Grants / Department of Justice / National Institute of Justice

O-NIJ-2023-171606: NIJ FY23 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes

Closed Closed April 19, 2023 Opportunity O-NIJ-2023-171606 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Violent Crime: Gangs and Organized Criminal Groups (Domestic and Transnational) (O-NIJ-2026-172806). Status: Closes November 30, 2026 (23 days left). It is in our archive of National Institute of Justice notices from 2023.

• Award ceiling$12.0 million
• Total funding$12.0 million
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to any type of organization.

More grants for nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses, businesses, individuals.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants awards averaged $596,032; this notice allows up to $12.0 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (45% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

OJP is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights and racial equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety and protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community. With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for rigorous basic or applied research and development projects. An NIJ forensic science research and development grant supports a discrete, specified, circumscribed project that will: 1. Increase the body of knowledge to guide and inform forensic science policy and practice; or 2. Lead to the production of useful material(s), device(s), system(s), or method(s) that have the potential for forensic application. The intent of this program is to direct the findings of basic scientific research; foster research and development in broader scientific fields applicable to forensic science; and support ongoing forensic science research toward the development of highly-discriminating, accurate, reliable, cost-effective, and rapid methods for the identification, analysis, and interpretation of forensic evidence for criminal justice purposes. Projects should address the challenges and needs of the forensic science community, including but not limited to priorities outlined in the NIJ Forensic Science Strategic Research Plan and operational needs identified at NIJ's TWG meetings, which may be found on NIJ.OJP.gov. Additional research needs of the forensic science community can be found at the Organization of Scientific Area Committees website. Although the goals and deliverables of proposed projects are not required to result in immediate solutions to the posted challenges and needs, proposals should, at a minimum, address the foundational work that will lead to eventual solutions. 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.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, O-NIJ-2026-172806, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.