SOLICITATION WEBINAR

NIJ FY23 Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention 

Initiative (CVIPI) Research, Evaluation, and

Associated Training & Technical Assistance Support 

Speaker: NIJ Director Nancy La Vigne

Presenters: Basia E Lopez, NIJ, & Jen Grotpeter, NIJ

March 23, 2023

United States Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

National Institute of Justice

Office of Research, Evaluation, and Technology

Funding Opportunity ID: O-NIJ-2023-171648

Posting Date: March 7, 2023

Closing Date: June 5, 2023

Grants.gov Submission Deadline: May 22, 2023
Today’s Webinar

Today’s Webinar

• Introduction (NIJ Director)

• The Solicitation 

• Categories

• Application Submission

• NIJ Review Process

• Support & Resources

• Q&A
Program History

Today’s Webinar

• OJP Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI)

• Participating OJP Components: 

 Programmatic Support: BJA, OVC, OJJDP

 Research and Evaluation and Related Support: NIJ

• FY23: Year 2 of the Initiative

• FY22 OJP CVIPI solicitation: 47 site-based programmatic awards

• FY22 NIJ CVIPI solicitation: 2 evaluation awards of two site-based programs
Solicitation Purpose and Goals

Today’s Webinar

• Purpose 

 Support the conduct and carry out CVIP program evaluations & 

research 

• Goals

 Enhance CVI evaluation capacity and produce practical 

knowledge 
Solicitation Categories

Today’s Webinar

1. Training and Technical Assistance to Support CVIPI Evaluation Capacity 

Building and Researcher and Practitioner Partnerships

2. Training and Technical Assistance to Support Violent Crime Problem 

Analyses of Jurisdictions not Funded under the OJP FY22 and FY23 CVIPI 

Solicitations

3. Site-Based Evaluations of Programs Funded under the OJP FY22 and 

FY23 CVIPI Solicitations

4. Other Community-Violence Research and Evaluations
Category 1: TTA to Support CVIPI Evaluation Capacity 

Building and Researcher and Practitioner Partnerships

Today’s Webinar

• One award (up to $5 MLN, Cooperative Agreement)

• TTA provider to host the NIJ Community Violence Intervention Research 

and Evaluation Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Center

• Assist OJP-funded CVIPI sites

 To position themselves to implement programs with fidelity

 To prepare for rigorous impact evaluations

• OJP-funded CVIPI sites include projects funded under FY 2022 OJP CVIPI 

solicitation and projects receiving funding under FY23 OJP CVIPI solicitation
Category 2: TTA to Support Violent Crime Problem 

Analyses of Jurisdictions not Funded under the OJP 

FY22 and FY23 CVIPI Solicitations 

Today’s Webinar

• One award (up to $2 MLN, Cooperative Agreement) 

• TTA provider to support community-based organizations (CBOs) or units of 

local government (ULGs)

 To enhance violent crime problem analysis capacity

 To enhance the strategic plan development capacity

 CBOs and ULGs not funded under OJP CVIPI FY22 & FY23 

solicitations
Category 3: Site-Based Evaluations of Programs Funded 

under the OJP FY22 and FY23 CVIPI Solicitations

Today’s Webinar

• Up to 6 awards (funding available up to $5 MLN; expected as grant)

• Formative or process evaluations

• Outcome and impact evaluations (with program implementation, if 

necessary)

• Applications are to be developed in collaboration with projects:

funded under OJP CVIPI 

FY22 

Categories 1-4

applying in tandem 

under the OJP CVIPI 

FY23 solicitation

Categories 1-2
Partnering with/Selecting Program Sites

(Categories 1 & 3) 

Today’s Webinar

• CVIPI program sites funded in FY22

 Map of FY 2022 CVIPI Grantees: https://bja.ojp.gov/media/image/46401

• Project Descriptions For FY22 Funded OJP CVIPI Sites

 https://bja.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/o-bja-2022-171282

• Two FY22 NIJ funded projects no longer available for evaluation

 https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/o-nij-2022-171279

• All qualifying CVI programs applying under FY23 OJP CVIPI solicitation are 

eligible
Today’s Webinar
Category 4: Other Community-Violence Research and 

Evaluations

Today’s Webinar

• Up to 5 awards (funding available up to $3 MLN, expected as grant)

• Community violence research and evaluation of programs not funded 

under OJP CVIPI FY22 & FY23 solicitation

• To advance knowledge and inform the development of effective, violent 

crime reduction programs
Additional Information

Today’s Webinar

• New Investigator/Early Career Opportunity: Applies only to Category 

4 applicants

• Priority Areas: 1 A applies only to Category 4

• Standard Solicitation Deliverable

 Category 1 & 2 additional deliverables 
Application Submission

Today’s Webinar

• Basic Minimum Requirements (BMR)

 Critical Application Elements: 

• Program Narrative 

• Budget Web-Based Form (budget details and narrative)

• CVs or Resumes for key personnel

 Required Forms: 

• SF-424 

• SF-LLL
New (Two-Step) Application Submission Protocol

Today’s Webinar

• Grants.gov

 Submit SF-424 and SF-LLL forms ONLY

 Deadline: May 22, 2023

 Register at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html

• JustGrants

 Submit the FULL application, including all attachments

 Deadline: June 5, 2023

 Register at https://justicegrants.usdoj.gov/getting-started
Application Review Process

Today’s Webinar

• Basic Minimum Requirement Determination

• External Panels of Experts

 Technical and practitioner reviewers

 Independent scores and comments

• Internal Review

 NIJ scientific staff, NIJ leadership, and other federal subject matter 

experts

• All funding decisions are made at the discretion of the NIJ Director
Common Critiques Raised During Peer Review 

Process

• Statement of the Problem

 Statement fails to identify gaps in 

the current literature or 

understanding of current research

 The literature review is insufficient 

or dated

 The scope of the proposed 

research is extremely limited or 

too ambitious

• Research Design

 The overall strategy is not well 

articulated

 Design/methods approach does 

not logically flow/unclear

 The proposed sample size is 

not supported by a power 

analysis

 Project not feasible
Common Critiques Raised During Peer Review 

Process

• Capabilities and Competencies

 Proposed staff does not 

demonstrate familiarity or 

proficiency with the proposed 

methods

• Potential Impact

 Dissemination plan lacks 

specificity and/or is not 

innovative

 No plan for reaching nonacademic audiences
Tips

• Proposals should be

 Well-written

 Innovative

 Timely

 Rigorous and well-designed

 Feasible

 Impactful

• Research/Evaluation Independence

• Letters of Support
FAQs

• Award amount & period of performance

• Applying to more than one funding category

• Degree Requirements

• Filling and submitting forms / IRB / HSP 

• Selecting Sites

• Benchmark for number of sites & selection criteria
Support

OJP Response Center 

• Phone: 1-800-851-3420 

• Email: grants@ncjrs.gov

Grants.gov

• Phone: 1-800-518-4726

• Email: support@grants.gov

JustGrants

• Toll-free: 1-833-872-5175

• Email: JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov
Recommended Resources

• OJP Funding Resource Center: https://www.ojp.gov/funding

• DOJ Grants Financial Guide: 

https://www.ojp.gov/funding/financialguideojp/overview

• NIJ Funding FAQs: https://nij.ojp.gov/funding/faqs

• OJP Community-Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative 

(CVIPI): https://www.ojp.gov/program/cvipi
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