SPECIAL NOTICE

To assist applicants in completing their proposals, NIJ has made FAQs available for this funding 

opportunity. Visit http://nij.gov/funding/pages/solicitation-qa.aspx#sl0001141 for questions and 

answers to help prepare your application.

For further assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, please contact GRFSTEM@usdoj.gov.
U.S. Department of Justice OMB No. 1121-0329

Office of Justice Programs Approval Expires 07/31/2016

National Institute of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of 

Justice (NIJ) is seeking applications for funding innovative doctoral dissertation research in 

science, technology, engineering, or mathematics that is relevant to providing solutions to better 

ensure public safety, prevent and control crime, and ensure the fair and impartial administration 

of criminal justice in the United States. This program furthers the Department’s mission by

sponsoring research to provide objective, independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to 

meet the challenges of crime and justice, particularly at the State and local levels.

Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, 

Engineering, and Mathematics

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are limited to degree-granting academic institutions in the United States and 

its territories. To be eligible, the institution must be fully accredited by one of the regional 

institutional accreditation agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Under this 

solicitation, the applicant institution must apply as the sponsoring institution for the doctoral 

candidate conducting criminal justice-related research in a discipline relevant to NIJ’s mission.

NIJ may elect to make awards for applications submitted under this solicitation in future fiscal 

years, dependent on the merit of the applications and on the availability of appropriations.

For additional eligibility information, see Section C. Eligibility Information.

Deadline

Applicants must register with Grants.gov prior to submitting an application. All applications are 

due to be submitted and in receipt of a successful validation message in Grants.gov by 

11:59 p.m. eastern time on March 30, 2015.

All applicants are encouraged to read this Important Notice: Applying for Grants in 

Grants.gov.

For additional information, see How to Apply in Section D. Application and Submission 

Information.

Contact Information

For technical assistance with submitting an application, contact the Grants.gov Customer 

Support Hotline at 800-518-4726 or 606-545-5035, or via e-mail to support@grants.gov.

The Grants.gov Support Hotline hours of operation are 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except 

federal holidays.

Applicants that experience unforeseen Grants.gov technical issues beyond their control that 

prevent them from submitting their application by the deadline must e-mail the NIJ contact 

identified below within 24 hours after the application deadline and request approval to 

submit their application. Additional information on reporting technical issues is found under 

“Experiencing Unforeseen Grants.gov Technical Issues” in the How to Apply section.
2 NIJ-2015-3992

For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact GRF-STEM@usdoj.gov.

General information on applying for NIJ awards can be found 

at www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/welcome.aspx. Answers to frequently asked questions that may 

assist applicants are posted at www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/faqs.aspx.

Grants.gov number assigned to this announcement: NIJ-2015-3992

Release date: December 23, 2014

SL001141
3 NIJ-2015-3992

Contents

A. Program Description.................................................................................................................4

Overview ...................................................................................................................................4

Program-Specific Information....................................................................................................4

B. Federal Award Information .......................................................................................................7

Type of Award ...........................................................................................................................9

Budget Information ....................................................................................................................9

Cost Sharing or Match Requirement .........................................................................................9

Limitation on Use of Award Funds for Employee Compensation; Waiver...............................10

Prior Approval, Planning, and Reporting of Conference/Meeting/Training Costs ...................10

Costs Associated with Language Assistance (if applicable) ...................................................10

C. Eligibility Information ..............................................................................................................11

Cost Sharing or Match Requirement .......................................................................................11

Limit on Number of Applications Submissions ........................................................................11

D. Application and Submission Information ................................................................................11

What an Application Should Include........................................................................................11

How to Apply ...........................................................................................................................21

E. Application Review Information ..............................................................................................24

Selection Criteria .....................................................................................................................24

Review Process.......................................................................................................................26

F. Federal Award Administration Information..............................................................................26

Federal Award Notices ............................................................................................................26

Administrative, National Policy, and other Legal Requirements..............................................26

General Information About Post-Federal Award Reporting Requirements..............................28

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s) ....................................................................................29

H. Other Information ...................................................................................................................29

Provide Feedback to OJP .......................................................................................................29

Application Checklist ...............................................................................................................31
4 NIJ-2015-3992

Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, 

Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

(CFDA No. 16.562)

A. Program Description

Overview

The Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics 

(GRF-STEM) provides awards to accredited academic institutions to support graduate research 

leading to doctoral degrees in areas that are relevant to ensuring public safety, preventing and 

controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the 

United States. Applicant academic institutions sponsoring doctoral students are eligible to apply 

only if the doctoral dissertation research has direct implications for providing science-, 

technology-, engineering-, or mathematics-based solutions for issues that affect public safety, 

crime, and the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. Academic 

institutions are encouraged to apply to support doctoral students in the Life Sciences, 

Chemistry, Physics, Geosciences, Materials Research, Engineering, Computer and Information 

Sciences and Engineering, and the Mathematical Sciences.

Applications to support doctoral students from academic disciplines outside of the fields of the 

Life Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Geosciences, Materials Research, Engineering, Computer 

and Information Sciences and Engineering, and the Mathematical Sciences will not be 

considered under this solicitation. Academic institutions with doctoral students whose research 

is in the area of social and behavioral sciences should instead consider submitting a proposal 

under the “NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship Program in the Social and Behavioral Sciences” 

solicitation. 

Awards are anticipated to be made to successful applicant institutions in the form of a grant to 

cover a fellowship for the sponsored doctoral student. Each fellowship potentially provides up to 

three years of support usable over a five-year period. For each year of support, NIJ provides the 

degree-granting institution a stipend of $35,000 usable toward the student’s salary and related 

costs, and up to $15,000 to cover the student’s tuition and fees, research expenses, and related 

costs. (See B. Federal Award Information). If the doctoral student’s dissertation is not completed 

and delivered to NIJ within the five-year period, the academic institution will be required to 

return the full award amount to NIJ. Final award decisions will be made by the Director of the 

National Institute of Justice. 

Authorizing Legislation: Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 

(sections 201 and 202); and 28 U.S.C. 530C.

Program-Specific Information

Degree-granting academic institutions are encouraged to sponsor outstanding and promising 

doctoral students whose dissertation research has direct implications for ensuring public safety, 

preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice 

in the United States.
5 NIJ-2015-3992

Successful applicants must clearly demonstrate how the proposed dissertation research will 

advance one or more of these areas of criminal justice practice and/or policy in the United 

States.

Official Applicant

The official applicant under this solicitation is a degree-granting academic institution in the 

United States or its territories. To be eligible, the academic institution of record must be fully 

accredited by one of the regional institutional accreditation agencies recognized by the U.S. 

Secretary of Education. An applicant institution sponsoring a doctoral student is eligible to apply 

only (1) if the doctoral student’s proposed dissertation research is expected to have direct 

implications for ensuring public safety, preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair 

and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States, and (2) if the doctoral 

student is enrolled full-time in a degree program that falls within one of the following disciplines 

(i.e., “qualifying degree program”): the Life Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Geosciences, 

Materials Research, Engineering, Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering, and the 

Mathematical Sciences. Applications from students who apply as individuals will be removed 

from consideration.

The academic institution’s institution-wide research office (e.g., office of sponsored research) 

must complete an application and submit it electronically using Grants.gov (see “What an 

Application Should Include,” page 11). If allowed by the applicant institution, the sponsored 

doctoral student should be identified as the project Principal Investigator. 

The applicant academic institution must demonstrate that the sponsored graduate student is 

currently enrolled in a qualifying doctoral degree program. A transcript may be accepted if it 

clearly indicates the student’s current full-time enrollment in the qualifying doctoral degree 

program.

Doctoral Student Eligibility Requirements

The doctoral student must (1) be enrolled full-time in a qualifying doctoral degree program at the

eligible academic institution; and (2) have their dissertation research proposal in areas that are 

relevant to ensuring public safety, preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and 

impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States (see What an Application Should 

Include). Qualifying doctoral degree programs are within the fields of the Life Sciences, 

Chemistry, Physics, Geosciences, Materials Research, Engineering, Computer and Information 

Sciences and Engineering, and the Mathematical Sciences.

The doctoral student need not have a dissertation committee at the time the application is 

submitted; nor does the student’s dissertation topic have to have been accepted by the 

committee. However, if the application is selected for award, grant funds will be withheld until 

such a time as the applicant academic institution submits proof that the doctoral student’s 

dissertation topic has been accepted by their committee and that it is substantively the same as 

that proposed in the application. 

If the doctoral student has an approved topic at the time of application, then it should be noted 

in a statement of support from the doctoral student’s dissertation committee chair (see 

Dissertation Committee Chair Requirements). If the doctoral student’s topic has not been 

approved at the time of application, then the expected dates by which the doctoral student will 
6 NIJ-2015-3992

meet this requirement should be indicated in the project timeline (see f. Appendices. Proposed 

project timeline and expected milestones). Also, the doctoral student’s faculty advisor, 

department chair, departmental director of graduate studies, or an individual with similar 

responsibilities must submit a statement of support at the time of application. That statement of 

support should generally follow the outline provided below for the statement of support from the 

dissertation committee chair, including all relevant elements. 

Although the award will be made, access to award funds will be withheld until the required 

documentation is received and approved by the NIJ Program Office. Although NIJ anticipates 

that Fiscal Year 2015 awards will be made on or before September 30, 2015, the applicant 

academic institution and doctoral student are cautioned not to anticipate the availability of 

fellowship funds for meeting any necessary or required expenses for the fall 2015 semester or 

quarter and/or until the requirements stipulated above have been met in full. Awarded doctoral 

students may receive fellowship funding only while actively enrolled in the initially identified 

doctoral degree program and actively carrying out research toward the dissertation. 

Human subjects protection paperwork including Institutional Review Board (IRB) documentation 

and a completed privacy certificate are not required at the time of application. If awarded and if 

applicable, funds will be withheld until submission and NIJ approval of any required Human 

Subjects Protection paperwork and/or a completed Privacy Certificate. The Privacy Certificate 

must be signed by the academic institution’s IRB chair. For information on NIJ’s Human 

Subjects and Privacy Protection requirements, 

see www.nij.gov/nij/funding/humansubjects/welcome.htm. 

Dissertation Committee Chair Requirements

Although an award may be made based on a letter for support from faculty advisor, department 

chair, departmental director of graduate studies, or individual with similar responsibilities, the 

NIJ Program Office must receive a signed statement of support from the sponsored doctoral 

student’s dissertation committee chair prior to authorizing the disbursement of the funds

provided with the award. (Applicants can expect to see conditions to that effect attached to any 

such award.) If a dissertation committee has accepted the doctoral student’s topic at the time of 

application, that statement of support must be submitted as part of the application. If the topic 

has not been accepted, it must be submitted as soon after the topic has been approved as is

reasonable. The approved dissertation topic must remain substantively the same as that initially 

proposed.

The statement of support should: 

• Evaluate the doctoral student’s proposed project.

• Describe the current status of the proposed work.

• Outline any other outstanding work, academic or otherwise, toward completion of the 

degree.

• Verify the date at which the dissertation research project is expected to be ready to 

begin.

• Comment on the student’s potential to complete the dissertation successfully.
7 NIJ-2015-3992

• Indicate that the doctoral student has his/her full support.

• Describe the dissertation committee chair’s role in monitoring the project and present 

evidence of both the department’s and the dissertation committee chair’s abilities to 

mentor doctoral candidates through the completion of their degrees.

• Verify that the dissertation committee chair will review and approve all progress reports 

prior to their submission to NIJ. 

An application that does not include the statement of support from, as applicable, (1) the

dissertation committee chair; or (2) the doctoral student’s faculty advisor, department 

chair, departmental director of graduate studies, or individual with similar 

responsibilities will be removed from consideration.

For information on application elements designated as required by NIJ under this solicitation, 

see page 11. 

Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products

The ultimate goal of this solicitation is to increase the pool of researchers in science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics fields who are involved in research relevant to 

ensuring public safety, preventing and controlling crime, and ensuring the fair and impartial 

administration of criminal justice in the United States. Through the GRF-STEM program, NIJ 

supports STEM graduate education by investing in academic institutions that support

outstanding and promising doctoral students. 

All awards made under this solicitation will be required to deliver interim and final progress 

reports and quarterly financial reports to NIJ by specified deadlines. The final deliverables for 

awards under this solicitation are: 

• An official signed copy of the doctoral student’s dissertation.

• A list of scholarly products and products developed for broad dissemination to informal 

audiences resulting from the dissertation research. 

Such scholarly products may take the form of one or more published, peer-reviewed scientific 

journal articles or indexed conference abstracts, law review journal articles (if appropriate), book 

chapter(s) or book(s) in the academic press, technological prototypes, patented inventions, or 

similar scientific products. Products developed for broad dissemination to informal audiences 

may take the form of websites, informational documents, online tools, or other similar products. 

Upon submission, the dissertation may be archived at the National Criminal Justice Reference 

Service (NCJRS). Students who receive funds under the GRF program are encouraged but are 

not required to archive their dissertation data. 

B. Federal Award Information

Each fellowship potentially consists of three years of support usable over a five-year period, 

pending, among other factors, the availability of funding, strategic priorities, NIJ’s assessment of 
8 NIJ-2015-3992

the quality of the management of the award (for example, timeliness and quality of progress 

reports), and NIJ’s assessment of the progress of the work funded under the award.

Each year of support includes up to a $35,000 allowance usable toward a salary/stipend for the 

student and related costs, and up to $15,000 to cover the student’s tuition and fees, research 

expenses, and related costs. The $35,000 allowance for salary/stipend and related costs may 

include fringe benefits (if applicable) and health insurance, at the applicant institution’s 

discretion. Under this solicitation, research expenses and related costs may include any 

combination of the doctoral student’s tuition, student fees, project costs, professional society 

membership fees, or conference travel, among other allowed expenses during the award period 

(see complete Budget Information, including what will not be funded, page 9). 

In general, applicants should propose an award start date that is no earlier than October 1, 

2015. Although NIJ anticipates that Fiscal Year 2015 awards will be made on or before 

September 30, 2015, the applicant academic institution and doctoral student are cautioned not 

to anticipate the availability of funds for meeting any necessary or required expenses for the fall 

2015 semester or quarter and/or until the requirements stipulated under Doctoral Student 

Eligibility have been met in full.

The total period of an award will not exceed five years.

Each additional supplement of fellowship support after the initial award will require, minimally, 

proof that the doctoral student is still actively enrolled in the initially identified doctoral degree 

program and actively carrying out research toward their dissertation on the topic proposed. It will 

also require verification of satisfactory progress on the dissertation in the form of a signed letter 

from the dissertation committee chair.

Award funding may be received only while the fellow is actively enrolled in the initially identified 

doctoral degree program and actively carrying out research toward his/her dissertation. Should 

certain unforeseen and/or temporary circumstances arise that preclude the fellow from actively 

pursuing the dissertation research, the fellow is expected to notify the NIJ Program Office via 

his/her academic institution representative, as identified in the initial application. The fellow’s 

award funding may be temporarily suspended at the discretion of the NIJ Program Office.

NIJ anticipates that up to $1,000,000 will be available in FY 2015 for a maximum of 20 awards. 

NIJ expects that half of the resulting awards will support research topics of interest to NIJ’s 

Office of Science and Technology, and half will support research topics of interest to NIJ’s 

Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences.

Students do not receive awards directly. The academic institution, as the grant recipient, will be 

responsible for, among other things, the administration of grant funds and for distributing 

payments to the fellowship recipient. When an award has been activated, it is expected that the 

academic institution will draw down funds based on immediate disbursement/reimbursement 

requirements. Funds should not be paid to the doctoral student in a lump sum but rather should 

be disbursed over time as project costs are incurred or anticipated. Recipients should time their 

drawdown requests to ensure that federal cash-on-hand is the minimum needed for 

disbursements/reimbursements to be made immediately or within 10 days.

All awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and to any modifications or 

additional requirements that may be imposed by law.
9 NIJ-2015-3992

Type of Award1

NIJ expects that it will make any award from this solicitation in the form of a grant.

As discussed later in the solicitation, important rules (including limitations) apply to any 

conference/meeting/training costs under cooperative agreements.

Please note: Any recipient of an award under this solicitation will be required to comply with 

Department of Justice regulations on confidentiality and human subjects’ protection. See 

“Evidence, Research, and Evaluation Guidance and Requirements” under “Solicitation 

Requirements” in the OJP Funding Resource Center.

Budget Information

What will not be funded:

• Direct administrative expenses or indirect costs of the institutional applicant.

• Proposals for dissertation research by doctoral students not pursuing degrees in the Life 

Sciences, Chemistry, Physics, Geosciences, Materials Research, Engineering, 

Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering, and the Mathematical Sciences.

• Proposals primarily to purchase equipment, materials, or supplies. (A budget may 

include these items, valued at up to $15,000, if they are necessary to conduct research, 

development, demonstration, evaluation, or analysis.)

• Conference, meeting or training activity hosted by the applicant. (Conference, meeting or 

training attendance by the fellow, if included in the fellowship proposal and budget, may 

be allowable.)

Cost Sharing or Match Requirement

See “Cofunding” paragraph under item 4 (“Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative”) 

under What an Application Should Include in Section D. Application and Submission 

Information.

Pre-Agreement Cost Approvals

OJP does not typically approve pre-agreement costs; an applicant must request and obtain the 

prior written approval of OJP for all such costs. If approved, pre-agreement costs could be paid 

from grant funds consistent with a grantee’s approved budget, and under applicable cost 

standards. However, all such costs prior to award and prior to approval of the costs are incurred 

at the sole risk of an applicant. Generally, no applicant should incur project costs before

submitting an application requesting federal funding for those costs. Should there be 

extenuating circumstances that appear to be appropriate for OJP’s consideration as preagreement costs, the applicant should contact the point of contact listed on the title page of this 

announcement for details on the requirements for submitting a written request for approval. See 

the section on Costs Requiring Prior Approval in the OJP Financial Guide, for more information.

 1 See generally 31 U.S.C. §§ 6301-6305 (defines and describes various forms of federal assistance relationships, 

including grants and cooperative agreements (a type of grant)). 
10 NIJ-2015-3992

Limitation on Use of Award Funds for Employee Compensation; Waiver

With respect to any award of more than $250,000 made under this solicitation, recipients may 

not use federal funds to pay total cash compensation (salary plus cash bonuses) to any 

employee of the award recipient at a rate that exceeds 110% of the maximum annual salary 

payable to a member of the Federal Government’s Senior Executive Service (SES) at an 

agency with a Certified SES Performance Appraisal System for that year.2 The 2014 salary 

table for SES employees is available at www.opm.gov/pay-leave. Note: A recipient may 

compensate an employee at a greater rate, provided the amount in excess of this compensation 

limitation is paid with non-federal funds. (Any such additional compensation will not be 

considered matching funds where match requirements apply.)

The Director of the National Institute of Justice may exercise discretion to waive, on an 

individual basis, the limitation on compensation rates allowable under an award. An applicant 

requesting a waiver should include a detailed justification in the budget narrative of the 

application. Unless the applicant submits a waiver request and justification with the application, 

the applicant should anticipate that OJP will request the applicant to adjust and resubmit the 

budget.

The justification should include the particular qualifications and expertise of the individual, the 

uniqueness of the service the individual will provide, the individual’s specific knowledge of the 

program or project being undertaken with award funds, and a statement explaining that the 

individual’s salary is commensurate with the regular and customary rate for an individual with 

his/her qualifications and expertise, and for the work to be done.

Prior Approval, Planning, and Reporting of Conference/Meeting/Training Costs

OJP strongly encourages applicants that propose to use award funds for any conference-, 

meeting-, or training-related activity to review carefully – before submitting an application – the 

OJP policy and guidance on “conference” approval, planning, and reporting available 

at www.ojp.gov/financialguide/PostawardRequirements/chapter15page1.htm. OJP policy and 

guidance (1) encourage minimization of conference, meeting, and training costs; (2) require 

prior written approval (which may affect project timelines) of most such costs for cooperative 

agreement recipients and of some such costs for grant recipients; and (3) set cost limits, 

including a general prohibition of all food and beverage costs.

Costs Associated with Language Assistance (if applicable)

If an applicant proposes a program or activity that would deliver services or benefits to 

individuals, the costs of taking reasonable steps to provide meaningful access to those services 

or benefits for individuals with limited English proficiency may be allowable. Reasonable steps 

to provide meaningful access to services or benefits may include interpretation or translation 

services where appropriate.

For additional information, see the "Civil Rights Compliance" section under “Solicitation 

Requirements” in the OJP Funding Resource Center.

 2 This limitation on use of award funds does not apply to the non-profit organizations specifically named at Appendix 

C to 2 C.F.R. Part 230.
11 NIJ-2015-3992

C. Eligibility Information

Eligibility

For additional eligibility information, see Title page.

Cost Sharing or Match Requirement

For additional information on cost sharing and match requirement, see Section B. Federal 

Award Information. A given academic institution may submit applications for more than one 

doctoral student.

Limit on Number of Applications Submissions

If an applicant submits multiple versions of the same application, NIJ will review only the most 

recent system-validated version submitted. For more information on system-validated versions, 

see How to Apply.

D. Application and Submission Information

What an Application Should Include

Applicants should anticipate that if they fail to submit an application that contains all of the 

specified elements, it may affect negatively the review of their application; and, should a 

decision be made to make an award, it may result in the inclusion of special conditions that 

preclude the recipient from accessing or using award funds pending satisfaction of the 

conditions.

Moreover, applicants should anticipate that applications determined to be nonresponsive to the 

scope of the solicitation, or that do not include the application elements that NIJ has designated 

to be critical, will neither proceed to peer review nor receive further consideration. Under this 

solicitation, NIJ has designated the following application elements as critical: Program Narrative, 

Budget Detail Worksheet, Budget Narrative, verification of enrollment in a qualifying degree 

program, and statement of support from the dissertation committee chair or, as appropriate, the 

doctoral student’s faculty advisor, department chair, departmental director of graduate studies, 

or an individual with similar responsibilities. Please review the “Note on File Names and File 

Types” under How to Apply to be sure applications are submitted in permitted formats.

OJP strongly recommends that applicants use appropriately descriptive file names (e.g., 

“Program Narrative,” “Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative,” “Timelines,” 

“Memoranda of Understanding,” “Resumes”) for all attachments. Also, OJP recommends that 

applicants include resumes in a single file.

1. Information to Complete the Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

The SF-424 is a required standard form used as a cover sheet for submission of preapplications, applications, and related information. Grants.gov and OJP’s Grants 

Management System (GMS) take information from the applicant’s profile to populate the 

fields on this form. When selecting "type of applicant," if the applicant is a for-profit entity, 

select "For-Profit Organization" or "Small Business" (as applicable).
12 NIJ-2015-3992

2. Project Abstract

The project abstract is a very important part of the application, and serves as an introduction 

to the proposed project. NIJ uses the project abstract for a number of purposes, including 

assignment of the application to an appropriate review panel. If the application is funded, the 

project abstract typically will become public information and be used to describe the project. 

Applications should include a high-quality project abstract that summarizes the proposed 

project in 250-400 words. Project abstracts should be—

• Written for a general public audience.

• Submitted as a separate attachment with “Project Abstract” as part of its file name.

• Single-spaced, using a standard 12-point font (Times New Roman) with 1-inch margins.

As a separate attachment, the project abstract will not count against the page limit for the 

program narrative.

Project abstracts should follow the detailed template (including the detailed instructions as to 

content) available at www.nij.gov/funding/documents/nij-project-abstract-template.pdf.

3. Program Narrative

The program narrative section of the application should not exceed 15 double-spaced pages 

in 12-point font with 1-inch margins. If included in the main body of the program narrative, 

tables, charts, figures, and other illustrations count toward the 15-page limit for the narrative 

section. The project abstract, table of contents, appendices, and government forms do not 

count toward the 15-page limit.

If the program narrative fails to comply with these length-related restrictions, NIJ may 

consider such noncompliance in peer review and in final award decisions.

The following sections should be included as part of the program narrative.3

Program Narrative Guidelines: 

a. Title Page (not counted against the 15-page program narrative limit).

The title page should include the title of the project, submission date, funding 

opportunity number, and the name and complete contact information (that is,

address, telephone number, and e-mail address) for both the applicant academic 

institution and the Principal Investigator (i.e., the sponsored doctoral student, if 

allowed by the academic institution).

 3 As noted earlier, if the proposed program or project reasonably could be conducted in discrete phases, with each 

phase resulting in completion of one or more significant, defined milestones, then NIJ strongly recommends that the 

applicant structure the application to set out each phase clearly.
13 NIJ-2015-3992

b. Resubmit Response (if applicable) (not counted against the 15-page program 

narrative limit).

If an applicant is resubmitting a proposal presented previously to NIJ, but not 

funded, the applicant should indicate this. A statement should be provided, no 

more than two pages, addressing: (1) the title, submission date, NIJ-assigned 

application number of the previous proposal, and (2) a brief summary of revisions 

to the proposal, including responses to previous feedback received from NIJ.

c. Table of Contents and Figures (not counted against the 15-page program narrative 

limit).

d. Main Body.

The main body of the program narrative should describe the proposed project in 

depth. The following sections should be included as part of the program 

narrative: 

• Statement of the Problem.

• Project Design and Implementation.

• Potential Impact.

• Capabilities/Competencies.

Within these sections, the narrative should address:

• Purpose, goals, and objectives.

• Review of relevant literature.

• Detailed description of research design and methods, such as research 

questions, hypotheses, description of sample, and analysis plan.

• Planned Scholarly Products (See Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and 

Expected Scholarly Products under Program-Specific Information, above, 

for a discussion of expected scholarly products.)

• Implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the United States.

• Management plan and organization.

• Plan for Dissemination to Broader Audiences. Applicants should identify 

plans both to disseminate their findings at scholarly meetings and to 

make their work available to broader interested audiences (such as 

criminal/juvenile justice practitioners or policymakers). Applicants should 

consider how and to whom they will provide summary information from 

the planned scholarly products of the proposed project (such as 

summaries of articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals), in a form 
14 NIJ-2015-3992

designed to be readily accessible and useful to broader audiences. Such 

dissemination might include, for example, trade press articles and 

webinars.

e. Appendices (not counted against the 15-page program narrative limit) include:

• Bibliography/references.

• Any tools/instruments, questionnaires, tables/charts/graphs, or maps 

pertaining to the proposed project that are supplemental to such items 

included in the main body of the narrative.

• Curriculum vitae, resumes, or biographical sketches of the doctoral student 

and the dissertation committee chair.

• Undergraduate and graduate transcripts of the doctoral student.

• Personal statement from the student discussing his or her academic 

background, research experience, career goals, and the anticipated role of 

the fellowship in his or her professional trajectory, not to exceed three (3)

double-spaced pages in 12-point font with 1-inch margins.

• List of the student’s dissertation committee (if known) and their contact 

information to include: names, telephone numbers, and email addresses. The 

dissertation chair should be clearly identified. Applicants should use the 

“Proposed Project Staff, Affiliation, and Roles” form available 

at www.nij.gov/funding/documents/nij-project-staff-template.xlsx to provide 

this listing.

• Proposed project timeline and expected milestones. The timeline should also 

include details about student progress milestones including, but not limited to, 

the date by which the student will have advanced to candidacy (if applicable), 

any major dates in the dissemination plan, the writing of the dissertation, and 

an expected dissertation defense date. If one or more of these steps is not 

required by the sponsoring institution for successful completion of the 

doctoral degree, then such exceptions should be clearly documented. The 

project timeline should also allow for time needed to complete edits to the 

dissertation manuscript and for submission of the final dissertation to NIJ.

• Human Subjects Protection paperwork (documentation and forms related to 

Institutional Review Board (IRB) review). 

(See nij.gov/funding/humansubjects/Pages/welcome.aspx) NOTE: Final IRB

approval is not required at the time an application is submitted.

• Privacy Certificate (for further guidance go 

to nij.gov/funding/humansubjects/pages/confidentiality.aspx).

• List of any previous and current NIJ awards to applicant organization and 

investigator(s), including the NIJ-assigned award numbers and a brief 

description of any scholarly products that resulted in whole or in part from 
15 NIJ-2015-3992

work funded under the NIJ award(s). (See “Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, 

and Expected Scholarly Products” under “Program-Specific Information,” 

above, for definition of “scholarly products.”)

• Letters of cooperation/support or administrative agreements from 

organizations collaborating in the project, such as law enforcement and 

correctional agencies (if applicable).

• List of other agencies, organizations, or funding sources to which this 

proposal has been submitted (if applicable), including, but not limited to, other 

fellowships which the doctoral student has received and the dates during 

which those fellowships will be active.

• Data archiving plan. Applicants should anticipate that NIJ will require (through 

special award conditions, including a partial withholding of award funds) that 

data sets resulting in whole or in part from projects funded under this 

solicitation be submitted for archiving with the National Archive of Criminal 

Justice Data (NACJD) (See www.nij.gov/funding/data-resourcesprogram/applying/Pages/data-archiving-strategies.aspx).

Applications should include as an appendix a brief plan – labeled “Data 

Archiving Plan” – to comply with data archiving requirements. The plan 

should provide brief details about proposed data management and archiving,

including submission to NIJ (through NACJD) of all files and documentation

necessary to allow for future efforts by others to reproduce the project’s 

findings and/or to extend the scientific value of the data set through 

secondary analysis. Pertinent files and documentation include, among other 

things, qualitative and quantitative data produced, instrumentation and data 

collection forms, codebook(s), any specialized programming code necessary 

to reproduce all constructed measures and the original data analysis,

description of necessary de-identification procedures, and (when required) a 

copy of the privacy certificate and informed consent protocols. 

If applicable, the plan should be one or two pages in length and include the 

level of effort associated with meeting archiving requirements.

Note that required data sets are to be submitted 90 days before the end of 

the project period.

4. Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative

a. Budget Detail Worksheet 

A sample Budget Detail Worksheet can be found 

at www.ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/BudgetDetailWorksheet.pdf. Applicants that 

submit their budget in a different format should include the budget categories listed in 

the sample budget worksheet. (Work associated with satisfying data archiving 

requirements should be reflected.) NIJ expects applicants to provide a thorough 

narrative to each section of the Budget Detail Worksheet.
16 NIJ-2015-3992

For questions pertaining to budget and examples of allowable and unallowable costs,

see the OJP Financial Guide at www.ojp.gov/financialguide/index.htm.

b. Budget Narrative

Both the Budget Detail Worksheet and the Budget Narrative should address no more 

than the funding anticipated to be provided with the initial award. The budget narrative 

should thoroughly and clearly describe every category of expense listed in the Budget 

Detail Worksheet. OJP expects proposed budgets to be complete, cost effective, and 

allowable (e.g., reasonable, allocable, and necessary for project activities).

Applicants should demonstrate in their budget narratives how they will maximize cost 

effectiveness of grant expenditures. Budget narratives should generally describe cost 

effectiveness in relation to potential alternatives and the goals of the project. For 

example, a budget narrative should detail why planned in-person meetings are 

necessary, or how technology and collaboration with outside organizations could be 

used to reduce costs, without compromising quality.

The narrative should be sound mathematically, and correspond with the information and 

figures provided in the Budget Detail Worksheet. The narrative should explain how the 

applicant estimated and calculated all costs, and how they are relevant to the completion 

of the proposed project. The narrative may include tables for clarification purposes but 

need not be in a spreadsheet format. As with the Budget Detail Worksheet, the Budget 

Narrative should be broken down by year.

The following are sample budget narrative descriptions of relevant cost items that might 

be used by an applicant.

Salaries and Wages – Personnel

The Principal Investigator (i.e., the doctoral student), Mr./Ms. xxx, will devote xxx 

summer months and xxx academic months per year toward the project. One summer 

month effort is equivalent to xxx hours. One academic month effort is equivalent to 

xxx hours.

The fringe benefit rate during the academic year for the graduate student is ___%. 

The summer fringe benefit rate is ___%. The benefits included in the rate cover 

__________.

Travel (Non-Federal)

Attendance at the xxx Annual Meeting will provide an opportunity to disseminate the 

results of my work within the relevant academic community. The meeting will be held 

in xxx. The expected lodging rate is $xxx, based on xxx source, for a total of xxx 

nights ($xxx total). The meal allowance is $xxx per day, based on xxx source. The 

expected transportation cost is $xxx, based on xxx source. Other anticipated costs 

include an anticipated baggage fee of $30. The total requested funding for this travel 

event is $xxx.

Note that direct and indirect administrative expenses of the applicant university 

are not allowable costs and will not be funded under this solicitation. 
17 NIJ-2015-3992

c. Cofunding

An award made by NIJ under this solicitation may account for up to 100 percent of the 

total cost of the project. The application should indicate whether it is feasible for the 

applicant to contribute cash, facilities, or services as non-federal support for the project. 

The application should identify generally any such contributions that the applicant 

expects to make and the proposed budget should indicate in detail which items, if any, 

will be supported with non-federal contributions.

For additional match information, see the Cost Sharing or Match Requirement section 

under B. Federal Award Information.

If a successful application proposes a voluntary match amount, and OJP approves the 

budget, the total match amount incorporated into the approved budget becomes 

mandatory and subject to audit.

d. Non-Competitive Procurement Contracts In Excess of Simplified Acquisition 

Threshold

If an applicant proposes to make one or more non-competitive procurements of products 

or services, where the non-competitive procurement will exceed the simplified 

acquisition threshold (also known as the small purchase threshold), which is currently 

set at $150,000, the application should address the considerations outlined in the OJP 

Financial Guide.

e. Pre-Agreement Cost Approvals

For information on pre-agreement costs approvals, see Section B. Federal Award 

Information.

5. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable)

Indirect costs are not allowed under this solicitation. 

6. Tribal Authorizing Resolution (if applicable)

Tribes, tribal organizations, or third parties proposing to provide direct services or assistance 

to residents on tribal lands should include in their applications a resolution, a letter, affidavit, 

or other documentation, as appropriate, that certifies that the applicant has the legal 

authority from the tribe(s) to implement the proposed project on tribal lands. In those 

instances when an organization or consortium of tribes applies for a grant on behalf of a 

tribe or multiple specific tribes, the application should include appropriate legal 

documentation, as described above, from all tribes that would receive services or assistance 

under the grant. A consortium of tribes for which existing consortium bylaws allow action 

without support from all tribes in the consortium (i.e., without an authorizing resolution or 

comparable legal documentation from each tribal governing body) may submit, instead, a 

copy of its consortium bylaws with the application.
18 NIJ-2015-3992

7. Applicant Disclosure of High Risk Status

Applicants are to disclose whether they are currently designated high risk by another federal 

grant making agency. This includes any status requiring additional oversight by the federal 

agency due to past programmatic or financial concerns. If an applicant is designated high 

risk by another federal grant making agency, you must email the following information 

to OJPComplianceReporting@usdoj.gov at the time of application submission:

• The federal agency that currently designated the applicant as high risk;

• Date the applicant was designated high risk;

• The high risk point of contact name, phone number, and email address, from that 

federal agency; and

• Reasons for the high risk status.

OJP seeks this information to ensure appropriate federal oversight of any grant award. 

Unlike the Excluded Parties List, this high risk information does not disqualify any 

organization from receiving an OJP award. However, additional grant oversight may be 

included, if necessary, in award documentation.

8. Additional Attachments

a. Certification of current full-time enrollment in a qualifying doctoral program (required). 

(See page 5 for details.)

b. Statement of support from the dissertation committee chair or the doctoral student’s 

faculty advisor, department chair, departmental director of graduate studies, or individual 

with similar responsibilities, as applicable (required). (For information on required 

content, see page 6.)

c. Applicant disclosure of pending applications4

Applicants are to disclose whether they have pending applications for federally funded 

grants or subgrants (including cooperative agreements) that include requests for funding 

to support the same project being proposed under this solicitation and will cover the 

identical cost items outlined in the budget narrative and worksheet in the application 

under this solicitation. The disclosure should include both direct applications for federal 

funding (e.g., applications to federal agencies) and indirect applications for such funding 

(e.g., applications to State agencies that will subaward federal funds).

OJP seeks this information to help avoid any inappropriate duplication of funding. 

Leveraging multiple funding sources in a complementary manner to implement 

comprehensive programs or projects is encouraged and is not seen as inappropriate 

duplication.

 4 Typically, the applicant is not the principal investigator; rather, the applicant, most frequently, is the institution, 

organization, or company in which the principal investigator is employed.
19 NIJ-2015-3992

SAMPLE

Applicants that have pending applications as described above are to provide the 

following information about pending applications submitted within the last 12 months:

• The federal or State funding agency.

• The solicitation name/project name.

• The point of contact information at the applicable funding agency.

Applicants should include the table as a separate attachment, with the file name 

“Disclosure of Pending Applications,” to their application. Applicants that do not have 

pending applications as described above are to include a statement to this effect in the 

separate attachment page (e.g., “[Applicant Name on SF-424] does not have pending 

applications submitted within the last 12 months for federally funded grants or subgrants 

(including cooperative agreements) that include requests for funding to support the same 

project being proposed under this solicitation and will cover the identical cost items 

outlined in the budget narrative and worksheet in the application under this solicitation.”).

d. Research and Evaluation Independence and Integrity

If a proposal involves research and/or evaluation, regardless of the proposal’s other 

merits, in order to receive funds, the applicant must demonstrate research/evaluation 

independence, including appropriate safeguards to ensure research/evaluation 

objectivity and integrity, both in this proposal and as it may relate to the applicant’s other 

current or prior related projects. This documentation may be included as an attachment 

to the application which addresses BOTH i. and ii. below.

i. For purposes of this solicitation, applicants must document research and evaluation 

independence and integrity by including, at a minimum, one of the following two 

items:

a. A specific assurance that the applicant has reviewed its proposal to identify 

any research integrity issues (including all principal investigators and subrecipients) and it has concluded that the design, conduct, or reporting of 

research and evaluation funded by NIJ grants, cooperative agreements, or 

contracts will not be biased by any personal or financial conflict of interest on 

Federal or 

State 

Funding 

Agency 

Solicitation 

Name/Project 

Name

Name/Phone/E-mail for Point of Contact at 

Funding Agency

DOJ/COPS COPS Hiring 

Program

Jane Doe, 202/000-0000; jane.doe@usdoj.gov

HHS/ 

Substance 

Abuse & 

Mental Health 

Services 

Administration

Drug Free 

Communities 

Mentoring Program/ 

North County Youth 

Mentoring Program

John Doe, 202/000-0000; john.doe@hhs.gov
20 NIJ-2015-3992

the part of part of its staff, consultants, and/or sub-recipients responsible for 

the research and evaluation or on the part of the applicant organization;

OR

b. A specific listing of actual or perceived conflicts of interest that the applicant 

has identified in relation to this proposal. These conflicts could be either 

personal (related to specific staff, consultants, and/or sub-recipients) or 

organizational (related to the applicant or any subgrantee organization). 

Examples of potential investigator (or other personal) conflict situations may 

include, but are not limited to, those in which an investigator would be in a 

position to evaluate a spouse’s work product (actual conflict), or an 

investigator would be in a position to evaluate the work of a former or current 

colleague (potential apparent conflict). With regard to potential organizational 

conflicts of interest, as one example, generally an organization could not be 

given a grant to evaluate a project if that organization had itself provided 

substantial prior technical assistance to that specific project or a location 

implementing the project (whether funded by OJP or other sources), as the 

organization in such an instance would appear to be evaluating the 

effectiveness of its own prior work. The key is whether a reasonable person 

understanding all of the facts would be able to have confidence that the 

results of any research or evaluation project are objective and reliable. Any 

outside personal or financial interest that casts doubt on that objectivity and 

reliability of an evaluation or research product is a problem and must be 

disclosed.

ii. In addition, for purposes of this solicitation applicants must address the issue of 

possible mitigation of research integrity concerns by including, at a minimum, one of 

the following two items:

a. If an applicant reasonably believes that no potential personal or 

organizational conflicts of interest exist, then the applicant should provide a 

brief narrative explanation of how and why it reached that conclusion.

Applicants MUST also include an explanation of the specific processes and 

procedures that the applicant will put in place to identify and eliminate (or, at 

the very least, mitigate) potential personal or financial conflicts of interest on 

the part of its staff, consultants, and/or sub-recipients for this particular 

project, should that be necessary during the grant period. Documentation that 

may be helpful in this regard could include organizational codes of 

ethics/conduct or policies regarding organizational, personal, and financial 

conflicts of interest.

OR

b. If the applicant has identified specific personal or organizational conflicts of 

interest in its proposal during this review, the applicant must propose a 

specific and robust mitigation plan to address conflicts noted above. At a 

minimum, the plan must include specific processes and procedures that the 

applicant will put in place to eliminate (or, at the very least, mitigate) potential 

personal or financial conflicts of interest on the part of its staff, consultants, 

and/or sub-recipients for this particular project, should that be necessary 
21 NIJ-2015-3992

during the grant period. Documentation that may be helpful in this regard 

could include organizational codes of ethics/conduct or policies regarding 

organizational, personal, and financial conflicts of interest. There is no 

guarantee that the plan, if any, will be accepted as proposed.

Considerations in assessing research and evaluation independence and integrity will 

include, but are not be limited to, the adequacy of the applicant’s efforts to identify 

factors that could affect the objectivity or integrity of the proposed staff and/or the 

organization in carrying out the research, development, or evaluation activity; and the 

adequacy of the applicant’s existing or proposed remedies to control any such factors.

9. Accounting System and Financial Capability Questionnaire (if applicable)

Any applicant (other than an individual) that is a non-governmental entity and that has not 

received any award from OJP within the past 3 years must download, complete, and submit

this form.

10. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

All applicants must complete this information. Applicants that expend any funds for lobbying 

activities are to provide the detailed information requested on the form Disclosure of 

Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL). Applicants that do not expend any funds for lobbying activities 

are to enter “N/A” in the text boxes for item 10 (“a. Name and Address of Lobbying 

Registrant” and “b. Individuals Performing Services”).

How to Apply

Applicants must register in, and submit applications through Grants.gov, a “one-stop storefront” 

to find federal funding opportunities and apply for funding. Find complete instructions on how to 

register and submit an application at www.Grants.gov. Applicants that experience technical 

difficulties during this process should call the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 800-518-

4726 or 606–545–5035, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except federal holidays. Registering 

with Grants.gov is a one-time process; however, processing delays may occur, and it can 

take several weeks for first-time registrants to receive confirmation and a user password. OJP 

encourages applicants to register several weeks before the application submission deadline. 

In addition, OJP urges applicants to submit applications 72 hours prior to the application due 

date to allow time to receive validation messages or rejection notifications from Grants.gov, and 

to correct in a timely fashion any problems that may have caused a rejection notification.

NIJ strongly encourages all prospective applicants to sign up for Grants.gov email notifications 

regarding this solicitation. If this solicitation is cancelled or modified, individuals who sign up with 

Grants.gov for updates will be automatically notified.

Note on File Names and File Types: Grants.gov only permits the use of certain specific

characters in names of attachment files. Valid file names may include only the characters shown 

in the table below. Grants.gov is designed to reject any application that includes an 

attachment(s) with a file name that contains any characters not shown in the table below. 

Grants.gov is designed to forward successfully submitted applications to OJP’s Grants 

Management System (GMS).
22 NIJ-2015-3992

Characters Special Characters

Upper case (A – Z) Parenthesis ( ) Curly braces { } Square brackets [ ]

Lower case (a – z) Ampersand (&) Tilde (~) Exclamation point (!)

Underscore (__) Comma ( , ) Semicolon ( ; ) Apostrophe ( ‘ )

Hyphen ( - ) At sign (@) Number sign (#) Dollar sign ($)

Space Percent sign (%) Plus sign (+) Equal sign (=)

Period (.) When using the ampersand (&) in XML, applicants must use the “&” 

format.

GMS does not accept executable file types as application attachments. These disallowed 

file types include, but are not limited to, the following extensions: “.com,” “.bat,” “.exe,” “.vbs,” 

“.cfg,” “.dat,” “.db,” “.dbf,” “.dll,” “.ini,” “.log,” “.ora,” “.sys,” and “.zip.” GMS may reject applications 

with files that use these extensions. It is important to allow time to change the type of file(s) if 

the application is rejected.

All applicants are required to complete the following steps: 

OJP may not make a federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all 

applicable DUNs and SAMs requirements. If an applicant has not fully complied with the 

requirements by the time the federal awarding agency is ready to make a federal award, the 

federal awarding agency may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a federal 

award and use that determination as a basis for making a federal award to another applicant.

1. Acquire a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number. In general, the Office of 

Management and Budget requires that all applicants (other than individuals) for federal 

funds include a DUNS number in their applications for a new award or a supplement to an 

existing award. A DUNS number is a unique nine-digit sequence recognized as the 

universal standard for identifying and differentiating entities receiving federal funds. The 

identifier is used for tracking purposes and to validate address and point of contact 

information for federal assistance applicants, recipients, and subrecipients. The DUNS 

number will be used throughout the grant life cycle. Obtaining a DUNS number is a free, 

one-time activity. Call Dun and Bradstreet at 866–705–5711 to obtain a DUNS number or 

apply online at www.dnb.com. A DUNS number is usually received within 1-2 business days.

2. Acquire registration with the System for Award Management (SAM). SAM is the 

repository for standard information about federal financial assistance applicants, recipients, 

and subrecipients. OJP requires all applicants (other than individuals) for federal financial 

assistance to maintain current registrations in the SAM database. Applicants must be 

registered in SAM to successfully register in Grants.gov. Applicants must update or renew 

their SAM registration annually to maintain an active status.

Applications cannot be successfully submitted in Grants.gov until Grants.gov receives the 

SAM registration information. The information transfer from SAM to Grants.gov can take up 

to 48 hours. OJP recommends that the applicant register or renew registration with SAM as 

early as possible.

Information about SAM registration procedures can be accessed at www.sam.gov.

3. Acquire an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) and a Grants.gov 

username and password. Complete the AOR profile on Grants.gov and create a username 

and password. The applicant organization’s DUNS number must be used to complete this 
23 NIJ-2015-3992

step. For more information about the registration process, go 

to www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp.

4. Acquire confirmation for the AOR from the E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC). 

The E-Biz POC at the applicant organization must log into Grants.gov to confirm the 

applicant organization’s AOR. Note that an organization can have more than one AOR.

5. Search for the funding opportunity on Grants.gov. Use the following identifying 

information when searching for the funding opportunity on Grants.gov. The Catalog of 

Federal Domestic Assistance number for this solicitation is 16.562, titled “Criminal Justice 

Research and Development—Graduate Research Fellowships,” and the funding opportunity 

number is NIJ-2015-3992.

6. Submit a valid application consistent with this solicitation by following the directions 

in Grants.gov. Within 24–48 hours after submitting the electronic application, the applicant 

should receive two notifications from Grants.gov. The first will confirm the receipt of the 

application and the second will state whether the application has been successfully

validated, or rejected due to errors, with an explanation. It is possible to first receive a 

message indicating that the application is received and then receive a rejection notice a few 

minutes or hours later. Submitting well ahead of the deadline provides time to correct the 

problem(s) that caused the rejection. Important: OJP urges applicants to submit 

applications at least 72 hours prior to the application due date to allow time to receive 

validation messages or rejection notifications from Grants.gov, and to correct in a timely 

fashion any problems that may have caused a rejection notification. 

Click here for further details on DUNS, SAM, and Grants.gov registration steps and 

timeframes.

Note: Duplicate Applications

If an applicant submits multiple versions of the same application, NIJ will review only the most 

recent system-validated version submitted. See Note on File Names and File Types under How 

To Apply.

Experiencing Unforeseen Grants.gov Technical Issues

Applicants that experience unforeseen Grants.gov technical issues beyond their control that

prevent them from submitting their application by the deadline must contact the Grants.gov 

Customer Support Hotline or the SAM Help Desk to report the technical issue and receive a 

tracking number. Then applicant must e-mail the NIJ contact identified in the Contact 

Information section on page 2 within 24 hours after the application deadline and request 

approval to submit their application. The e-mail must describe the technical difficulties, and 

include a timeline of the applicant’s submission efforts, the complete grant application, the 

applicant’s DUNS number, and any Grants.gov Help Desk or SAM tracking number(s). Note: 

NIJ does not automatically approve requests. After the program office reviews the 

submission, and contacts the Grants.gov or SAM Help Desks to validate the reported technical 

issues, OJP will inform the applicant whether the request to submit a late application has been 

approved or denied. If OJP determines that the applicant failed to follow all required procedures, 

which resulted in an untimely application submission, OJP will deny the applicant’s request to 

submit their application. 
24 NIJ-2015-3992

The following conditions are generally insufficient to justify late submissions:

• Failure to register in SAM or Grants.gov in sufficient time.

• Failure to follow Grants.gov instructions on how to register and apply as posted on its 

website.

• Failure to follow each instruction in the OJP solicitation.

• Technical issues with the applicant’s computer or information technology environment, 

including firewalls.

Notifications regarding known technical problems with Grants.gov, if any, are posted at 

the top of the OJP funding Web page 

at www.ojp.gov/funding/Explore/CurrentFundingOpportunities.htm.

E. Application Review Information

Selection Criteria

Applications that meet basic minimum requirements will be evaluated by peer reviewers using 

the following review criteria.

Statement of the Problem (Understanding of the problem and its importance) – 20% 

1. Clarity of problem statement and its importance to the field of study.

2. Demonstrated connection between problem and proposed research.

3. Awareness of the state of current research and/or technology.

4. Identification of gaps in existing research.

Project Design and Implementation (Quality and technical merit) – 40%

1. Detailed and complete discussion of proposed research methods.

2. Soundness of the research methods and appropriateness to the proposed study.

3. Awareness of potential limitations of the research plan and proposed practical solutions.

4. Overall feasibility of proposed project.

5. Innovation and creativity.
25 NIJ-2015-3992

Potential Impact – 20% 

Potential for a scientific or technical advance(s) that will improve criminal/juvenile justice in the 

United States, such as—

1. Potential for important advances in the scientific or technical understanding of the 

problem.

2. Potential for advances in the field and the filling of key gaps in scientific knowledge 

related to criminal justice policy and practice in the United States.

3. Relevance for improving criminal justice policy and practice, public safety, security 

and/or quality of life, including the concerns of specific criminal justice agencies.

4. Perceived potential for commercialization and/or implementation of new technology 

(when applicable).

5. Potential for innovative solution to address (all or a significant part of) the stated criminal 

justice problem.

Capabilities/Competencies (Capabilities, demonstrated productivity, and experience of the 

applicant organization and proposed project staff) – 20%

1. Qualifications and experience of the doctoral student and the dissertation committee 

chair (if identified), e.g., successful coursework completion, relevant work and/or 

research experience, leadership roles, mentoring experience, and record of publication.

2. Applicant academic institution’s record of accomplishment with respect to doctoral 

candidates’ completion of degrees.

3. Applicant academic institution’s record of past performance regarding NIJ grants and 

contracts (if applicable).

Budget

Peer reviewers will consider and may comment on the following additional items in the context 

of scientific and technical merit.

1. Total cost of the project relative to the perceived benefit (cost effectiveness).

2. Appropriateness of the budget relative to the level of effort.

3. Use of existing resources to conserve costs.

4. Proposed budget alignment with proposed project activities.

Plan for Dissemination to Broader Audiences 

Peer reviewers may comment – in the context of scientific and technical merit – on the proposed 

plan to disseminate the key findings of the work to the larger research community and to make 
26 NIJ-2015-3992

available summary information from the planned scholarly products of the project to broader 

interested audiences, such as criminal/juvenile justice practitioners or policymakers.

Review Process

OJP is committed to ensuring a fair and open process for awarding grants. NIJ reviews the 

application to make sure that the information presented is reasonable, understandable, 

measurable, and achievable, as well as consistent with the solicitation. 

Peer reviewers will review the applications submitted under this solicitation that meet basic 

minimum requirements. NIJ may use internal peer reviewers, external peer reviewers, or a 

combination, to review the applications. An external peer reviewer is an expert in the subject 

matter of a given solicitation who is NOT a current DOJ employee. An internal reviewer is a 

current DOJ employee who is well-versed or has expertise in the subject matter of this 

solicitation. A peer review panel will evaluate, score, and rate applications that meet basic 

minimum requirements. 

The Office of the Chief Financial Officer, in consultation with NIJ, reviews applications for 

potential discretionary awards to evaluate the fiscal integrity and financial capability of 

applicants, examines proposed costs to determine if the Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget 

Narrative accurately explain project costs, and determines whether costs are reasonable, 

necessary, and allowable under applicable federal cost principles and agency regulations. 

All final award decisions will be made by the Director of the National Institute of Justice. Peer 

reviewers’ ratings and any resulting recommendations are advisory only, although their views 

are considered carefully. In addition to peer review ratings, considerations for award 

recommendations and decisions may include, but are not limited to, planned scholarly products, 

proposed budgets, past performance (including scholarly products) under prior NIJ and OJP 

awards, research independence and integrity, strategic priorities, past performance, and 

available funding. .

F. Federal Award Administration Information

Federal Award Notices

OJP award notification will be sent from GMS. Recipients will be required to login; accept any 

outstanding assurances and certifications on the award; designate a financial point of contact; 

and review, sign, and accept the award. The award acceptance process involves physical 

signature of the award document by the authorized representative and the scanning of the fullyexecuted award document to OJP.

Administrative, National Policy, and other Legal Requirements

If selected for funding, in addition to implementing the funded project consistent with the 

agency-approved project proposal and budget, the recipient must comply with award terms and 

conditions, and other legal requirements, that are included in the award, incorporated into the 

award by reference, or are otherwise applicable to the award. OJP strongly encourages 

prospective applicants to review the information pertaining to these requirements prior to 

submitting an application. To assist applicants and recipients in accessing and reviewing this 
27 NIJ-2015-3992

information, OJP has placed it on its Solicitation Requirements page of the OJP Funding 

Resource Center.

Please note in particular the following two forms, which applicants must submit in GMS prior to 

the receipt of any award funds, as each details legal requirements with which applicants must 

provide specific assurances and certifications of compliance. Applicants may view these forms

in the OJP Funding Resource Center and are strongly encouraged to review and consider them 

carefully prior to making an application for OJP grant funds.

• Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility 

Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements

• Standard Assurances

Upon grant approval, OJP electronically transmits (via GMS) the award document to the 

prospective award recipient. In addition to other award information, the award document 

contains award terms and conditions that specify national policy requirements5 with which 

recipients of federal funding must comply; uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, 

and audit requirements; and program-specific terms and conditions required based on 

applicable program (statutory) authority or requirements set forth in OJP solicitations and 

program announcements. For example, certain efforts may call for special requirements, terms, 

or conditions relating to intellectual property, data/information-sharing or -access, or information 

security; or audit requirements, expenditures and milestones, or publications and/or press 

releases.

OJP also may place additional terms and conditions on an award based on its risk assessment 

of the applicant, or for other reasons it determines necessary to fulfill the goals and objectives of 

the program. 

Prospective applicants may access and review the text of mandatory conditions OJP includes in 

all OJP awards, as well as the text of certain other conditions, such as administrative conditions, 

via OJP’s Mandatory Award Terms and Conditions page of the Funding Resource Center.

As stated above, NIJ expects that it will make any award from this solicitation in the form of a 

cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreement awards include standard “federal involvement” 

conditions that describe the general allocation of responsibility for execution of the funded 

program. Generally-stated, under cooperative agreement awards, responsibility for the day-today conduct of the funded project rests with the recipient in implementing the funded and 

approved proposal and budget, and the award terms and conditions. Responsibility for oversight 

and redirection of the project, if necessary, rests with NIJ.

In addition to any “federal involvement” condition(s), OJP cooperative agreement awards 

include a special condition specifying certain reporting requirements required in connection with 

conferences, meetings, retreats, seminars, symposium, training activities, or similar events 

funded under the award, consistent with OJP policy and guidance on “conference” approval, 

planning, and reporting.

 5 See generally 2 C.F.R. 200.300 (provides a general description of national policy requirements typically applicable 

to recipients of Federal awards, including the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 

(FFATA)).
28 NIJ-2015-3992

General Information About Post-Federal Award Reporting Requirements

Recipients must submit quarterly financial reports, semi-annual progress reports, a final 

progress report, and, if applicable, an annual audit report in accordance with 2 CFR. Applicants 

should anticipate that progress reports will be required to follow the non-budgetary components 

of the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) template/format. General information on 

RPPRs may be found at www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/rppr/. Future awards and fund drawdowns 

may be withheld if reports are delinquent.

Special Reporting requirements may be required by OJP depending on the statutory, legislative 

or administrative requirements of the recipient or the program.

As indicated earlier in this solicitation, NIJ expects scholarly products to result from any award 

under this solicitation. Please review the Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected 

Scholarly Products segment of the “Program-Specific Information” section of this solicitation, as 

well as the “Performance Measures” section.

In addition to the expectation of scholarly products, successful applicants under this solicitation 

will be required to submit the following deliverables regarding the work funded by the NIJ award.

Draft and Final Summary Overview of the Work Conducted under the Award

The overview is expected to provide an overall summary of the work under, and results of, the 

project funded by NIJ under this solicitation. Among other things, the summary overview should 

address the purpose of the project, project subjects (if applicable), project design and methods, 

data analysis, project findings, and implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the 

United States.

A draft summary overview no longer than 10 pages long (double-spaced) is to be submitted 90 

days prior to the end of the project period for NIJ review and comment.

Required Data Sets and Associated Files and Documentation

As discussed earlier, NIJ requires recipients of an award under this solicitation to submit to 

NACJD all data sets that result in whole or in part from the work funded by NIJ, along with 

associated files and any documentation necessary to allow for future efforts by others to 

reproduce the project’s findings and/or to extend the scientific value of the data set through 

secondary analysis. All data sets and necessary documentation are to be submitted 90 days 

prior to the end of the project period. For more information, see the “Program Narrative” section 

of What an Application Should Include.

Performance Measures

To assist the Department with fulfilling its responsibilities under the Government Performance 

and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), Public Law 103-62, and the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, 

Public Law 111–352, applicants that receive funding under this solicitation must provide data 

that measure the results of their work done under this solicitation. OJP will require any award 

recipient, post award, to provide the data requested in the “Data Grantee Provides” column so 

that OJP can calculate values for the “Performance Measures” column. (Submission of 

performance measures data is not required for the application.) Performance measures for this 

solicitation are as follows:
29 NIJ-2015-3992

Objective Performance Measure(s) Data Grantee 

Provides

Conduct research in 

science, technology, 

engineering, and/or 

mathematics having clear 

implications for criminal 

justice policy and practice 

in the United States.

1. Relevance to the needs of the field as 

measured by whether the project’s 

substantive scope did not deviate from the 

funded proposal or any subsequent agencyapproved modifications to the scope.

2. Quality of the research as demonstrated by 

the scholarly products that result in whole or 

in part from work funded under the NIJ award 

(published, peer-reviewed, scientific journal 

articles, and/or (as appropriate for the funded 

project) law review journal articles, book 

chapter(s) or book(s) in the academic press, 

technological prototypes, patented inventions, 

or similar scientific products).

3. Quality of management as measured by such 

factors as whether significant project 

milestones were achieved, reporting and 

other deadlines were met, and costs 

remained within approved limits.

4. Number of technologies fielded as a result (in 

whole or in part) of work funded under the NIJ 

award.

1. Quarterly financial 

reports, semi-annual 

and final progress 

reports.

2. List of citation(s) to 

all scholarly products 

that resulted in whole 

or in part from work 

funded under the NIJ 

award.

3. If applicable, each 

data set that resulted 

in whole or in part 

from work funded 

under the NIJ award.

4. An official signed 

copy of the doctoral 

student’s 

successfully

defended and 

accepted final 

dissertation.

5. Description of all 

technologies fielded 

as a result (in whole 

or in part) of work 

funded under the NIJ 

award.

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)

For additional Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s), see the Title page.

For additional contact information for Grants.gov, see the Title page. 

H. Other Information

Provide Feedback to OJP

To assist OJP in improving its application and award processes, we encourage applicants to 

provide feedback on this solicitation, the application submission process, and/or the application 

review/peer review process. Provide feedback to OJPSolicitationFeedback@usdoj.gov.
30 NIJ-2015-3992

IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for feedback and suggestions only. Replies are not sent from this 

mailbox. If you have specific questions on any program or technical aspect of the solicitation, 

you must directly contact the appropriate number or e-mail listed on the front of this solicitation 

document. These contacts are provided to help ensure that you can directly reach an individual 

who can address your specific questions in a timely manner.

If you are interested in being a reviewer for other OJP grant applications, please e-mail your 

resume to ojppeerreview@lmbps.com. The OJP Solicitation Feedback email account will not 

forward your resume. Note: Neither you nor anyone else from your organization can be a peer 

reviewer in a competition in which you or your organization have submitted an application.
31 NIJ-2015-3992

Application Checklist

Graduate Research Fellowship in Science, Engineering, Technology, and 

Mathematics

This application checklist has been created to assist in developing an application.

What an Applicant Should Do:

Prior to Registering in Grants.gov:

_____ Acquire a DUNS Number (see page 22)

_____ Acquire or renew registration with SAM (see page 22)

To Register with Grants.gov:

_____ Acquire AOR and Grants.gov username/password (see page 22)

_____ Acquire AOR confirmation from the E-Biz POC (see page 23)

To Find Funding Opportunity:

_____ Search for the funding opportunity on Grants.gov (see page 23)

_____ Download Funding Opportunity and Application Package (see page 23)

_____ Sign up for Grants.gov email notifications (optional) (see page 22)

_____ Read Important Notice: Applying for Grants in Grants.gov

After application submission, receive Grants.gov email notifications that:

_____ (1) Application has been received

_____ (2) Application has either been successfully validated or rejected with errors 

 (see page 23)

If no Grants.gov receipt, and validation or error notifications are received:

_____ Contact NIJ regarding experiencing technical difficulties (see page 23)

General Requirements:

_____ Review the Solicitation Requirements in the OJP Funding Resource Center.

What an Application Should Include: 

_____ Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) (see page 11)

_____ Project Abstract (see page 12)

_____ Program Narrative (see page 12)

_____ Appendices (see page 14)

_____ Budget Detail Worksheet (see page 15)

_____ Budget Narrative (see page 16)

_____ Employee Compensation Waiver request and justification (if applicable) 

(see page 10)

_____ Read OJP policy and guidance on “conference” approval, planning, and reporting

available 

at www.ojp.gov/financialguide/PostawardRequirements/chapter15page1.htm (

see page 10)

_____ Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) (see page 21)

_____ Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable) (see page 17)

_____ Tribal Authorizing Resolution (if applicable) (see page 17)

_____ Applicant Disclosure of High Risk Status (see page 18)

_____ Additional Attachments 
32 NIJ-2015-3992

_____ Verification of current enrollment (required) (see page 18)

_____ Statement of support (required) (see page 18)

_____ Applicant Disclosure of Pending Applications (see page 18)

_____ Research and Evaluation Independence and Integrity (see page 19)

_____ Accounting System and Financial Capability Questionnaire (if applicable) 

(see page 21)