NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Violent Crime: Gangs and Organized Criminal Groups (Domestic and Transnational)
NIJ will fund rigorous research and evaluation projects on violent crime associated with gangs and organized criminal groups, including domestic and transnational threats, typically in collaboration with law enforcement agencies.
⚑ Evaluation proposals must be led by or collaborate with law enforcement agencies. · Process evaluation is expected as part of the evaluation design. · Multi-site and cross-jurisdictional evaluations are encouraged. · Applications appear to be broadly eligible; no applicant class restriction is stated in the notice.
This is primarily a justice-law / law-enforcement evaluation NOFO on gangs, organized crime, and trafficking. IPPRA’s core strengths are public risk perception, hazard communication, energy/climate, and education policy—not criminal justice intervention evaluation—so this is mostly outside the team’s program.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-10-23
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 65 good | peripheral portfolio topic: public_health; signature methods: community engaged, policy analysis, surveys longitudinal; social/behavioral work is central; funds evaluation research; capped at 65 (limited social-science role) |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 40 partial | technical depth: substantial; funds evaluation research (capped) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 10 none | deep-tech content; no commercialization signal |
Description
This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Violent Crime: Gangs and Organized Criminal Groups (Domestic and Transnational). This opportunity supports research and evaluation proposals on gang and organized criminal group-related violent crime, including domestic and transnational. Projects funded through this NOFO will study topics that inform law enforcement strategies and operations to effectuate EO 14157, “Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorist;” Chapter 4 of the 2026 National Drug Control Strategy, “Global Campaign Against Transnational Criminal Threats;” and other related threats, including those posed by firearm, human, and other trafficking-related violence. NIJ seeks rigorous evaluations of new or existing strategies intended to reduce violent crime associated with gangs and organized criminal groups or networks and are led by or collaborate with law enforcement agencies. Evaluations should consider how individual, group, organizational, situational, or other relevant contextual factors interact with the strategies being studied. NIJ encourages evaluation designs such as randomized controlled trials (when feasible), mixed methods research, quasi-experimental designs, matched comparisons, and other appropriate methodologies. Process evaluations should be incorporated to support interpretation of program implementation and outcomes. Outcome evaluations must focus on violent crime measures such as murder, aggravated assault, and robbery along with relevant intermediate and process outcomes. Multi-site and cross-jurisdictional evaluations are encouraged.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: National Institute of Justice <OJP.ResponseCenter@usdoj.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · Federal (generic) conventions SEE A FEDERAL EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — Federal (generic)'s document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.