NIJ FY24 Domestic Radicalization and Violent Extremism Research Center of Excellence

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ) seeks applications for funding to establish a Center of Excellence (COE) for research on the domestic radicalization to violent extremism phenomenon in the United States. This Center will conduct (and/or support through sub-awards) rigorous research, evaluation and demonstration projects targeted toward developing a better understanding of the phenomenon, and advancing evidence-based strategies for effective intervention and prevention. This program furthers the DOJ’s mission by supporting the development of new knowledge and tools to address the challenges of crime and justice in the United States through fundamental research.

OJP is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights and equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety, protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community.

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals to establish a Center of Excellence for research and evaluation on the domestic radicalization to violent extremism phenomenon. This Center will perform four core functions:

1. Conduct (and/or support through multiple sub-awards) rigorous research, evaluation, and demonstration projects targeted toward developing a better understanding of the phenomenon and advancing evidence-based strategies for effective intervention and prevention.
2. Assess the research needs of the field.
3. Translate and disseminate knowledge by developing a suite of evidence-driven best practices and guidelines for immediate reference by practitioners.
4. Supporting training, education and professional development of practitioners engaged in extremism prevention and intervention using that suite of evidence-driven best practices and guidelines.

NIJ will give special consideration to proposals with methods that include meaningful engagement with those of lived experience regarding the subject of study, including, but not limited to, justice practitioners, community members, crime victims, service providers, and individuals who have experienced justice system involvement. Applicants are encouraged to propose multidisciplinary research teams to build on the complementary strengths of different methods and areas of subject matter expertise. NIJ also seeks proposals that include consideration and measurement of issues of diversity, discrimination, and bias across age, gender and gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation, as applicable.

Applications proposing research involving partnerships with criminal justice or other agencies should include a letter of support, signed by an appropriate decision-making authority from each proposed partnering agency. A letter of support should include the partnering agency’s acknowledgement that de-identified data derived from, provided to, or obtained through an award funded by NIJ will be archived by the grant recipient with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) at the conclusion of the award. Applicants and their potential partners are encouraged to review NIJ’s data archiving guidance. If selected for an award, grantees will be expected to have a formal agreement in place with partnering agencies by January 1, 2025. That formal agreement must include a provision to meet the data archiving requirements of the award.

NIJ seeks proposals presenting robust, creative, and multi-pronged dissemination strategies which include strategic partnerships with organizations and associations that are best equipped to ensure that research findings lead to changes in policies and practices related to the subjects of study. Special consideration will be given to proposals that dedicate at least 15% of the requested project award funding toward implementing such strategies, as demonstrated in the Budget Worksheet and Budget Narrative.

In the case of partnerships that will involve the use of federal award funds by multiple partnering agencies to carry out the proposed project, only one entity/partnering agency may be the applicant (as is the case with any application submitted in response to this solicitation); any others must be proposed as subrecipients. The applicant is expected to conduct a majority of the work proposed.