NIJ FY22 Research and Evaluation on Trafficking in Persons | O NIJ 2022 171189

Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2022 171189

The NIJ FY22 Research and Evaluation on Trafficking in Persons opportunity is a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) cooperative agreement designed to strengthen the United States criminal justice response to human trafficking through rigorous research and evaluation. The solicitation is framed within the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) broader mission to advance civil rights and racial equity, expand access to justice, support victims and people impacted by the justice system, improve community safety, and build public trust in law enforcement. NIJ is looking for projects that do more than describe the problem; the core expectation is that proposed work will produce findings that have clear, practical implications for criminal justice policy and practice in the United States.

NIJ highlights three main research priorities that applicants are expected to address. First, it seeks research and evaluation focused on trafficking prevention, meaning studies that test or examine strategies intended to stop trafficking from occurring in the first place, identify risk and protective factors, or improve early detection and disruption. Second, NIJ invites evaluations of intervention and response strategies used after trafficking has occurred, which can include law enforcement approaches, prosecution practices, victim service models, multidisciplinary task forces, diversion or problem-solving court approaches, screening tools, or coordinated community responses. Third, NIJ encourages proposals in other understudied areas of human trafficking research, signaling openness to well-justified projects that fill meaningful gaps in knowledge, especially where evidence is limited but decisions are being made in the field.

A major operational requirement in this solicitation involves partnerships and data stewardship. Projects that involve partnerships with criminal justice agencies or other relevant agencies are expected to include strong letters of support signed by appropriate decision-making authorities from each partnering organization. These letters are not meant to be generic endorsements; they should confirm the partner understands the scope of participation and explicitly acknowledge that de-identified data derived from, provided to, or obtained through the project will be archived with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) at the end of the award. Applicants and partners are encouraged to review NACJD policies and protections in advance, because data archiving is a built-in expectation rather than an optional add-on. If an award is made, NIJ also expects grantees to have a formal agreement in place with partnering agencies by January 1, 2023, and that agreement must include a provision ensuring the NACJD archiving requirement will be met.

The solicitation also clarifies how multi-organization projects should be structured financially and administratively. Even if several agencies are actively involved in carrying out the work, only one entity can submit the application as the primary applicant. Any additional entities that will receive federal funds to help implement the project must be included as subrecipients. The opportunity defines "state" broadly to include all U.S. states and several U.S. territories and jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Eligibility is broad across government, nonprofit, academic, and private-sector organizations, reflecting NIJ interest in both research capacity and practitioner relevance. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (with or without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other entities. Federal agencies may apply as well, but if a federal agency is funded, the award would be structured as an inter-agency reimbursable agreement. Foreign governments, foreign organizations, and foreign colleges or universities are not eligible to apply.

Applicants working with law enforcement agencies should pay close attention to the FY 2022 DOJ discretionary funding certification requirement tied to Executive Order 13929, Safe Policing for Safe Communities. Under this requirement, state, local, and university or college law enforcement agencies must be certified by an approved independent credentialing body or must have started the certification process to be eligible for FY 2022 DOJ discretionary grants. The certification hinges on two mandatory conditions: the agency use-of-force policies must comply with applicable federal, state, and local laws, and those policies must prohibit chokeholds except where deadly force is legally permitted. This certification requirement extends to law enforcement agencies that participate through subawards as well, which matters for research teams that plan to pass funds to a police department or campus police agency.

In terms of funding mechanics, the opportunity is listed as a discretionary cooperative agreement under CFDA 16.560, within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category. The posted award ceiling is $2,500,000, and the original closing date for applications was April 22, 2022. A notable restriction is that all recipients and subrecipients, including for-profit entities, must forgo any profit or management fee, reinforcing that the funding is intended to support the work itself rather than generate profit.

Overall, NIJ is signaling that it wants high-quality, policy-relevant evidence on what prevents trafficking, what improves intervention and response once trafficking occurs, and what critical questions remain insufficiently studied. Strong proposals under this solicitation are likely to combine sound research design with real-world partnerships, clear plans for responsible data handling and archiving, and results that can be translated into concrete improvements in U.S. criminal justice practice.

• The National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY22 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 2022-03-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2022-04-22. (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 $2,500,000.00 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, Others.

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