NIJ FY 2024 Research and Evaluation on Hate 

Crimes and NIJ FY 2024 Research on SchoolBased Hate Crimes Solicitations Webinar

February 13, 2024 | 3:00 PM ET

The webinar will begin shortly
NIJ’s FY24 Research on School-Based Hate Crimes

Solicitation: O-NIJ-2024-171948

Solicitation Post Date: February 5, 2024 | Solicitation Close Date: April 5, 2024

Grants.gov Deadline: March 22, 2024 

NIJ’s FY24 Research and Evaluation on Hate Crimes

Solicitation: O-NIJ-2024-171949

Solicitation Post Date: February 5, 2024 | Solicitation Close Date: May 6, 2024

Grants.gov Deadline: April 29, 2024 

Webinar Presenters:

Benjamin Adams (Office Director)

Kaitlyn Sill, Ph.D. (Social Science Analyst)

Office of Crime Prevention and Youth Justice

Office of Research, Evaluation, Forensics & Technology
Webinar Agenda

• Overview of the Solicitations

• Application Process

• NIJ Review Process

• Common Issues and Critiques

• Tips

• FAQs

• Resources

• Q & A
FY24 Research on School-Based Hate Crimes – Purpose and Goals

• Conduct a study to better understand the scope, characteristics, and outcomes 

of hate crime incidents in K-12 schools

• Eligibility limited to accredited research universities

FY24 Research and Evaluation on Hate Crimes – Purpose and Goals

• Develop knowledge to inform policy and practice to prevent and respond to hate 

crimes

• Broad eligibility (see p. 4)

• Four topics :

1. Evaluations of federal-, state-, or locally funded efforts to combat hate crimes.

2. Research that informs strategies to prevent hate crimes.

3. Research and evaluations of strategies to improve the reporting, identification, and 

response to hate crimes.

4. Research and evaluations of strategies to improve outcomes for survivors and their 

communities.
FY24 Research on School-Based Hate Crimes – Scope

• Must include incidents that do not come to the attention of law enforcement

• May include bias-motived incidents that are not criminal offenses with explanation 

and justification

• May include incidents outside of the school setting with demonstration of relevance 

to the school setting 

What will not be funded

• Applications to purchase equipment/materials/supplies, etc. or provide direct services*

• Unresponsive applications

• Proposals to expose research participants to extremist content

• Exploratory data mining or other atheoretical AI approaches to analyze big data 

• Proposals to use social media data to identify individuals
FY24 Research and Evaluation on Hate Crimes – Scope

• May include bias-motivated incidents that are not criminal offenses with explanation 

and justification

What will not be funded

• Applications to purchase equipment/materials/supplies, etc. or provide direct services*

• Unresponsive applications

• Proposals to expose research participants to extremist content

• Exploratory data mining or other atheoretical AI approaches to analyze big data 

• Proposals to use social media data to identify individuals

• Studies of hate crimes outside the U.S.
Expected Deliverables

• Standard grant reporting requirements

• Final Research Report (draft 90 days before end of award) 

• Required data sets and associated files and documentation

• Scholarly products
Key Application Submission Requirements

Critical Application Elements (Basic Minimum Requirements)

• Forms: SF-424 and SF-LLL (in Grants.gov)

• Program Narrative

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

• Financial Management and System of Internal Control Questionnaire (in JustGrants)

• Curriculum vitae or resume for key personnel

Research on School-Based Hate Crimes p. 15 

Research and Evaluation on Hate Crimes p. 19

Additional Requirements 

• e.g., Project Abstract; Letters of Support; Any tools/instruments, questionnaires, 

tables/charts/graphs, maps; Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Timeline

Research on School-Based Hate Crimes starting p. 16, Checklist p. 33

Research and Evaluation on Hate Crimes starting p. 20, Checklist p. 37
Two-Step Application Submission Protocol

1. Grants.gov (https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html)

• Submit SF-424 and SF-LLL forms ONLY

Research on School-Based Hate Research and Evaluation on Hate Crimes 

Crimes Deadline Deadline

March 22, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET April 29, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. ET

2. JustGrants.gov (https://justicegrants.usdoj.gov/getting-started)

• Submit FULL application, including ALL attachments

Research on School-Based Hate Research and Evaluation on Hate Crimes 

Crimes Deadline Deadline

April 5, 2024 at 8:59 p.m. ET May 6, 2024 at 8:59 p.m. ET
Deadlines are Hard

• Third party software failed to submit applications

• Submitting application material after the deadlines (e.g., letters of support)

• No extensions

• No exceptions

Support

• OJP Response Center 

• Phone: (800) 851-3420 

• Email: grants@ncjrs.gov

• Grants.gov

• 1-800-518-4726

support@grants.gov

• JustGrants:

• Toll-free: +1 (833) 872-5175

• Email: JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov
Application Review Process

• Basic Minimum Review (BMR) Determination

• External Peer Review

• Technical and Practitioner Reviewers

• Independent scores and comments

• Review criteria (starting p. 26 for School-Based Hate Crimes and p. 30 for 

Research and Evaluation on Hate Crimes)

• Internal Review

• NIJ science staff, NIJ leadership, other federal subject matter experts

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

Statement of the Problem

• Statement fails to identify gaps in the current literature or understanding of 

current research.

• The literature review is insufficient.

• The scope of the proposed research is extremely limited or too ambitious.

• Too much focus is placed on the necessity of the proposed research at the 

expense of the research design.
Common Critiques Raised During Peer Review

Research Design

• The proposed research questions are not derived from the literature review or 

inadequately specified.

• The overall research design is not well articulated.

• The proposed research design/methods approach does not logically flow from the 

problem statement, research questions and literature review.

• The research design is to too ambitious and too complex.

• The research and analysis plan are not demonstrated to be the most rigorous feasible.
Common Critiques Raised During Peer Review

Research Design continued

• The proposed sampling strategy is flawed or too ambitious.

• The proposed quantitative analyses is vague and unclear.

• The data collection and analysis plan is confusing.

• Research challenges and mitigation strategies are not discussed.

• Access and ability to utilize proposed data sources is not demonstrated.

• Timelines, staffing plans, and/or budgets do not support the proposed work.
Common Critiques Raised During Peer Review

Capabilities and Competencies

• The Principal Investigator (PI) does not demonstrate familiarity or proficiency 

with the proposed quantitative analysis.

Potential Impact

• The dissemination plan lacks specificity and/or is not innovative.

• There is no plan for reaching non-academic audiences.
Tips

• Proposals should be:

• Well-written

• Innovative

• Timely

• Rigorous and well-designed

• Feasible

• Impactful

• Include Letters of Support

• Consider Research/Evaluation Independence
FAQs

• Award amount + period of performance

• Timing of award and non-award notifications

• Foreign entities / subrecipients / co-investigators

• Filling and submitting forms / IRB / HSP / New Investigator

Support

• OJP Response Center 

• Phone: (800) 851-3420 

• Email: grants@ncjrs.gov 
Recommended Resources

• OJP Funding Resource Center: 

https://ojp.gov/funding/index.htm

• DOJ Grants Financial Guide: 

https://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/index.htm

• NIJ Funding FAQs: 

https://www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/faqs.aspx
Questions?

Please enter your questions into the Q&A box

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