NIJ FY23 Research and Evaluation on Trafficking in Persons | O NIJ 2023 171574

Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2023 171574

The NIJ FY23 Research and Evaluation on Trafficking in Persons opportunity is a discretionary, research-focused cooperative agreement offered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) within the Office of Justice Programs, in collaboration with the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). The purpose is to strengthen the U.S. response to trafficking in persons by funding studies and evaluations that produce practical, actionable findings for criminal justice policy and practice. The solicitation is framed around broader DOJ priorities that include advancing civil rights and racial equity, improving access to justice, supporting victims and justice-involved individuals, strengthening community safety, and building trust between law enforcement and communities.

Projects must fit squarely within one of three allowable topical areas, and proposals outside these areas are explicitly not eligible for consideration. The three topics are: (1) research and evaluation on human trafficking victim assistance and service provision, with an emphasis on understanding what services are delivered, how they are delivered, barriers to access, effectiveness, and how systems can better support survivors; (2) research on forced criminality, meaning situations where people experiencing trafficking are compelled to commit crimes and then become entangled in the justice system, including how identification, charging decisions, diversion, and victim recognition may affect outcomes; and (3) human trafficking prevalence estimation, focused on improving methods to estimate how common trafficking is, recognizing that trafficking is often hidden and difficult to measure. Across all three areas, NIJ is looking for work that clearly translates into improvements in real-world criminal justice decision-making, protocols, and practice.

A major emphasis of the solicitation is meaningful engagement with people who have lived experience relevant to the study topic. NIJ indicates it will give special consideration to proposals that build this engagement into the research design, whether through survivor-informed approaches, practitioner collaboration, community participation, or partnerships with service providers and justice-system stakeholders. Applicants are also encouraged to use multidisciplinary teams, combining complementary expertise (for example, criminal justice, public health, social work, statistics, economics, qualitative methods, and program evaluation) to strengthen both rigor and relevance. In addition, NIJ expects applicants to consider and measure issues tied to diversity, discrimination, and bias when applicable, including differences and disparities across age, gender and gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation.

For projects that involve partnerships with criminal justice agencies or other organizations, the application should include letters of support signed by appropriate decision-making authorities from each partner agency. These letters are not just general endorsements; they must also acknowledge a core award condition related to data archiving. Specifically, de-identified data created, used, or obtained through the NIJ-funded project must be archived with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) at the end of the award. NIJ encourages applicants and partners to review its data archiving guidance early so expectations about privacy, de-identification, and data deliverables are addressed upfront. If funded, awardees are expected to have formal agreements in place with partner agencies by January 1, 2024, and those agreements must include provisions that enable compliance with the NACJD archiving requirement.

Another defining feature of the opportunity is an unusually strong push for dissemination that drives real change. NIJ is asking for robust, creative, multi-pronged dissemination plans that go beyond academic publications and include strategic partnerships with organizations and associations positioned to influence policy and practice. The goal is to make sure findings reach the practitioners, agencies, and stakeholder networks that can actually implement them. NIJ will give special consideration to proposals that allocate at least 15 percent of the requested project funds to support dissemination activities, and applicants are expected to clearly show this commitment in both the budget worksheet and the budget narrative.

Administratively, this is a cooperative agreement under CFDA 16.560, meaning NIJ typically expects an active role in coordination and oversight compared to a standard grant. Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and city governments; tribal governments and tribal organizations; public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; public housing authorities; for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number O-NIJ-2023-171574) was released on February 7, 2023, with an original closing date of April 24, 2023. The listed award ceiling is $2,000,000. For multi-entity partnerships using federal funds, only one organization can apply as the primary applicant; any additional entities must be included as subrecipients, and the primary applicant is expected to conduct the majority of the proposed work.

Overall, the solicitation is designed for research teams that can combine methodological rigor with strong applied value, demonstrate credible and ethical engagement with affected communities and practitioners, plan early for data stewardship and archiving, and invest in dissemination strategies that can realistically move evidence into policy and day-to-day practice in the U.S. anti-trafficking and criminal justice landscape.

• The National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY23 Research and Evaluation on Trafficking in Persons" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-02-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-04-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for O NIJ 2023 171574

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