Guidance for Applicants and Awardees

On this page, learn all about applying for and managing funding from NIJ.

• What NIJ Funds
• Find a Funding Opportunity
• What to Do Before You Apply
• Building Your Proposal
  • Sample Applications
• Submitting Your Application
• Application Review and Award Notification
• If Your Proposal Is Funded
  • Managing Your Funding

What NIJ Funds

NIJ awards grants and agreements for:

• Research, development and evaluation (CFDA 16.560). NIJ funds physical and social science research, development and evaluation projects about criminal justice through competitive solicitations. The focus of the solicitations varies from year-to-year based on research priorities and available funding.
• Research fellowships. NIJ strengthens and broadens the pool of researchers looking at criminal justice issues through fostering various fellowship programs which provide opportunities to the researcher community. Learn more about NIJ's fellowship programs.

NIJ does not fund proposals primarily to purchase equipment, materials or supplies, or to provide direct services.

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Find a Funding Opportunity

Look for current funding opportunities:

• NIJ's open solicitations.
• OJP-wide open solicitations.

You also can:

• Review a list of forthcoming solicitations from NIJ.
• Sign up for an e-mail update whenever we release a new solicitation.

Unsolicited Proposals. Although you may submit unsolicited proposals, you are discouraged from doing so unless you have discussed the concept with NIJ staff and been asked to submit a proposal that does not fit into a specific solicitation. Unsolicited proposals may receive either an external peer review or an internal review. If the proposal fits into an already established solicitation category, it will be returned with a recommendation to resubmit it under that solicitation.

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What to Do Before You Apply

Get registered! If you are interested in receiving OJP funding, get registered on Grants.gov and in the System for Awards Management, and do it soon. You cannot submit any OJP applications until you do. Registration, especially with Grants.gov, may take approximately 3-5 business days. OJP strongly encourages applicants to start registration as soon as possible. Learn more from OJP's Grants 101.

Read the materials. Familiarize yourself with NIJ and OJP grants and related requirements. Read the solicitation carefully for specific requirements and review:

• OJP Grant Application Resource Guide
• NIJ's Frequently Asked Funding Questions
• The Financial Guide
• Human Subjects and Privacy Protection Information

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Build Your Proposal

Although Grants.gov and JustGrants require you to submit application packages online, which includes filling out several online forms, you will still need to write the bulk of your proposal in a word processing application.

Write the Program Narrative. The Program Narrative includes an abstract, table of contents, main body and appendixes that provide details about your proposed project. Each solicitation defines the page limit for the main body of the program narrative.

For further guidance, see:

• NIJ Funding FAQs (see the About the Program Narrative section)
• NIJ Project Abstract template
• Grants 101 — Write the Proposal

Develop your budget. Although the degree of specificity of any budget will vary depending on the nature of the project and OJP agency requirements, a complete, well-thought-out budget serves to reinforce your credibility and increase the likelihood of your proposal being funded. Your application must include both a budget narrative and a budget detail worksheet (we strongly recommend that you use the Budget Detail Worksheet).

For further information, review:

• The "Financial Guide" for allowable costs.
• NIJ's Funding FAQs (see the About the Budget section)
• Grants 101 — Develop a Budget

Sample Applications

View sample applications from:

• Research and evaluation project (pdf, 48 pages).
• The Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants Program (pdf, 26 pages).

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Submit Your Application

Once you have written a grant proposal, you must complete the application package and submit it online.

In FY 2021, applications will be submitted to DOJ in a new two-step process.

Step 1: Applicants will submit an SF-424 and an SF-LLL in Grants.gov at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html. To register in Grants.gov, applicants will need to obtain a Data Universal Numeric System (DUNS) and System of Award Management (SAM) registration or renewal.

Step 2: Applicants will submit the full application including attachments in JustGrants at JustGrants.usdoj.gov.

• Program Narrative.
• Program Budget.
• Budget Narrative.
• Resumes or Curriculum Vitae of Key Personnel, if referred to in the solicitation.
• Tribal Resolution, if applicable.

Learn more about how to submit your application from:

• OJP Grant Application Resource Guide
• Grants.gov Applicant Resources

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Application Review and Award Notification

How your application will be reviewed. All proposals are reviewed by independent peer review panels consisting of both researchers and practitioners. Panel members read each proposal, assess the technical merits and policy relevance of the proposed research, and typically meet to discuss their assessments. Panelists are asked to base their reviews on criteria set forth in the solicitation. The panel assessments and any accompanying NIJ staff reports are submitted to the NIJ Director. All final grant award decisions are made by the Assistant Attorney General or the NIJ Director. Learn more about proposal review.

Interested in becoming a peer reviewer for NIJ? Learn how.

Award notification. If you are a successful applicant and your project is selected for funding, NIJ will notify you of the award no later than September 30 of the calendar year. If you are unsuccessful, NIJ will issue you a rejection letter by December 30 of the calendar year.

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If Your Proposal Is Funded

If your proposals is funded, you should carefully read each of the following:

• Award package and special conditions.
• OJP Postaward Requirements (pdf, 32 pages), provides step-by-step guidance on what you must do and what you should review to successfully accept your award.
• The DOJ Grants Financial Guide, the primary reference manual for award recipients. Contains compilations of laws, rules and regulations that affect the financial and administrative management of awards.
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations and implementation guidance.

Managing Your Funding

Different NIJ grant programs have different post-award reporting requirements and special conditions. See Research, Development, and Evaluation Grant Award Requirements.

If you are unsure which deliverable requirements apply to your award, please contact the assigned grant manager.

We also recommend you review the available training on accepting and managing awards in JustGrants.

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