tightly scripted research project. The emphasis was on evidence-based approaches and deliverables that could help practitioners: law enforcement agencies, forensic laboratories, prosecutors, and medicolegal death investigation systems. In other words, the goal was not just to describe problems, but to test, evaluate, or develop methods that could be implemented to improve operations and outcomes in the field.

NIJ highlighted two central research priorities. The first priority targeted opioid-related criminal investigation, prosecution, drug intelligence, and community surveillance. Proposals under this area were expected to engage with challenges driven by the opioid crisis, including heroin, fentanyl, diverted prescription pharmaceuticals, synthetic opioids, and related analogues. NIJ indicated that relevant projects could involve narcotics law enforcement strategies, forensic science issues (such as evidence testing, detection, analytical methods, or laboratory workflow), and/or medicolegal death investigations (including overdose death investigation practices and systems that support accurate cause-of-death determinations and trend monitoring). The second priority focused on illegal marijuana markets and drug-related violent crime, supporting research that clarifies how illicit marijuana distribution and market dynamics may intersect with violence and other criminal activity, and what interventions or policies can reduce harm.

The award instrument was a grant, categorized under Law, Justice and Legal Services (CFDA 16.560). Eligible applicants were broad and included state, county, and city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations including those without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); individuals; for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits). This wide eligibility reflected NIJ's interest in encouraging participation from research universities, practitioner agencies, laboratories, policy organizations, and private-sector research partners, as long as proposals were aligned with the applied, evidence-building focus of the program.

Key timing and funding details included a creation date of February 9, 2018, and an original application closing date of April 25, 2018. The award ceiling was $2,500,000, and NIJ anticipated making approximately six awards. Overall, the solicitation was structured to fund a small number of comparatively substantial projects that could produce actionable findings, validated practices, or scalable tools to help jurisdictions address opioid-driven crime problems and the public safety consequences of illegal drug markets, including violence connected to illicit marijuana activity.

• The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY18 Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime" 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 09, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 25, 2018. (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 $2,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), 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, Small businesses.

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