Notices regarding the solicitation “NIJ Research and Evaluation on 

Drugs and Crime FY 2018”

April 13, 2018: Grants.gov will be offline for scheduled maintenance from 12:01am ET on 

April 21 through 6am ET on April 23. 

April 2, 2018: A sentence was redacted under “New Investigator/Early Career Opportunity”

in Section A. Program Description. 

April 2, 2018: Item 9.c. titled “Disclosure of Process Related to Executive Compensation” under 

“What an Application Should Include” in Section D. Application and Submission Information was 

redacted. 

March 12, 2018: Links directing to "Overview of Legal Requirements Generally Applicable to 

OJP Grants and Cooperative Agreements - FY 2017 Awards" have been updated to the FY 

2018 link throughout this funding opportunity document. 

The original solicitation document begins on the next page. 
OMB No. 1121-0329

Approval Expires 11/30/2020

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Justice Programs

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 of rigorous applied research on evidence-based 

tools, protocols, and policies for State, tribal, and local law enforcement and other criminal 

justice agencies that address two drug priorities: (1) drug trafficking, markets, and use related to

heroin and other opioids (including fentanyl, diverted pharmaceuticals, synthetic drugs, and 

analogues); and (2) illegal marijuana markets and drug-related violent crime. This program 

furthers the Department’s mission to combat the Nation's opioid epidemic, and reduce violent 

and other drug-related crime, through research that promotes effective law enforcement, court, 

and corrections responses to illegal drug markets (including diversion of legal drugs).

NIJ Research and Evaluation on Drugs and 

Crime FY 2018

Applications Due: April 25, 2018

Eligibility

In general, NIJ is authorized to make grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 

agreements with, States (including territories), units of local government, federally recognized 

Indian tribal governments that perform law enforcement functions (as determined by the 

Secretary of the Interior), nonprofit and for-profit organizations (including tribal nonprofit and 

for-profit organizations), institutions of higher education (including tribal institutions of higher 

education), and certain qualified individuals. Foreign governments, foreign organizations, and 

foreign colleges and universities are not eligible to apply. 

All recipients and subrecipients (including any for-profit organization) must forgo any profit or 

management fee.

NIJ welcomes applications under which two or more entities would carry out the federal award; 

however, only one entity may be the applicant. Any others must be proposed as subrecipients

(subgrantees)1. The applicant must be the entity that would have primary responsibility for 

carrying out the award, including administering funding, managing the entire project, and 

monitoring and appropriately managing any subawards (“subgrants”). 

Under this solicitation, any particular applicant entity may submit more than one application, as 

long as each application proposes a different project in response to the solicitation. Also, an 

entity may be proposed as a subrecipient (subgrantee) in more than one application.

1 For additional information on subawards, see "Budget and Associated Documentation" under Section D. Application 

and Submission Information.
 NIJ-2018-13682

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NIJ may elect to fund applications submitted under this FY 2018 solicitation in future fiscal 

years, dependent on, among other considerations, the merit of the applications and on the 

availability of appropriations.

Deadline

Applicants must register with Grants.gov at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html

prior to submitting an application. All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. eastern time on April 

25, 2018. 

To be considered timely, an application must be submitted by the application deadline using 

Grants.gov, and the applicant must have received a validation message from Grants.gov that 

indicates successful and timely submission. OJP urges applicants to submit applications at least 

72 hours prior to the application due date, to allow time for the applicant 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.

OJP encourages all applicants 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, 606-545-5035,

at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html, or via email to support@grants.gov.

The Grants.gov Support Hotline operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except on federal 

holidays. 

An applicant that experiences unforeseen Grants.gov technical issues beyond its control that 

prevent it from submitting its application by the deadline may email the NIJ contact identified 

below within 24 hours after the application deadline to request approval to submit its 

application. Additional information on reporting technical issues appears under Experiencing 

Unforeseen Grants.gov Technical Issues in the How to Apply section.

For assistance with any other requirements of this solicitation, contact the National Criminal 

Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Response Center: toll-free at 1-800-851-3420; via TTY at 

301-240-6310 (hearing impaired only); email grants@ncjrs.gov; fax to 301-240-5830; or web 

chat at https://webcontact.ncjrs.gov/ncjchat/chat.jsp. The NCJRS Response Center hours of 

operation are 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eastern time, Monday through Friday, and 10:00 a.m. to 

8:00 p.m. eastern time on the solicitation close date. 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 solicitation: NIJ-2018-13682

Release date: February 9, 2018 
 NIJ-2018-13682

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Contents

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

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

Program-Specific Information.................................................................................................... 6

Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products .......................................11

B. Federal Award Information .....................................................................................................14

Type of Award .........................................................................................................................14

Financial Management and System of Internal Controls.........................................................15

Budget Information ..................................................................................................................16

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement ..................................................................................16

Pre-agreement Costs (also known as Pre-award Costs) ........................................................16

Limitation on Use of Award Funds for Employee Compensation; Waiver...............................16

Prior Approval, Planning, and Reporting of Conference/Meeting/Training Costs ...................17

Costs Associated with Language Assistance (if applicable) ...................................................17

C. Eligibility Information ..............................................................................................................18

D. Application and Submission Information ................................................................................18

What an Application Should Include........................................................................................18

How to Apply ...........................................................................................................................33

E. Application Review Information ..............................................................................................36

Review Criteria ........................................................................................................................36

Review Process.......................................................................................................................38

F. Federal Award Administration Information..............................................................................40

Federal Award Notices ............................................................................................................40

Administrative, National Policy, and Other Legal Requirements.............................................40

General Information about Post-Federal Award Reporting Requirements..............................41

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s) ....................................................................................42

H. Other Information ...................................................................................................................42

Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552 and 5 U.S.C. 552a) ....................42

Provide Feedback to OJP .......................................................................................................43

Application Checklist ...............................................................................................................44
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NIJ Research and Evaluation on Drugs and 

Crime FY 2018

(CFDA # 16.560)

A. Program Description

Overview

The Department has identified two drug priorities for this solicitation: (1) drug trafficking, 

markets, and use related to heroin and other opioids (including fentanyl, diverted 

pharmaceuticals, synthetic drugs, and analogues); and (2) illegal marijuana markets and drugrelated violent crime.

The Nation is experiencing an unprecedented increase in drug overdoses and deaths arising 

from increased availability of heroin, fentanyl, diverted pharmaceuticals, and novel psychoactive 

substances (NPS or synthetic drugs). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 

reported that in 2016, approximately 64,000 deaths were attributed to drugs, with a third of 

deaths due to synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and NPS2. NPS are chemically engineered 

compounds with a capacity for rapid development of many newly emergent, high-purity and 

high-potency analogues. Analysis of trends in overdose deaths indicates the first wave involving 

prescription opioids began in 1999; that was followed by a second wave involving heroin in 

2010, and then a third wave involving synthetic opioids in 2013.3 Currently NPS are used in 

numerous combinations with heroin, counterfeit pills, and cocaine; and drugs are often 

adulterated with toxic substances during production or consumption. The President's 

Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis called for coordinated federal, 

state, local, and tribal law enforcement efforts to reduce illegal drug supply including counterfeit 

pills, increased interdiction of precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs through postal and other 

points of entry, and enhanced information sharing to support law enforcement in the 

investigation of controlled substances diversion cases and surveillance.

4

The Federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) that schedules drugs according to potential for 

abuse and accepted medical treatment is designed to strengthen law enforcement through drug 

classification and regulation of drug manufacture, importation, possession, and use. 

Prosecutors charge offenses as defined under the CSA and State drug laws including 

mandatory minimum sentences specific to drug amount and other crime elements. The Federal 

Analogue Act (21 U.S.C. § 813) under the CSA allows any chemical that is both "substantially 

similar" to a controlled substance listed in Schedule I or II (e.g., heroin or fentanyl, respectively)

and “pharmacologically similar” to be treated as if it were also in those schedules. Recently 

Kentucky, Georgia, and other States began to pass drug laws that define fentanyl derivatives as 

a Schedule I substance. However, detection, interdiction, and identification of opioid analogues 

 

2 See the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts dashboard 

resources and August 6, 2017 12-month status report. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/health_policy/monthly-drugoverdose-death-estimates.pdf; https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm. 3 See Trends in Deaths Involving Heroin and Synthetic Opioids Excluding Methadone, and Law Enforcement Drug 

Product Reports, by Census Region — United States, 2006–2015, 

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/wr/mm6634a2.htm?s_cid=mm6634a2_w. 4 Visit the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis website for interim and final 

reports at https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/presidents-commission. 
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is challenging. Controlled substance classification of emerging opioids lags behind new drug 

analogue production, and drug laws are not broadly written to account for all possible synthetic 

drug derivatives. The effects of these changes in State drug legislation on successful 

prosecution are not yet known.

Key partners in law enforcement and prosecution efforts to combat the opioid epidemic are 

medical examiner and coroner offices, forensic science laboratories, and other public safety and 

public health stakeholders. Their multidisciplinary expertise and pooled resources can support 

effective information collection and analysis, and criminal investigation case building for 

successful prosecutions. Collaborative efforts can: expand our understanding of drug trafficking, 

markets, and use for targeted interdiction; contribute to the examination and projection of drug 

use trajectories (e.g., opioids to and from heroin, marijuana, and emerging drugs in connection 

with drug markets); further the identification of drug deterrent and interdiction opportunities; and 

support strategies to pursue organized crime targets. Research on criminal investigation and 

prosecution, drug intelligence, and community surveillance related to opioids is lacking.

Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance and yet the most commonly used illicit drug in 

the United States. In 2016, approximately 24 million Americans reported current marijuana use; 

this represents about 8.9% of the population, which is more than has been reported since 

2002.5 The demand for marijuana is widespread throughout the United States, and filled through 

a combination of illicit domestic produced marijuana, diverted domestic State-approved 

marijuana, and foreign produced marijuana trafficked into the United States. Marijuana is 

smuggled across U.S. borders at official points of entry for passengers or cargo (such as land, 

air, and sea ports, and international mail facilities), or between the ports of entry via illegal 

border crossings (including underground tunnels, ultralight aircraft, and panga boats), and 

transported via major hubs for local distribution. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) 

import marijuana illegally across the southwest border; in FY 2016, the U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection seized over 800,000 kilograms of marijuana from over 21,000 incidents along 

the southwest border alone.6 The direction of drug flow, however, cannot be assumed. The 

Department of Homeland Security recently identified the bidirectional flow of illicit drugs along 

the northern border as a threat to public safety.7 Primarily Asian transnational criminal 

organizations (TCOs) operate grow houses in Canada and the West Coast, and increased 

trafficking is anticipated with Canadian legislation to legalize marijuana use. The potential for 

financial gain in this high-volume cash market is considerable. TCOs and DTOs compete with 

domestic organized crime organizations to control drug production, distribution, consolidation of 

drug proceeds, and money laundering. Research on the violent and other crime associated with 

illegal marijuana markets is lacking.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for applied research that examines the feasibility, 

impact, and cost efficiency of evidence-based tools, protocols, and policies for State, tribal, and 

local law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies that address two drug priorities: (1) 

drug trafficking, markets, and use related to heroin and other opioids (including fentanyl, 

diverted pharmaceuticals, synthetic drugs, and analogues); and (2) illegal marijuana markets 

and drug-related violent crime. All proposed projects should examine novel approaches to 

common problems, demonstrate methods to generate actionable information, promote 

 

5 See Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2016 National Survey 

on Drug Use and Health, https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-FFR1-2016/NSDUH-FFR1-

2016.pdf. 6 See 2017 National Drug Threat Assessment, https://www.dea.gov/docs/DIR-040-17_2017-NDTA.pdf. 7 See Northern Border Threat Analysis Report, 

https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/17_0731_Public_Summary_NBSRA_0.pdf. 
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innovative partnerships between stakeholders, and add value to resources that can be 

sustained long-term and replicated by other jurisdictions for a national scale impact.

Statutory Authority: 

Any awards under this solicitation would be made under statutory authority provided by a fullyear appropriations act for FY 2018. As of the writing of this solicitation, the Department of 

Justice is operating under a short-term "Continuing Resolution"; no full-year appropriation for 

the Department has been enacted for FY 2018.

Program-Specific Information

NIJ’s drugs and crime research portfolio promotes cost-efficient law enforcement, court, and 

corrections responses to illegal drug markets (including diversion of legal drugs) and violent and 

other criminal behavior. Through the program, NIJ studies crime reduction using several 

approaches: epidemiology (patterns among drugs, violence, and crime to inform communities 

and service providers); prevention and intervention (policies and programs to prevent or reduce 

drug-related crime and violence); drug markets (drug production and distribution information to 

inform law enforcement); market disruption (drug interdiction and other strategies to disrupt or 

deter markets); and forensic science and technology (drug recognition and detection for law 

enforcement, medicolegal death investigation, and offender monitoring).

Over the last several years, NIJ has focused research on policies, practices, and resources 

available to law enforcement to deter, investigate, prosecute, and address opioid use and 

markets. In FY 2012, NIJ funded projects that examined anti-diversion legislation, as well as 

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) and other resources, for more efficient illegal 

prescription drug market interventions. Based on the widespread and dramatic increases in drug 

and clandestine laboratory seizures, forensic laboratory cases, overdoses and deaths, NIJ 

prioritized opioids and NPS in FY 2017. The four grants awarded will study: evidence collection 

and preservation protocols to improve manslaughter prosecutions of drug dealers; an opioid 

metric intelligence platform that integrates PDMP and other data for information sharing; drug 

distribution networks combining law enforcement intelligence with community policing for 

effective interdiction; and data mining toxicology results from suspected drug-related death and 

drug-impaired driving cases to track emerging opioids and other trends. NIJ’s Controlled 

Substances and Forensic Toxicology Program has funded basic research and development to 

improve drug recognition and detection including research on emerging opioid analogues and 

other NPS. NIJ currently collaborates with the Office of National Drug Control Policy on 

research under the Drug Enforcement Agency’s Fentanyl Profiling Program to advance drug 

testing protocols for drug seizures.

Under the FY 2016 solicitation for Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime, NIJ awarded 

two grants to study the effects of drug legalization and decriminalization on law enforcement, 

applicable to State, tribal, and local jurisdictions. One grant will examine drug trafficking case 

and organization information across jurisdictions and over time to address: how State marijuana 

laws impacted law enforcement activities; and if the structure, operations, and facilitation of 

marijuana trafficking enterprises evolved in response to legislative and enforcement changes. 

The second grant examines the impact of Washington State’s Initiative 502 legalizing 

recreational marijuana to address: how law enforcement in different jurisdictions handle drug 

offenses and offenders, particularly involving marijuana, before and after legalization; and the 

effects of marijuana legalization on crime in urban, rural, tribal, and campus jurisdictions — 

within State and across borders.
 NIJ-2018-13682

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This FY 2018 solicitation seeks investigator-initiated proposals to conduct applied research that 

examines evidence-based tools, protocols, and policies concerning drug trafficking, markets, 

and use, applicable to State, tribal, and local jurisdictions as follows.

NIJ has identified two drug priorities for this solicitation:

1. Drug Trafficking, Markets, and Use Related to Heroin and Other Opioids (including 

fentanyl, diverted pharmaceuticals, synthetic drugs, and analogues)

a) Criminal Investigation and Prosecution (related to narcotics law enforcement, 

forensic science, and medicolegal death investigation)

b) Drug Intelligence and Community Surveillance

2. Illegal Marijuana Markets and Drug-Related Violent Crime

Applications must address one of these two drug priorities as described above. Other drugs 

may only be addressed in addition to NIJ’s drug priorities with clear justification relating to 

research and practice, such as drugs produced or used in combination. Applications for funding 

research that fall outside of these two priorities will not be considered.

A single application may not address both priorities, but researchers may submit a separate 

application to study a second priority. Each application will be reviewed independently, and the 

success of one proposed project must not depend on a separate proposed project.

Background information for this solicitation is available on NIJ’s Drugs and Crime Research 

webpage,8 along with information on topical meeting materials and past grant awards. 

Highlights across NIJ’s social science, forensics, and technology portfolios include: the 

Controlled Substances9 and Forensic Toxicology,10 Research on Illegal Prescription Drug 

Market Interventions,11 and the Drug Recognition and Impairment Research Meeting.12 

Applicants are encouraged to review information on NIJ’s diverse drugs and crime research 

portfolio, and consider other FY 2018 funding opportunities suitable for more basic research 

proposals that are outside the scope of this applied research solicitation,13 or for proposals on 

drug-related topics that are requested under other solicitations.14 

Drug Priorities and Potential Research Questions

1. Drug Trafficking, Markets, and Use Related to Heroin and Other Opioids

 

8 See NIJ’s Drugs and Crime Research at https://www.nij.gov/topics/drugs/Pages/welcome.aspx. 9 See NIJ’s Controlled Substances at https://www.nij.gov/topics/forensics/evidence/controlledsubstances/Pages/welcome.aspx. 10 See NIJ’s Forensic Toxicology at https://www.nij.gov/topics/forensics/evidence/toxicology/pages/welcome.aspx. 11 See NIJ’s Research on Illegal Prescription Drug Market Interventions at 

https://www.nij.gov/topics/drugs/Pages/illegal-prescription-drug-markets.aspx. 12 See Drug Recognition and Impairment Research Meeting at https://www.nij.gov/topics/drugs/Pages/drugrecognition-and-impairment-research-meeting.aspx. 13 See NIJ’s FY 2018 solicitations: OIFS Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice 

Purposes, and Research and Evaluation on Gangs and Gang Violence.

14 See NIJ’s FY 2018 solicitation for Artificial Intelligence Technology Applied Research and Development for Law 

Enforcement Applications. 
 NIJ-2018-13682

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a) Criminal Investigation and Prosecution

Medical examiners, coroners, forensic laboratories, and criminal prosecutors rely upon 

information collected by law enforcement and investigators to support narcotics law 

enforcement, forensic science, and medicolegal death investigations. State drug laws that 

define offenses for prosecutors are changing to counter criminal efforts to evade detection and 

confound current drug laws, such as rapid development of drug derivatives not yet scheduled. 

Narcotics crime and death scene investigation protocols can be enhanced to increase the scope 

and quality of information and to facilitate investigations, determinations of cause and manner of 

death, and prosecutions. Seizures may involve precursor chemicals, drugs, pill presses, and 

other clandestine laboratory materials at postal and other points of entry or in homes, 

commercial real estate, and remote properties. Information collected on-site at crime and death 

scenes may describe suspected drugs, paraphernalia, residue samples, and other evidence. 

The results of forensic analysis for bulk or trace amounts of controlled substances can inform 

and direct the toxicology examinations for both criminal and death investigations. Evidence 

available at nonfatal overdose and death scenes, as well as information from emergency 

responders, poison control interactions, hospital treatments, and related toxicology testing can 

inform investigation and case building strategies.

NIJ seeks proposals for research on criminal case investigation and prosecution related to 

narcotics law enforcement, forensic science, and medicolegal death investigation. Research 

questions of interest include, but are not limited to: 

• How can information collection at suspected drug crime and death scenes, or non-fatal 

drug overdose events, be improved to support investigations and prosecution 

strategies?

• How can information sharing across agencies be improved to support investigations and 

prosecution strategies, whether to build the instant case or connect other potentially 

related cases?

• How can information sharing across agencies help prioritize evidence processing and 

investigative assignments as a given case evolves to conserve resources?

• What effect do new State synthetic drug laws have on investigations and prosecution 

strategies? If they increase the number of cases or convictions, for what types of cases? 

If not, how can outstanding legal and resource challenges be addressed?

b) Drug Intelligence and Community Surveillance 

Information coordination and analysis are crucial to understanding drug market and use trends, 

identifying drug deterrent and interdiction opportunities, and pursuing organized crime targets. 

Law enforcement and other agencies require data coordination, consolidation, deconfliction,15

correlation, and trend analysis to inform policy and practice. Federal support of State and local 

programs is provided by the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program,16 the Community 

Oriented Policing Services’ Anti-Heroin Task Force Program,17 and drug monitoring initiatives 

 

15 The deconfliction process determines whether multiple agencies are investigating the same person or crime and 

promotes information sharing to minimize double counting and conflicts between agencies.

16 See High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) Program at https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/high-intensitydrug-trafficking-areas-program. 17 See COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force at https://cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2776. 
 NIJ-2018-13682

9

and other public safety and public health collaborative partnerships.18 Program challenges 

include interpretation of drug and toxicology information as drug markets rapidly transition. 

Concerns include information accuracy and timeliness, quality assurance and analysis by 

trained experts, and effective dissemination across public safety and public health agencies and 

jurisdictions.

NIJ seeks proposals for research on improvements to aggregate data collection, analysis, and 

dissemination that support drug intelligence and community surveillance goals. Research 

questions of interest include, but are not limited to:

• How can provisional data address immediate information needs, and what means are 

available to assess validity and reliability of information? What are the actionable data, 

and how is the impact of actionable data measured in terms of public safety goals?

• How is information from interdictions used to estimate the flow of drugs? How do 

forensic laboratory results inform interdiction activities? What other information can be 

used to efficiently identify drug seizure targets?

• How best can public safety and public health stakeholders examine and project drug use 

trajectories in conjunction with drug markets ― such as the transition from opioids to and 

from heroin, marijuana, emerging novel drugs, and potentially lethal drug combinations? 

• What is the impact of current drug intelligence and community surveillance efforts on 

drug deterrence, interdiction, and pursuit of organized crime targets? What metrics 

assess impact, and what are the demonstrable effects on crime prevention, drug market 

intervention, and other criminal justice outcomes? 

2. Illegal Marijuana Markets and Drug-Related Violent Crime

Despite efforts by law enforcement to control marijuana, illicit drug markets are fueled by illicit 

domestic drug production, diversion of domestic State-approved marijuana, and trafficking of 

foreign product into the U.S. Domestic production may entail blatantly illegal crops such as 

those found in public lands, or violations that subvert State laws permitting limited grows for 

personal use. Illicit or black market marijuana is smuggled across U.S. borders at official points 

of entry for passengers or cargo (such as land, air, and sea ports, and international mail 

facilities), or between the ports of entry via illegal border crossings (including underground 

tunnels, ultralight aircraft, and panga boats), and transported via major hubs for local 

distribution. The Nation’s northern and southwest borders are targets for illegal trafficking of 

marijuana with the flow of drugs and criminal proceeds moving in both directions. Criminal 

activities surround drug production, distribution, consolidation of drug proceeds, and money 

laundering. Mexican DTOs, Asian TCOs, and domestic criminal organizations compete for 

financial gain in this high-volume cash market. 

NIJ seeks proposals for research on the violent and other crime associated with illegal 

marijuana markets. Research questions of interest include, but are not limited to: 

• Is there any relationship between illegal marijuana markets and violent or other crime in 

the United States? 

• If so, are there any trends or patterns related to location? 

 

18 See Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program including Category 6: Data-driven Responses to Prescription Drug 

Misuse at https://www.bja.gov/funding/CARA17.pdf.
 NIJ-2018-13682

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• If so, are there predictive factors that may be used to prevent or control associated 

violent and other crimes?

Additional Guidance Applicable to All Research Categories 

• Randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies are a powerful, much needed tool for building 

scientific evidence about what works. Therefore, studies employing RCT methods to 

assess the effectiveness of programs and practices may be given higher priority 

consideration. RCT applications with strong designs measuring outcomes of self-evident 

policy importance are strongly encouraged. A strong RCT design should include low 

sample attrition, sufficient sample size, close adherence to random assignment, valid 

outcome measures, and statistical analyses.

• NIJ is especially interested in supporting research relevant to small, rural, and tribal 

jurisdictions. 

• Applications must demonstrate cultural competence by addressing regional, 

racial/ethnic, language, and other diversity issues in proposed research protocol and 

team capabilities, as applicable.

• Each partnering agency must provide a letter of commitment clarifying information, staff, 

and other resource access. 

• Each research team member (staff, contractor, consultant, agency partner, etc.) must be 

identified with a clearly specified role and projected level of effort, regardless of 

compensation. 

• Any potential conflict of interest must be addressed if any research team member may 

benefit financially from, or is/was involved in the development of, what is being 

researched. (Also see Research and Evaluation Independence and Integrity.) 

• The research proposed must result in knowledge and tools that have potential value to 

other jurisdictions for a national impact. 

• Applications for research that leverage projects actively supported by Federal, private, or 

other entities must clarify the proposed value added, how information collected and other 

resources funded by NIJ will remain separate, and plans for dissemination including 

public archive of work products.

New Investigator/Early Career Opportunity

NIJ is interested in supporting researchers who are early in their careers and new to NIJ’s 

research grant portfolios, specifically non-tenured assistant professors, or equivalent full-time 

staff scientist positions in a research institution. Applications that include a principal investigator 

(PI) who meets the criteria may, in appropriate circumstances, be given special consideration in 

award decisions.

At the time of application submission, the proposed PI must: 

• Hold a non-tenured assistant professor appointment at an accredited institution of higher 

education in the United States or an equivalent full-time staff scientist position at a 

research institution
 NIJ-2018-13682

11

• Have completed their terminal degree or post-graduate clinical training within the ten 

(10) years prior to September 30, 2018

• Never have received NIJ funding as a PI on a research project with the exception of 

Graduate Research Fellows or Data Resources Program grantees

The applicant should 

identify that this is a New Investigator/Early Career proposal on the title page of their 

application.

Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products

The goal of this program is to support the Department’s mission to combat the Nation's opioid 

epidemic, and to reduce violent and other drug-related crime, through research that promotes 

effective law enforcement, court, and corrections responses to illegal drug markets (including 

diversion of legal drugs). The objective of this solicitation is to support applied research that 

examines the feasibility, impact, and cost efficiency of evidence-based tools, protocols, and 

policies for State, tribal, and local law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies to 

address two drug priorities: (1) drug trafficking, markets, and use related to heroin and other 

opioids (including fentanyl, diverted pharmaceuticals, synthetic drugs, and analogues); and (2) 

illegal marijuana markets and drug-related violent crime. Specifically, NIJ seeks proposals for 

applied research concerning opioids in two areas — (a) criminal investigation and prosecution, 

and (b) drug intelligence and community surveillance — that relate to narcotics law 

enforcement, forensic science, and medicolegal death investigation. Research findings should 

benefit first responders, law enforcement, forensic science laboratories, medical examiner and 

coroner offices, and other public safety and public health stakeholders.

NIJ encourages researchers to seek guidance from, or partner with, these stakeholder groups. 

Such associations foster a greater understanding of the issues unique to their respective fields, 

and may strengthen the scope of the proposed research plan. Proposed projects should 

investigate novel approaches to common problems, demonstrate methods to generate 

actionable information, promote innovative partnerships between stakeholders, and add value to 

resources that can be sustained long-term and replicated by other jurisdictions for a national 

scale impact.

Expected Deliverables

Briefing. An NIJ briefing to be delivered in Washington, D.C., is required approximately thirty 

(30) days prior to the grant end date. Presentation materials including a handout and 

PowerPoint slides that summarize research methods and findings are due in draft no later than 

ten (10) business days in advance of the briefing for NIJ to review.

Final Research Report. Any recipient of an award under this solicitation will be expected to 

submit a final research report. Additional information on the final research report requirement for 

the solicitation is posted on the Post Award Reporting Requirements Page on NIJ’s website.

Required Data Sets and Associated Files and Documentation. Any recipient of an award under 

this solicitation will be expected to submit to the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data 

(NACJD) all data sets that result in whole or in part from the work funded by the award, along 
 NIJ-2018-13682

12

with associated files and any documentation necessary 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. For more information, see Program Narrative in Section D. Application and 

Submission Information. 

In addition to these deliverables (and the required reports and data on performance measures 

described in Section F. Federal Award Administration Information), NIJ expects scholarly 

products to result from each award under this solicitation, taking the form of one or more 

published, peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles, and/or (if appropriate) law review journal 

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

inventions, or similar scientific products.

The Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products are directly related to the 

performance measures that demonstrate the results of the work completed. 

Performance Measures

OJP will require each successful applicant to submit regular performance data that demonstrate 

the results of the work carried out under the award (see “General Information about PostFederal Award Reporting Requirements” in Section F. Federal Award Administration 

Information). 

Applicants should visit OJP’s performance measurement page at www.ojp.gov/performance to 

view the specific reporting requirements for this grant program.

The application should demonstrate the applicant’s understanding of the performance data 

reporting requirements for this grant program and detail how the applicant will gather the 

required data should it receive funding. 

Please note that applicants are not required to submit performance data with the application. 

Performance measures information is included as an alert that successful applicants will be 

required to submit performance data as part of the reporting requirements under an award. 

Objective Performance Measure(s) Data Recipient Provides

Conduct research in social 

and behavioral sciences 

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 

project or any subsequent 

agency-approved 

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, 

such as published, peer1. Quarterly financial reports, semiannual and final progress reports, 

and products of the work 

performed under the NIJ award 

(including, at minimum, a final 

research report).

If applicable, an annual audit 

report 

2. List of citation(s) to all scholarly 

products that resulted in whole or 

in part from work funded under the 

NIJ award.
 NIJ-2018-13682

13

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.

3. If applicable, each data set that 

resulted in whole or in part from 

work funded under the NIJ award. 

4. Description of all technologies 

fielded as a result (in whole or in 

part) of work funded under the NIJ 

award.

Evaluation Research

If an application includes an evaluation research component (or consists entirely of evaluation 

research), the application is expected to propose the most rigorous evaluation design 

appropriate for the research questions to be addressed. If the primary purpose of the evaluation 

is to determine the effectiveness or impact of an intervention (e.g., program, practice, or policy), 

the most rigorous evaluation designs may include random selection and assignment of 

participants (or other appropriate units of analysis) to experimental and control conditions. In 

cases where randomization is not feasible, applicants should propose a strong quasiexperimental design that can address the risk of selection bias. 

Applications that include evaluation research should consider the feasibility of including 

cost/benefit analysis. In cases where evaluations find that interventions have produced the 

intended benefit, cost/benefit analysis provides valuable and practical information for 

practitioners and policymakers that aids decision-making. 

Evaluation research projects may also address a wide range of research questions beyond 

those focused on the effectiveness or impact of an intervention. Different research designs may 

be more appropriate for different research questions and at different stages of program 

development. The intervention strategies, setting, other contextual factors, and resources 

should be taken into account when selecting an evaluation design. In all cases, applications are 

expected to propose the most rigorous evaluation design appropriate for the research questions 

to be addressed.

Applicants are encouraged to review evidence rating criteria 

at https://www.crimesolutions.gov/about_starttofinish.aspx for further information on high-quality 

evaluation design elements.
 NIJ-2018-13682

14

B. Federal Award Information

NIJ anticipates at least $2.5 million will be available to fund four or more grants across the two 

drug priorities, and at least $500,000 will be available for relevant research in Indian Country

and Alaska Native Villages. Awards will normally not exceed a three-year period of 

performance.

An applicant should base its federal funding request and period of performance on the actual

requirements of the research, and not necessarily on the anticipated amount of funding

available in FY 2018 for awards under this solicitation nor to fit within a three-year period of 

performance. However, to expedite the budget approval process, applicants are encouraged to 

break out their budgets by project year or by phases in the event that NIJ choses to fund the 

project partially or incrementally.

To allow time for (among other things) any necessary post-award review and financial clearance 

by OJP of the proposed budget and for any associated responses or other action(s) that may be 

required of the recipient, applicants should propose an award start date of January 1, 2019. 

If the applicant is proposing a project that 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—specifically including the 

narrative, expected scholarly products, timelines/milestones, and budget detail worksheet and 

budget narrative—to clearly define each phase. (This is particularly the case if the applicant 

proposes a project that will exceed—in cost or the length of the period of performance—the 

amount or length of time anticipated for an individual award (or awards) under this solicitation.) 

Given limitations on the availability to NIJ of funds for awards for research, development, and 

evaluation, this information will assist NIJ in considering whether partial funding of applications

would be productive. (If, in 2018). NIJ elects to fund only certain phases of a proposed project, 

the expected scholarly products from the partial-funding award may, in some cases, vary from 

those described above.)

NIJ may, in certain cases, provide additional funding in future years to awards made under its 

research, development, and evaluation solicitations, through continuation awards. In making 

decisions regarding continuation awards, OJP will consider, among other factors, the availability 

of appropriations, when the program or project was last competed, OJP’s strategic priorities, 

and OJP’s assessment of both the management of the award (for example, timeliness and 

quality of progress reports), and the progress of the work funded under the award.

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

additional requirements that may be imposed by law.

Type of Award

NIJ expects that any award under this solicitation will be made in the form of a grant or 

cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement is a particular type of award that provides for 

OJP to have substantial involvement in carrying out award activities. See Administrative, 

National Policy, and Other Legal Requirements, under Section F. Federal Award Administration 

Information, for a brief discussion of what may constitute substantial federal involvement. As 

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

conference/meeting/training costs under cooperative agreements.
 NIJ-2018-13682

15

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

DOJ regulations on confidentiality and protection of human subjects. See “Requirements related 

to Research” under “Overview of Legal Requirements Generally Applicable to OJP Grants and

Cooperative Agreements - FY 2018 Awards” in the OJP Funding Resource Center 

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

Financial Management and System of Internal Controls

Award recipients and subrecipients (including recipients or subrecipients that are pass-through 

entities19) must, as described in the Part 200 Uniform Requirements20 as set out at 2 C.F.R. 

200.303:

(a) Establish and maintain effective internal control over the Federal award that

provides reasonable assurance that [the recipient (and any subrecipient)] is

managing the Federal award in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations,

and the terms and conditions of the Federal award. These internal controls

should be in compliance with guidance in “Standards for Internal Control in the

Federal Government” issued by the Comptroller General of the United States and

the “Internal Control Integrated Framework”, issued by the Committee of

Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).

(b) Comply with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the

Federal awards.

(c) Evaluate and monitor [the recipient’s (and any subrecipient’s)] compliance with

statutes, regulations and the terms and conditions of Federal awards.

(d) Take prompt action when instances of noncompliance are identified including

noncompliance identified in audit findings.

(e) Take reasonable measures to safeguard protected personally identifiable

information and other information the Federal awarding agency or pass-through

entity designates as sensitive or [the recipient (or any subrecipient)] considers

sensitive consistent with applicable Federal, State, local, and tribal laws

regarding privacy and obligations of confidentiality.

To help ensure that applicants understand applicable administrative requirements and cost 

principles, OJP encourages prospective applicants to enroll, at no charge, in the DOJ Grants 

Financial Management Online Training, available at https://ojpfgm.webfirst.com/. (This training 

is required for all OJP recipients.)

Also, applicants should be aware that OJP collects information from applicants on their financial 

management and systems of internal controls (among other information) which is used to make 

award decisions. Under Section D. Application and Submission Information, applicants may 

access and review the OJP Financial Management and System of Internal Controls 

19 For purposes of this solicitation, the phrase “pass-through entity” includes any recipient or subrecipient that 

provides a subaward (“subgrant”) to carry out part of the funded award or program.

20 The "Part 200 Uniform Requirements” means the DOJ regulation at 2 C.F.R Part 2800, which adopts (with certain 

modifications) the provisions of 2 C.F.R. Part 200.
 NIJ-2018-13682

16

Questionnaire (https://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/FinancialCapability.pdf) that OJP 

requires all applicants (other than an individual applying in his/her personal capacity) to 

download, complete, and submit as part of the application.’’

Budget Information

What will not be funded: 

• Applications to primarily purchase resources, deliver services, or maintain current 

projects (although a budget may include purchases necessary to conduct research, 

development, demonstration, evaluation, or analysis). 

• Applications that are not responsive to this specific solicitation.

• Applications that propose research on more than one drug priority in a single application 

(researchers may submit a separate application to study a second drug priority). 

• Applications that lack clear targets, such as a single proposal to research all drugs, 

without demonstrating relevance to the research proposed and expertise in each drug 

priority. 

• Applications to conduct national surveys, basic laboratory research, purely descriptive 

studies, or single-site evaluations without stated potential benefit to other jurisdictions. 

• Applications to conduct research supported by other NIJ solicitations or other federal 

research programs without explanation including proposed value added.

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

See “Cofunding” paragraph under item 4 (“Budget and Associated Documentation”) under What 

an Application Should Include in Section D. Application and Submission Information. 

. 

Pre-agreement Costs (also known as Pre-award Costs) 

Pre-agreement costs are costs incurred by the applicant prior to the start date of the period of 

performance of the federal award.

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

prior written approval of OJP for all such costs. All such costs incurred prior to award and prior 

to approval of the costs are incurred at the sole risk of the applicant. (Generally, no applicant 

should incur project costs before submitting an application requesting federal funding for those 

costs.) Should there be extenuating circumstances that make it appropriate for OJP to consider 

approving pre-agreement costs, the applicant may contact the point of contact listed on the title

page of this solicitation for the requirements concerning written requests for approval. If 

approved in advance by OJP, award funds may be used for pre-agreement costs, consistent 

with the recipient’s approved budget and applicable cost principles. See the section on “Costs 

Requiring Prior Approval” in the DOJ Grants Financial Guide

at https://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/index.htm for more information.

Limitation on Use of Award Funds for Employee Compensation; Waiver

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

not use federal funds to pay total cash compensation (salary plus cash bonuses) to any 
 NIJ-2018-13682

17

employee of the recipient at a rate that exceeds 110 percent 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 The 2018 salary table 

for SES employees is available at the Office of Personnel Management website 

at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salarytables/18Tables/exec/html/ES.aspx. Note: A recipient may compensate an employee at a 

greater rate, provided the amount in excess of this compensation limitation is paid with nonfederal funds. (Non-federal funds used for any such additional compensation will not be

considered matching funds, where match requirements apply.) If only a portion of an

employee’s time is charged to an OJP award, the maximum allowable compensation is equal to

the percentage of time worked times the maximum salary limitation. 

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

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

that requests a waiver should include a detailed justification in the budget narrative of its 

application. An applicant that does not submit a waiver request and justification with its

application should anticipate that OJP will require the applicant to adjust and resubmit the 

budget.

The justification should address, in the context of the work the individual would do under the

award, the particular qualifications and expertise of the individual, the uniqueness of a service 

the individual will provide, the individual’s specific knowledge of the proposed program or

project, and a statement that explains whether and how the individual’s salary under the award 

would be commensurate with the regular and customary rate for an individual with his/her

qualifications and expertise, and for the work he/she would do under the award. 

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

OJP strongly encourages every applicant that proposes to use award funds for any conference-,

meeting-, or training-related activity (or similar event) to review carefully—before submitting an 

application—the OJP policy and guidance on approval, planning, and reporting of such events, 

available at www.ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/PostawardRequirements/chapter3.10a.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 conference, meeting, 

and training costs for cooperative agreement recipients and of some conference, meeting, and 

training costs for grant recipients; and (3) set cost limits, which include 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 “Overview of Legal

Requirements Generally Applicable to OJP Grants and Cooperative Agreements - FY 2018

Awards” in the OJP Funding Resource Center athttps://ojp.gov/funding/index.htm.
 NIJ-2018-13682

18

C. Eligibility Information

For eligibility information, see title page. 

For information on cost sharing or match requirements, see “What an Application Should 

Include” in Section D. Application and Submission Information.

D. Application and Submission Information

What an Application Should Include

This section describes in detail what an application should include. An applicant should 

anticipate that if it fails to submit an application that contains all of the specified elements, it may 

negatively affect the review of its application; and, should a decision be made to make an 

award, it may result in the inclusion of award conditions that preclude the recipient from 

accessing or using award funds until the recipient satisfies the conditions and OJP makes the 

funds available. 

Moreover, an applicant should anticipate that an application that OJP determines is

nonresponsive to the scope of the solicitation, or that OJP determines does not include the 

application elements that NIJ has designated to be critical, will neither proceed to peer review 

nor receive further consideration. For this solicitation, NIJ has designated the following 

application elements as critical: Program Narrative, Budget Detail Worksheet, and

resumes/curriculum vitae of key personnel. (For purposes of this solicitation, “key personnel” 

means the principal investigator, and any and all co-principal investigators.) 

NOTE: OJP has combined the Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative in a single 

document collectively referred to as the Budget Detail Worksheet. See “Budget Information and 

Associated Documentation” below for more information about the Budget Detail Worksheet and 

where it can be accessed.

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

“Program Narrative,” “Budget Detail Worksheet,” “Timelines,” “Memoranda of Understanding,” 

“Resumes”) for all attachments. Also, OJP recommends that applicants include resumes in a 

single file. 

Please review the “Note on File Names and File Types” under How to Apply to be sure 

applications are submitted in permitted formats.

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).

To avoid processing delays, an applicant must include an accurate legal name on its SF424. On the SF-424, current OJP award recipients, when completing the field for “Legal 

Name” (box 8a), should use the same legal name that appears on the prior year award 

document (which is also the legal name stored in OJP’s financial system.) Also, these 
 NIJ-2018-13682

19

recipients should enter the Employer Identification Number (EIN) in box 8c exactly as it 

appears on the prior year award document. An applicant with a current, active award(s) 

must ensure that its GMS profile is current. If the profile is not current, the applicant should 

submit a Grant Adjustment Notice updating the information on its GMS profile prior to 

applying under this solicitation. 

A new applicant entity should enter its official legal name in box 8a, its address in box 8d, its 

EIN in box 8b, and its Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in box 8c of the 

SF-424. A new applicant entity should attach official legal documents to their applications 

(e.g., articles of incorporation, 501(c)(3) status documentation, organizational letterhead

etc.) to confirm the legal name, address, and EIN entered into the SF-424. OJP will use the 

System for Award Management (SAM) to confirm the legal name and DUNS number 

entered in the SF-424; therefore, an applicant should ensure that the information entered in 

the SF-424 matches its current registration in SAM. See the How to Apply section for more 

information on SAM and DUNS numbers.

Intergovernmental Review: This solicitation ("funding opportunity") is not subject 

to Executive Order 12372. (In completing the SF-424, an applicant is to answer question 19 

by selecting the response that the “Program is not covered by E.O. 12372.”)

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 not submitted in the template below 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 the form’s standard 12-point font (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 25 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 25-page limit for the narrative 

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

count toward the 25-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.
 NIJ-2018-13682

20

The following sections should be included as part of the program narrative.21

Program Narrative Guidelines: 

a. Title Page (not counted against the 25-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 and the 

principal investigator. 

b. Resubmit Response (if applicable) (not counted against the 25-page program 

narrative limit).

If an applicant is resubmitting an application 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, and NIJassigned application number of the previous application, and (2) a brief summary 

of revisions to the application, including responses to previous feedback received 

from NIJ. 

c. Table of Contents and Figures (not counted against the 25-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 and Research Questions. The statement of the 

problem should address the need for research in this area. Applicants should 

discuss current gaps in data, research, and knowledge, including those for 

particular justice sectors, for certain populations, and to answer questions 

relevant to current policy and practice needs and public interests. As part of this 

discussion, applicants should present a review of previous literature and discuss 

previous research related to these problems.

This section should also identify the proposed research questions and discuss 

the purpose, goals, and objectives of the proposed project. 

• Project Design and Implementation. Applicants should provide a detailed 

description of the strategies to implement this research project and address the 

research questions. Design elements should follow directly from the research 

 

21 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 – specifically including the narrative, expected scholarly products, 

timelines/milestones, and budget detail worksheet and budget narrative – to set out each phase clearly. (In 

appropriate cases, the expected scholarly product(s) from a particular phase may vary from those described above.) 

See generally “Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, and Expected Scholarly Products” under “Program-Specific 

Information,” above.
 NIJ-2018-13682

21

project’s goals and objectives and address the program-specific information 

noted on page 11. Applicants should describe the research methodology in detail 

and demonstrate the validity and usefulness of the data they will collect. 

Applicants should consider the rigor and soundness of the methodology and 

analytical and technical approaches for the proposed research and address the 

feasibility of the proposed project and potential challenges or problems in 

carrying out the activities. 

• Potential Impact. Applicants should describe the potential impact of the 

research and how it may inform or improve criminal or juvenile justice-related 

policy, practice, or theory in the United States.

The discussion of impact should include a discussion of the deliverables, 

including planned scholarly products indicated in the project-specific 

information (page 6) and a plan for dissemination to appropriate audiences. 

Applicants should identify plans to produce or make available to broader 

interested practitioners and policy makers in a form that is designed to be 

readily accessible and useful to them. 

• Capabilities/Competencies. This section should describe the experience 

and capability of the applicant organization, key staff, and any proposed 

subgrantees (including consultants) that the applicant will use to implement and 

manage this effort and the federal funds under this award, highlighting any 

previous experience implementing projects of similar scope, design, and 

magnitude. Applicants should address:

• Experience and capacity to work with the proposed data sources in the 

conduct of similar research efforts.

• Experience and capacity to design and implement rigorous research and 

data analysis projects.

• Experience producing and disseminating meaningful deliverables.

Applicants should also outline the management plan and organization that connects to 

the goals and objectives of the project. 

e. Appendices not counted against the 25-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 or resume of the principal investigator and any and all coprincipal investigators. In addition, curriculum vitae, resume, or biographical 

sketches of all other individuals (regardless of “investigator” status) who will 

be significantly involved in substantive aspects of the proposed project
 NIJ-2018-13682

22

(including, for example, individuals such as statisticians used to conduct

proposed data analysis)

• To assist OJP in assessing actual or apparent conflicts of interest (including 

such conflicts on the part of prospective reviewers of the application), a 

complete list of the individuals named or otherwise identified anywhere in the 

application (including in the budget or in any other attachment) who will or 

may work (or advise or consult) on the proposed research, development, or 

evaluation project. This applies to all such individuals, including, for example, 

individuals who are or would be employees of the applicant or employees of 

any proposed subrecipient entity, any individuals who themselves may be a 

subrecipient, and individuals who may (or will) work without compensation 

(such as advisory board members). This appendix to the program narrative is 

to include, for each listed individual: name, title, employer, any other 

potentially-pertinent organizational affiliation(s), and the individual's proposed 

roles and responsibilities in carrying out the proposed project. If the 

application identifies any specific entities or organizations (other than the 

applicant) that will or may work (or advise or consult) on the proposed project, 

without also naming any associated individuals, the name of each such 

organization also should be included on this list. Applicants should use the 

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

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

provide this list.

If the application (including the budget) identifies any proposed noncompetitive agreements that are or may be considered procurement 

"contracts" (rather than subawards) for purposes of federal grants 

administrative requirements the applicant also must list the entities with which 

the applicant proposes to contract. Applicants should provide this list as a 

separate sheet entitled "Proposed non-competitive procurement contracts."

For information on distinctions -- for purposes of federal grants administrative 

requirements -- between subawards and procurement contracts under 

awards, see “Budget and Associated Documentation,” below.

• Proposed project timeline and expected milestones

• 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 the applicant 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 

work funded under the NIJ award(s). (See “Goals, Objectives, Deliverables, 
 NIJ-2018-13682

23

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

above, for definition of “scholarly products.”) 

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

application has been submitted (if applicable)

• Applicants proposing to use incentives or stipends payments as part of their 

research project design, must submit an incentive or stipend approval 

request, as a separate document, according to the requirements set forth 

at https://www.nij.gov/funding/Pages/research-participant-costs-andincentives.aspx

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

(through special award conditions, that data sets resulting in whole or in part 

from projects funded under this solicitation be submitted for archiving with 

the 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. 

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 period of performance. 

• Letters of cooperation/support or administrative agreements from 

organizations collaborating in the project, such as law enforcement and 

correctional agencies (if applicable)

4. Budget and Associated Documentation

The Budget Detail Worksheet and the Budget Narrative are now combined in a single 

document collectively referred to as the Budget Detail Worksheet. The Budget Detail 

Worksheet is a user-friendly, fillable, Microsoft Excel-based document designed to calculate 

totals. Additionally, the Excel workbook contains worksheets for multiple budget years that 

can be completed as necessary. All applicants should use the Excel version when 

completing the proposed budget in an application, except in cases where the 

applicant does not have access to Microsoft Excel or experiences technical 

difficulties. If an applicant does not have access to Microsoft Excel or experiences 
 NIJ-2018-13682

24

technical difficulties with the Excel version, then the applicant should use the 508-compliant 

accessible Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) version.

Both versions of the Budget Detail Worksheet can be accessed 

at https://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Forms/BudgetDetailWorksheet.htm.

a. Budget Detail Worksheet 

The Budget Detail Worksheet should provide the detailed computation for each budget 

line item, listing the total cost of each and showing how it was calculated by the 

applicant. For example, costs for personnel should show the annual salary rate and the 

percentage of time devoted to the project for each employee paid with grant funds. The 

Budget Detail Worksheet should present a complete itemization of all proposed costs. 

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

see the DOJ Grants Financial Guide at https://ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/index.htm

b. Budget Narrative 

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). 

An applicant should demonstrate in its budget narrative how it will maximize cost 

effectiveness of award 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 budget narrative should be mathematically sound and correspond clearly 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 those costs are 

necessary 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 describe costs by year. 

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 Section 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.
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d. Information on Proposed Subawards (if any), as well as on Proposed Procurement 

Contracts (if any)

Applicants for OJP awards typically may propose to make subawards. Applicants also 

may propose to enter into procurement contracts under the award. 

Whether an action – for federal grants administrative purposes – is a subaward or 

procurement contract is a critical distinction as significantly different rules apply to 

subawards and procurement contracts. If a recipient enters into an agreement that is a 

subaward of an OJP award, specific rules apply – many of which are set by federal 

statutes and DOJ regulations; others by award conditions. These rules place particular 

responsibilities on an OJP recipient for any subawards the OJP recipient may make. The 

rules determine much of what the written subaward agreement itself must require or 

provide. The rules also determine much of what an OJP recipient must do both before 

and after it makes a subaward. If a recipient enters into an agreement that is a 

procurement contract under an OJP award, a substantially different set of federal rules 

applies.

OJP has developed the following guidance documents to help clarify the differences 

between subawards and procurement contracts under an OJP award and outline the 

compliance and reporting requirements for each. This information can be accessed 

online at https://ojp.gov/training/training.htm. 

• Subawards under OJP Awards and Procurement Contracts under Awards: A 

Toolkit for OJP Recipients.

• Checklist to Determine Subrecipient or Contractor Classification.

• Sole Source Justification Fact Sheet and Sole Source Review Checklist.

In general, the central question is the relationship between what the third-party will do 

under its agreement with the recipient and what the recipient has committed (to OJP) to 

do under its award to further a public purpose (e.g., services the recipient will provide, 

products it will develop or modify, research or evaluation it will conduct). If a third party 

will provide some of the services the recipient has committed (to OJP) to provide, will 

develop or modify all or part of a product the recipient has committed (to OJP) to 

develop or modify, or will conduct part of the research or evaluation the recipient has 

committed (to OJP) to conduct, OJP will consider the agreement with the third party a 

subaward for purposes of federal grants administrative requirements. 

This will be true even if the recipient, for internal or other non-federal purposes, labels or 

treats its agreement as a procurement, a contract, or a procurement contract. Neither 

the title nor the structure of an agreement determines whether the agreement -- for 

purposes of federal grants administrative requirements -- is a subaward or is instead a 

procurement contract under an award. The substance of the relationship should be given 

greater consideration than the form of agreement between the recipient and the outside 

entity.

1. Information on proposed subawards

A recipient of an OJP award may not make subawards ("subgrants") unless the recipient 

has specific federal authorization to do so. Unless an applicable statute or DOJ 
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26

regulation specifically authorizes (or requires) subawards, a recipient must have

authorization from OJP before it may make a subaward.

A particular subaward may be authorized by OJP because the recipient included a 

sufficiently-detailed description and justification of the proposed subaward in the 

Program Narrative, Budget Detail Worksheet, and Budget Narrative as approved by 

OJP. If, however, a particular subaward is not authorized by federal statute or regulation, 

and is not approved by OJP, the recipient will be required, post-award, to request and 

obtain written authorization from OJP before it may make the subaward.

If an applicant proposes to make one or more subawards to carry out the federal award 

and program, the applicant should -- (1) identify (if known) the proposed subrecipient(s), 

(2) describe in detail what each subrecipient will do to carry out the federal award and 

federal program, and (3) provide a justification for the subaward(s), with details on 

pertinent matters such as special qualifications and areas of expertise. Pertinent 

information on subawards should appear not only in the Program Narrative, but also in 

the Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative.

2. Information on proposed procurement contracts (with specific justification for 

proposed noncompetitive contracts over $150,000)

Unlike a recipient contemplating a subaward, a recipient of an OJP award generally 

does not need specific prior federal authorization to enter into an agreement that -- for 

purposes of federal grants administrative requirements -- is considered a procurement 

contract, provided that (1) the recipient uses its own documented procurement 

procedures and (2) those procedures conform to applicable federal law, including the 

Procurement Standards of the (DOJ) Part 200 Uniform Requirements (as set out at 2 

C.F.R. 200.317 - 200.326). The Budget Detail Worksheet and Budget Narrative should 

identify proposed procurement contracts. (As discussed above, subawards must be 

identified and described separately from procurement contracts.) 

The Procurement Standards in the Part 200 Uniform Requirements, however, reflect a 

general expectation that agreements that (for purposes of federal grants administrative 

requirements) constitute procurement “contracts” under awards will be entered into on 

the basis of full and open competition. All noncompetitive (sole source) procurement 

contracts must meet the OJP requirements outlined at 

https://ojp.gov/training/subawards-procurement.htm. If a proposed procurement contract 

would exceed the simplified acquisition threshold -- currently, $150,000 -- a recipient of 

an OJP award may not proceed without competition unless and until the recipient 

receives specific advance authorization from OJP to use a non-competitive approach for 

the procurement. An applicant that (at the time of its application) intends – without 

competition – to enter into a procurement contract that would exceed $150,000 should 

include a detailed justification that explains to OJP why, in the particular circumstances, 

it is appropriate to proceed without competition.

If the applicant receives an award, sole source procurements that do not exceed the 

Simplified Acquisition Threshold (currently $150,000) must have written justification for 

the noncompetitive procurement action maintained in the procurement file. If a 

procurement file does not have the documentation that meets the criteria outlined in 2 

C.F.R. 200, the procurement expenditures may not be allowable. Sole source 

procurement over the $150,000 Simplified Acquisition Threshold must have prior 
 NIJ-2018-13682

27

approval from OJP using a Sole Source Grant Adjustment Notice (GAN). Written 

documentation justifying the noncompetitive procurement must be submitted with the 

GAN and maintained in the procurement file.

e. Pre-Agreement Costs 

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

5. Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable) 

Indirect costs may be charged to an award only if: 

(a) The recipient has a current (unexpired), federally approved indirect cost rate; 

or

(b) The recipient is eligible to use, and elects to use, the “de minimis” indirect cost rate

described in the Part 200 Uniform Requirements, as set out at 2 C.F.R. 200.414(f). 

An applicant with a current (unexpired) federally-approved indirect cost rate is to attach a 

copy of the indirect cost rate agreement to the application. An applicant that does not have a

current federally-approved rate may request one through its cognizant federal agency, which 

will review all documentation and approve a rate for the applicant entity, or, if the applicant’s 

accounting system permits, applicants may propose to allocate costs in the direct cost 

categories. 

For assistance with identifying the appropriate cognizant federal agency for indirect costs, 

please contact the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) Customer Service Center at 

1-800-458-0786 or at ask.ocfo@usdoj.gov. If DOJ is the cognizant federal agency, an 

applicant may obtain information needed to submit an indirect cost rate proposal 

at https://www.ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/IndirectCosts.pdf. 

Certain OJP recipients have the option of electing to use the “de minimis” indirect cost rate. 

An applicant that is eligible to use the “de minimis” rate that wishes to use the "de minimis" 

rate should attach written documentation to the application that advises OJP of both -- (1) 

the applicant’s eligibility to use the “de minimis” rate, and (2) its election to do so. If an 

eligible applicant elects the “de minimis” rate, costs must be consistently charged as either 

indirect or direct costs, but may not be double charged or inconsistently charged as both. 

The "de minimis" rate may no longer be used once an approved federally-negotiated indirect 

cost rate is in place. (No entity that ever has had a federally-approved negotiated indirect 

cost rate is eligible to use the "de minimis" rate.) For additional eligibility requirements

please see Part 200 Uniform Requirements, as set out at https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/textidx?node=se2.1.200_1414&rgn=div8

6. Tribal Authorizing Resolution (if applicable)

A tribe, tribal organization, or third party that proposes to provide direct services or 

assistance to residents on tribal lands should include in its application a resolution, letter, 

affidavit, or other documentation, as appropriate, that demonstrates (as a legal matter) that 

the applicant has the requisite authorization from the tribe(s) to implement the proposed 

project on tribal lands. In those instances when an organization or consortium of tribes 

applies for an award 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 award. A consortium of tribes for which existing 

consortium bylaws allow action without support from all tribes in the consortium (i.e., without 
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28

an authorizing resolution or comparable legal documentation from each tribal governing 

body) may submit, instead, a copy of its consortium bylaws with the application.

7. Financial Management and System of Internal Controls Questionnaire (including 

applicant disclosure of high-risk status)

Every OJP applicant (other than an individual applying in his or her personal capacity) is 

required to download, complete, and submit the OJP Financial Management and System of 

Internal Controls Questionnaire (Questionnaire) 

at https://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/FinancialCapability.pdf as part of its application. 

The Questionnaire helps OJP assess the financial management and internal control 

systems, and the associated potential risks of an applicant as part of the pre-award risk 

assessment process.

The Questionnaire should only be completed by financial staff most familiar with the 

applicant's systems, policies, and procedures in order to ensure that the correct responses 

are recorded and submitted to OJP. The responses on the Questionnaire directly impact the 

pre-award risk assessment and should accurately reflect the applicant’s financial 

management and internal control system at the time of the application. The pre-award risk 

assessment is only one of multiple factors and criteria used in determining funding.

However, a pre-award risk assessment that indicates that an applicant poses a higher risk to 

OJP may affect the funding decision and/or result in additional reporting requirements, 

monitoring, special conditions, withholding of award funds, or other additional award 

requirements.

Among other things, the form requires each applicant to disclose whether it currently is 

designated “high risk” by a federal grant-making agency outside of DOJ. For purposes of 

this disclosure, high risk includes any status under which a federal awarding agency 

provides additional oversight due to the applicant’s past performance, or other programmatic 

or financial concerns with the applicant. If an applicant is designated high risk by another 

federal awarding agency, the applicant must provide the following information:

• The federal awarding agency that currently designates the applicant high risk. 

• The date the applicant was designated high risk. 

• The high-risk point of contact at that federal awarding agency (name, phone number, 

and email address). 

• The reasons for the high-risk status, as set out by the federal awarding agency. 

OJP seeks this information to help ensure appropriate federal oversight of OJP awards. An 

applicant that is considered “high-risk” by another federal awarding agency is not 

automatically disqualified from receiving an OJP award. OJP may, however, consider the 

information in award decisions, and may impose additional OJP oversight of any award 

under this solicitation (including through the conditions that accompany the award 

document).
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8. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

Each applicant must complete and submit this information. An applicant that expends any 

funds for lobbying activities is to provide all of the information requested on the form 

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) posted 

at https://ojp.gov/funding/Apply/Resources/Disclosure.pdf. An applicant that does not 

expend any funds for lobbying activities is to enter “N/A” in the text boxes for item 10 (“a. 

Name and Address of Lobbying Registrant” and “b. Individuals Performing Services”).

9. Additional Attachments

a. Applicant disclosure of pending applications22

Each applicant is to disclose whether it has (or is proposed as a subrecipient under) any 

pending applications for federally-funded grants or cooperative agreements that (1) 

include requests for funding to support the same project being proposed in the 

application under this solicitation, and (2) would cover the identical cost items outlined in 

the budget submitted to OJP under this solicitation. The applicant is to disclose both 

applications made directly to federal awarding agencies, and also applications for 

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

(“subgrant”) federal funds).

OJP seeks this information to help avoid 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.

Each applicant that has one or more pending applications as described above is 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 federal or State funding agency

SAMPLE

 

22 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.

Federal or State 

Funding Agency 

Solicitation 

Name/Project 

Name

Name/Phone/E-mail for Point of Contact 

at Federal or State Funding Agency

DOJ/Office of 

Community 

Oriented Policing 

Services (COPS)

COPS Hiring 

Program 

Jane Doe, 202/000-0000; 

jane.doe@usdoj.gov

Health and Human 

Services/ 

Substance Abuse 

and Mental Health 

Services 

Administration

Drug-Free 

Communities 

Mentoring 

Program/North 

County Youth 

Mentoring Program

John Doe, 202/000-0000; john.doe@hhs.gov
 NIJ-2018-13682

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Each applicant should include the table as a separate attachment to its application. The 

file should be named “Disclosure of Pending Applications.” The applicant’s Legal Name 

on the application must match the entity named on the disclosure of pending 

applications statement.

Any applicant that does not have any pending applications as described above is to

submit, as a separate attachment, a statement to this effect: “[Applicant Name on SF424] does not have (and is not proposed as a subrecipient under) any pending 

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

cooperative agreements or for subawards under federal grants or cooperative 

agreements) that request funding to support the same project being proposed in this

application to OJP and that would cover the identical cost items outlined in the budget 

submitted as part of this application.”

b. Research and Evaluation Independence and Integrity

When an application proposes research (including research and development) and/or 

evaluation, the applicant must demonstrate research/evaluation independence and 

integrity, including appropriate safeguards, before it may receive award funds. The 

applicant must demonstrate independence and integrity regarding both this proposed 

research and/or evaluation, and any current or prior related projects.

Each application should include an attachment that addresses both i. and ii. below.

i. For purposes of this solicitation, each applicant is to document research and 

evaluation independence and integrity by including one of the following two items:

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

any actual or potential apparent conflicts of interest (including through review 

of pertinent information on the principal investigator, any co-principal 

investigators, and any subrecipients), and that the applicant has identified no 

such conflicts of interest – whether personal or financial or organizational 

(including on the part of the applicant entity or on the part of staff, 

investigators, or subrecipients) – that could affect the independence or 

integrity of the research, including the design, conduct, and reporting of the 

research.

OR

b. A specific description of actual or potential apparent conflicts of interest that 

the applicant has identified – including through review of pertinent information 

on the principal investigator, any co-principal investigators, and any 

subrecipients – that could affect the independence or integrity of the 

research, including the design, conduct, or reporting of the research. These 

conflicts may be personal (e.g., on the part of investigators or other staff), 

financial, or organizational (related to the applicant or any subrecipient entity). 

Some examples of potential investigator (or other personal) conflict situations 

are 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 would not be given an award to 
 NIJ-2018-13682

31

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), because the organization 

in such an instance might 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, each applicant is to address 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 actual or potential apparent 

conflicts of interest (personal, financial, or organizational) exist, then the 

applicant should provide a brief narrative explanation of how and why it 

reached that conclusion. The applicant also is to include an explanation of the 

specific processes and procedures that the applicant has in place, or will put 

in place, to identify and prevent (or, at the very least, mitigate) any such 

conflicts of interest pertinent to the funded project during the period of 

performance. Documentation that may be helpful in this regard may include 

organizational codes of ethics/conduct and policies regarding organizational, 

personal, and financial conflicts of interest. There is no guarantee that the 

plan, if any, will be accepted as proposed.

OR

b. If the applicant has identified actual or potential apparent conflicts of interest 

(personal, financial, or organizational) that could affect the independence and 

integrity of the research, including the design, conduct, or reporting of the 

research, the applicant is to provide a specific and robust mitigation plan to 

address each of those conflicts. At a minimum, the applicant is expected to 

explain the specific processes and procedures that the applicant has in place, 

or will put in place, to identify and eliminate (or, at the very least, mitigate) 

any such conflicts of interest pertinent to the funded project during the period 

of performance. Documentation that may be helpful in this regard may 

include organizational codes of ethics/conduct and policies regarding 

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

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

OJP will assess research and evaluation independence and integrity based on 

considerations such as the adequacy of the applicant’s efforts to identify factors that 

could affect the objectivity or integrity of the proposed staff and/or the applicant entity 

(and any subrecipients) 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.
 NIJ-2018-13682

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 NIJ-2018-13682

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How to Apply

Applicants must register in and submit applications through Grants.gov, a primary source to find 

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

register and submit an application at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html.

Applicants that experience technical difficulties during this process should call the Grants.gov 

Customer Support Hotline at 800-518-4726 or 606–545–5035, which operates 24 hours a day, 7 

days a week, except on federal holidays.

Important Grants.gov update. Grants.gov has updated its application tool. The legacy PDF 

application package has been phased out and was retired on December 31, 2017. Grants.gov 

Workspace is now the standard application method for applying for grants. OJP applicants 

should familiarize themselves with the Workspace option now. For complete information and 

instructions on using Workspace (and other changes), go to the Workspace Overview page 

at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html. 

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 of registration

and a user password. OJP encourages applicants to register several weeks before the 

application submission deadline. In addition, OJP urges applicants to submit applications at 

least 72 hours prior to the application due date, in order to allow time for the applicant 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.

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

regarding this solicitation at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/manage-subscriptions.html. If 

this solicitation is cancelled or modified, individuals who sign up with Grants.gov for updates will 

be automatically notified.

Browser Information: Grants.gov was built to be compatible with Internet Explorer. For 

technical assistance with Google Chrome, or another browser, contact Grants.gov Customer 

Support.

Note on Attachments. Grants.gov has two categories of files for attachments: “mandatory” and 

“optional.” OJP receives all files attached in both categories. Attachments are also labeled to 

describe the file being attached (e.g., Project Narrative, Budget Narrative, Other, etc.) Please 

ensure that all required documents are attached in the correct Grants.gov category and are 

labeled correctly. Do not embed “mandatory” attachments within another file. 

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

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

in the table below. Grants.gov rejects any application that includes an attachment(s) with a file 

name that contains any characters not shown in the table below. Grants.gov forwards 

successfully-submitted applications to the OJP Grants Management System (GMS).

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.
 NIJ-2018-13682

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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: 

Unique Entity Identifier (DUNS Number) and System for Award Management (SAM)

Every applicant entity must comply with all applicable System for Award Management (SAM) 

and unique entity identifier (currently, a Data Universal Numbering System [DUNS] number) 

requirements. SAM is the repository for certain standard information about federal financial 

assistance applicants, recipients, and subrecipients. A DUNS number is a unique nine-digit 

identification number provided by the commercial company Dun and Bradstreet. More detailed 

information about SAM and the DUNS number is in the numbered sections below.

If an applicant entity has not fully complied with the applicable SAM and unique identifier 

requirements by the time OJP makes award decisions, OJP may determine that the applicant is 

not qualified to receive an award and may use that determination as a basis for making the 

award to a different applicant.

Applying as an Individual

An individual who wishes to apply in his/her personal capacity should search Grants.gov for 

funding opportunities for which individuals are eligible to apply. Use the Funding Opportunity 

Number (FON) to register. (An applicant applying as an individual must comply with all 

applicable Grants.gov individual registration requirements.)

Enter the FON at https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/IndCPRegister to complete the registration 

form and create a username and password for Grants.gov. (An applicant applying as an 

individual should complete all steps except 1, 2 and 4.)

Registration and Submission Steps

1. Acquire a unique entity identifier (currently, a DUNS number). In general, the Office of 

Management and Budget requires every applicant for a federal award (other than an 

individual) to include a "unique entity identifier" in each application, including an application 

for a supplemental award. Currently, a DUNS number is the required unique entity identifier.

This unique entity identifier is used for tracking purposes, and to validate address and point 

of contact information for applicants, recipients, and subrecipients. It will be used throughout 

the life cycle of an OJP award. 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 https://www.dnb.com. A DUNS number is usually received within 1-2 business days.

2. Acquire or maintain registration with SAM. All applicants for OJP awards (other than 

individuals) must maintain current registrations in the SAM database. Applicants will need 

the authorizing official of the organization and an Employer Identification Number (EIN). An 

applicant must be registered in SAM to successfully register in Grants.gov. Each applicant 

must update or renew its SAM registration at least annually to maintain an active status. 
 NIJ-2018-13682

35

SAM registration and renewal can take as long as 10 business days to complete (2 more 

weeks to acquire an EIN).

An application cannot be successfully submitted in Grants.gov until Grants.gov receives the 

SAM registration information. Once the SAM registration/renewal is complete, the 

information transfer from SAM to Grants.gov can take as long as 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. An applicant entity’s "unique entity identifier" (DUNS number) must be used

to complete this step. For more information about the registration process for organizations

and other entities, go to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organizationregistration.html. Individuals registering with Grants.gov should go

to www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/registration.html.

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. The E-Biz POC will need the Marketing Partner Identification

Number (MPIN) password obtained when registering with SAM to complete this step. 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 (CFDA) number for this solicitation is16.560; National Institute

of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants and the funding

opportunity number is NIJ-2018-13682.

6. Access Opportunity and Application Package from Grants.gov. Select “Apply for

Grants” under the “Applicants” column. Enter your email address to be notified of any

changes to the opportunity package before the closing date. Click the Workspace icon to use

Grants.gov Workspace.

7. 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. The second will state whether the application has been validated and

successfully submitted, or whether it has been 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 an application well ahead

of the deadline provides time to correct the problem(s) that caused the rejection. Important:

OJP urges each applicant to submit its application 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. Applications must be successfully submitted through Grants.gov by

11:59 p.m. eastern time on April 25, 2018.

Click https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/organization-registration.html for further 

details on DUNS numbers, SAM, and Grants.gov registration steps and timeframes.
 NIJ-2018-13682

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Note: Application Versions 

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

recent system-validated version submitted. 

Experiencing Unforeseen Grants.gov Technical Issues

An applicant that experiences unforeseen Grants.gov technical issues beyond its control that 

prevent it from submitting its application by the deadline must contact the Grants.gov Customer 

Support Hotline at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html or the SAM Help Desk

(Federal Service Desk) at https://www.fsd.gov/fsd-gov/home.do to report the technical issue and 

receive a tracking number. The applicant must e-mail the NIJ contact identified in the Contact 

Information section on the title page within 24 hours after the application deadline to request 

approval to submit its application after the deadline. The applicant’s e-mail must describe the 

technical difficulties, and must 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: OJP does not automatically approve requests to submit a late application. After 

OJP reviews the applicant’s request, and contacts the Grants.gov or SAM Help Desks to verify 

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 untimely application 

submission was due to the applicant’s failure to follow all required procedures, OJP will deny the 

applicant’s request to submit its application.

The following conditions generally are insufficient to justify late submissions:

• Failure to register in SAM or Grants.gov in sufficient time (SAM registration and renewal 

can take as long as 10 business days to complete. The information transfer from SAM to 

Grants.gov can take up to 48 hours.)

• 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, 

such as issues with firewalls or browser incompatibility

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

the top of the OJP Funding Resource Center at https://ojp.gov/funding/index.htm. 

E. Application Review Information

Review Criteria

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

the following review criteria. Each individual criterion is assigned a different weight based on the 

percentage value listed. For example, the first criterion, Statement of the Problem, is worth 15 

percent of the score in the assessment of the application’s technical merit.
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Statement of the Problem and Research Questions (Understanding of the problem, research 

questions, and their importance) – 15% 

1. Demonstrated understanding of the problem.

2. Demonstrated importance of research questions, goals, and objectives, including 

alignment with the aims of the solicitation. 

3. Demonstrated awareness of the state of current research. 

4. Demonstrated awareness of relevant tools, protocols, practices, and/or policies.

Project Design and Implementation (Quality and technical merit) – 50% 

1. Soundness of methods and analytic and technical approach to addressing the stated 

aim(s) of the proposed project. 

2. Feasibility of proposed project.

3. Awareness of potential pitfalls of proposed project design and feasibility of proposed 

actions to minimize and/or mitigate them.

4. Feasibility of completing the deliverables noted in the solicitation.

5. Cultural competence in addressing regional, racial/ethnic, language, and other diversity 

issues in proposed research protocol, as relevant.

Potential Impact – 10% 

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

justice in the United States, such as: 

1. Potential for significantly improved understanding of the stated criminal/juvenile justice 

problem.

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

criminal/juvenile justice problem

3. Potential relevance of findings to small, rural, and/or tribal jurisdictions.

4. Potential research to result in knowledge and tools that have value to other jurisdictions 

for a national impact.

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

applicant organization and proposed project staff) – 25% 

1. Qualifications and experience of proposed project staff (that is, the principal investigator, 

any and all co-principal investigators, and all other individuals (and organizations)

identified in the application (regardless of “investigator” status) who will be significantly 

involved in substantive aspects of the proposed project). 
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2. Demonstrated ability of the applicant organization to implement the proposed strategies 

and manage the effort.

3. Relationship between the capabilities/competencies of the proposed project staff 

(including the applicant organization) and the scope and strategies of the proposed 

project.

4. Necessary information, staff, and other resource access documented by a letter of 

commitment for each partnering agency.

5. Clearly specified role and projected level of effort for each research team member (staff, 

contractor, consultant, agency partner, etc.) regardless of compensation.

6. Potential conflict of interest clearly addressed if any research team member may benefit 

financially from, or is/was involved in the development of, what is being researched.

Budget 

In addition, 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. Alignment of the proposed budget with proposed project activities

5. Proposed plan (if any) to produce or to make available to broader interested audiences, 

such as criminal/juvenile justice practitioners or policymakers, summary information from 

the planned scholarly products of the project.

Plan for Dissemination to Broader Audiences (if applicable to the proposed project) 

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

plan (if any) to produce or to make available to broader interested audiences, such as 

criminal/juvenile justice practitioners or policymakers, summary information from the planned 

scholarly products of the project. 

Review Process

OJP is committed to ensuring a fair and open process for making awards. 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. For purposes of assessing whether an application meets basic 

minimum requirements and should proceed to further consideration, OJP screens applications 
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for compliance with those requirements. Although specific requirements may vary, the following 

are common requirements applicable to all solicitations for funding under OJP programs:

• The application must be submitted by an eligible type of applicant. 

• The application must request funding within programmatic funding constraints (if 

applicable). 

• The application must be responsive to the scope of the solicitation. 

• The application must include all items designated as “critical elements.” 

• The applicant must not be identified in SAM as excluded from receiving federal 

awards. 

For a list of the critical elements for this solicitation, see “What an Application Should Include” 

under Section D. Application and Submission Information.

Peer review panels will evaluate, score, and rate applications that meet basic minimum 

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

to assess applications on technical merit using the solicitation’s review criteria. 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. Peer reviewers’ ratings and any resulting 

recommendations are advisory only, although reviewer views are considered carefully. Other 

important considerations for NIJ include geographic diversity, strategic priorities, and available 

funding, as well as the planned scholarly products and the extent to which the Budget Detail 

Worksheet and Budget Narrative accurately explain project costs that are reasonable, 

necessary, and otherwise allowable under federal law and applicable federal cost principles.

Pursuant to the Part 200 Uniform Requirements, before award decisions are made, OJP also

reviews information related to the degree of risk posed by applicants. Among other things to 

help assess whether an applicant that has one or more prior federal awards has a satisfactory 

record with respect to performance, integrity, and business ethics, OJP checks whether the 

applicant is listed in SAM as excluded from receiving a federal award. In addition, if OJP 

anticipates that an award will exceed $150,000 in federal funds, OJP also must review and 

consider any information about the applicant that appears in the non-public segment of the 

integrity and performance system accessible through SAM (currently, the Federal Awardee 

Performance and Integrity Information System; "FAPIIS"). 

Important note on FAPIIS: An applicant, at its option, may review and comment on any 

information about itself that currently appears in FAPIIS and was entered by a federal awarding 

agency. OJP will consider any such comments by the applicant, in addition to the other 

information in FAPIIS, in its assessment of the risk posed by the applicant. 

The evaluation of risks goes beyond information in SAM, however. OJP itself has in place a 

framework for evaluating risks posed by applicants for competitive awards. OJP takes into 

account information pertinent to matters such as -- 
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1. Applicant financial stability and fiscal integrity

2. Quality of the applicant’s management systems, and applicant’s ability to meet

prescribed management standards, including those outlined in the DOJ Grants Financial

Guide

3. Applicant’s history of performance under OJP and other DOJ awards (including scholarly

products, and compliance with reporting requirements and award conditions), as well as

awards from other federal agencies

4. Reports and findings from audits of the applicant, including audits under the Part 200

Uniform Requirements

5. Applicant's ability to comply with statutory and regulatory requirements, and to effectively

implement other award requirements

All final award decisions will be made by the Director of the National Institute of Justice, who 

may take into account not only peer review ratings and NIJ recommendations, but also other

factors as indicated in this section. The NIJ Director may also take into consideration whether

the principal investigator is new to his or her career and new to NIJ’s research grant portfolios, 

and meets the criteria outlined on page 10 of this solicitation.

F. Federal Award Administration Information

Federal Award Notices

Award notifications will be made by September 30, 2018. OJP sends award notifications by 

email through GMS to the individuals listed in the application as the point of contact and the 

authorizing official (E-Biz POC and AOR). The email notification includes detailed instructions

on how to access and view the award documents, and steps to take in GMS to start the award 

acceptance process. GMS automatically issues the notifications at 9:00 p.m. eastern time on 

the award date. 

For each successful applicant, an individual with the necessary authority to bind the applicant 

will be required to login; execute a set of legal certifications and a set of legal assurances; 

designate a financial point of contact; thoroughly review the award, including all award 

conditions; and sign and accept the award. The award acceptance process requires physical

signature of the award document by the authorized representative and the scanning and 

submission of the fully-executed 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 OJPapproved application, the recipient must comply with all award conditions, as well as all

applicable requirements of federal statutes and regulations (including applicable requirements

referred to in the assurances and certifications executed in connection with award acceptance).

OJP strongly encourages prospective applicants to review information on post-award legal

requirements and common OJP award conditions prior to submitting an application.

Applicants should consult the “Overview of Legal Requirements Generally Applicable to OJP

Grants and Cooperative Agreements - FY 2018 Awards”, available in the OJP Funding 

Resource Center at https://ojp.gov/funding/index.htm. In addition, applicants should examine the 
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following two legal documents, as each successful applicant must execute both documents 

before it may receive any award funds. (An applicant is not required to submit these documents 

as part of an application.)

• Certifications Regarding Lobbying; Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility

Matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements

• Certified Standard Assurances

The webpages accessible through the “Overview of Legal Requirements Generally Applicable 

to OJP Grants and Cooperative Agreements - FY 2018 Awards” are intended to give applicants 

for OJP awards a general overview of important statutes, regulations, and award conditions that 

apply to many (or in some cases, all) OJP grants and cooperative agreements awarded in FY 

2018. Individual OJP awards typically also will include additional award conditions. Those 

additional conditions may relate to the particular statute, program, or solicitation under which the 

award is made; to the substance of the funded application; to the recipient's performance under 

other federal awards; to the recipient's legal status (e.g., as a for-profit entity); or to other 

pertinent considerations. 

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

cooperative agreement. Cooperative agreements include a condition in the award document 

that sets out the nature of the “substantial federal involvement” in carrying out the award and 

program. Generally stated, under OJP cooperative agreement awards, responsibility for the

day-to-day conduct of the funded project rests with the recipient. OJP, however, may have 

substantial involvement in matters such as substantive coordination of technical efforts and site

selection, as well as review and approval of project work plans, research designs, data 

collection instruments, and major project-generated materials. In addition, OJP often indicates in 

the award terms and conditions that it may redirect the project if necessary.

In addition to an award condition that sets out the nature of the anticipated “substantial federal

involvement” in the award, cooperative agreements awarded by OJP include an award condition 

the requires specific reporting in connection with conferences, meetings, retreats, seminars, 

symposium, training activities, or similar events funded under the award.

General Information about Post-Federal Award Reporting Requirements

In addition to the deliverables and expected scholarly products described in Section A. Program

Description, any recipient of an award under this solicitation will be required to submit the 

following reports and data.

Required reports. Recipients typically must submit quarterly financial reports, semi-annual

progress reports, final financial and progress reports, and, if applicable, an annual audit report in

accordance with the Part 200 Uniform Requirements or specific award conditions. 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. (In appropriate cases, OJP may require additional

reports.)
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Awards that exceed $500,000 will include an additional condition that, under specific 

circumstances, will require the recipient to report (to FAPIIS) information on civil, criminal, and 

administrative proceedings connected with (or connected to the performance of) either the OJP 

award or any other grant, cooperative agreement, or procurement contract from the federal 

government. Additional information on this reporting requirement appears in the text of the

award condition posted on the OJP webpage at https://ojp.gov/funding/FAPIIS.htm.

Data on performance measures. In addition to required reports, an award recipient under this 

solicitation also must provide data that measure the results of the work done under the award. 

To demonstrate program progress and success, as well as to assist DOJ 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, OJP will require 

any award recipient, post award, to provide performance data listed as part of regular progress 

reporting. Successful applicants will be required to access OJP’s performance measurement 

page at www.ojp.gov/performance to view the specific reporting requirements for this grant 

program.

G. Federal Awarding Agency Contact(s)

For questions directed to the Federal Awarding Agency, see NCJRS contact information on the 

title page. 

For contact information for Grants.gov, see the title page. 

H. Other Information

Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552 and 5 U.S.C. 552a) 

All applications submitted to OJP (including all attachments to applications) are subject to the 

federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and to the Privacy Act. By law, DOJ may withhold 

information that is responsive to a request pursuant to FOIA if DOJ determines that the 

responsive information either is protected under the Privacy Act or falls within the scope of one 

of nine statutory exemptions under FOIA. DOJ cannot agree in advance of a request pursuant 

to FOIA not to release some or all portions of an application.

In its review of records that are responsive to a FOIA request, OJP will withhold information in 

those records that plainly falls within the scope of the Privacy Act or one of the statutory 

exemptions under FOIA. (Some examples include certain types of information in budgets, and 

names and contact information for project staff other than certain key personnel.) In appropriate 

circumstances, OJP will request the views of the applicant/recipient that submitted a responsive 

document.

For example, if OJP receives a request pursuant to FOIA for an application submitted by a 

nonprofit or for-profit organization or an institution of higher education, or for an application that 

involves research, OJP typically will contact the applicant/recipient that submitted the 

application and ask it to identify -- quite precisely -- any particular information in the application 

that the applicant/recipient believes falls under a FOIA exemption, the specific exemption it 

believes applies, and why. After considering the submission by the applicant/recipient, OJP 

makes an independent assessment regarding withholding information. OJP generally follows a 
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similar process for requests pursuant to FOIA for applications that may contain law-enforcement 

sensitive information.

Provide Feedback to OJP

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

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

review process. Provide feedback to OJPSolicitationFeedback@usdoj.gov.

IMPORTANT: This e-mail is for feedback and suggestions only. OJP does not send replies from 

this mailbox to messages it receives in this mailbox. Any prospective applicant that has specific 

questions on any program or technical aspect of the solicitation must use the appropriate 

telephone number or e-mail listed on the front of this solicitation document to obtain information. 

These contacts are provided to help ensure that prospective applicants can directly reach an 

individual who can address 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@l-secb.com. (Do not send your resume to the OJP Solicitation 

Feedback email account.) Note: Neither you nor anyone else from your organization or entity 

can be a peer reviewer in a competition in which you or your organization/entity has submitted 

an application.
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Application Checklist

NIJ Research and Evaluation on Drugs and Crime FY 2018

This application checklist has been created as an aid in developing an application.

What an Applicant Should Do:

Prior to Registering in Grants.gov:

_____ Acquire a DUNS Number (see page 34) 

_____ Acquire or renew registration with SAM (see page 34) 

To Register with Grants.gov: 

_____ Acquire AOR and Grants.gov username/password (see page 35) 

_____ Acquire AOR confirmation from the E-Biz POC (see page 35) 

To Find Funding Opportunity:

_____ Search for the funding opportunity on Grants.gov (see page 35) 

_____ Access Funding Opportunity and Application Package (see page 35) 

_____ Sign up for Grants.gov email notifications (optional) (see page 33) 

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

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

available at ojp.gov/financialguide/DOJ/PostawardRequirements/chapter3.10a.htm

(see page 17) 

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 35) 

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

_____ Please refer to the section: Experiencing Unforeseen Grants.gov Technical Issues (see 

page 36) 

Overview of Post-Award Legal Requirements: 

_____ Review the Overview of Legal Requirements Generally Applicable to OJP Grants and

Cooperative Agreements - FY 2018 Awards in the OJP Funding Resource Center 

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

Scope Requirement:

_____ The federal amount requested is within the allowable limit(s). 

Eligibility Requirement: See cover page.

What an Application Should Include:

_____ Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) (see page 18) 

_____ Project Abstract (if applicable) (see page 19) 

_____ Program Narrative (critical element) (see page 19) 

_____ Budget Detail Worksheet (critical element) (see page 24)

_____ Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (if applicable) (see page 27)

_____ Tribal Authorizing Resolution (if applicable) (see page 27)

_____ Financial Management and System of Internal Controls Questionnaire
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 (see page 28)

_____ Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) (see page 29)

_____ Additional Attachments 

_____ Applicant Disclosure of Pending Applications (see page 29)

_____ Curriculum vitae or resume (critical element) (see page 21) 

_____ Research and Evaluation Independence and Integrity

 (see page 30) 

_____ Request and Justification for Employee Compensation; Waiver (if applicable)

 (see page 16)