Research and Evaluation of Promising Reentry Initiatives, Fiscal Year 2020 | NIJ 2020 17295

Opportunity Information: Apply for NIJ 2020 17295

The Department of Justice, through the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), released a discretionary funding opportunity titled "Research and Evaluation of Promising Reentry Initiatives, Fiscal Year 2020" (Funding Opportunity Number: NIJ 2020 17295). The central purpose of this solicitation is to strengthen and expand what is known about effective and promising offender reentry practices by supporting rigorous research and evaluation. In practical terms, NIJ is looking to fund studies that can produce credible evidence about what works (and under what conditions) to improve reentry outcomes, reduce recidivism, and inform federal reentry efforts as well as state, local, tribal, and community initiatives.

This opportunity uses a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, which typically means NIJ expects a more active role than it would have under a standard grant, such as participating in project coordination, offering programmatic input, or requiring more frequent communication and deliverables. The activity categories reflect the program's focus on law, justice, and legal services alongside science, technology, and other research and development, signaling that NIJ is primarily seeking research-driven projects rather than direct service expansion. The associated CFDA number is 16.560, which corresponds to NIJ research, development, and evaluation funding.

The solicitation was created on January 23, 2020, with an original application closing date of May 5, 2020. NIJ listed an award ceiling of $1,000,000 per award and anticipated making approximately 6 awards, indicating a competitive national program with a limited number of relatively substantial research grants.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status, as specified); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and other entities as further clarified in the solicitation's eligibility details. This wide eligibility pool suggests NIJ is open to proposals from academic research teams, governmental research units, nonprofit research and policy organizations, and other qualified applicants capable of conducting high-quality evaluation and generating actionable findings.

Overall, the grant opportunity is designed to produce research evidence on reentry strategies that appear promising, helping decision-makers understand which interventions, program models, or implementation approaches are most likely to improve outcomes for individuals returning to the community after incarceration. The intended impact is knowledge-building that can guide future investments and improve reentry policy and practice across jurisdictions.

• The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the law, justice and legal services, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research and Evaluation of Promising Reentry Initiatives, Fiscal Year 2020" 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 Jan 23, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 05, 2020. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), 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, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NIJ 2020 17295

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