NIJ FY17 Research to Improve Officer Decision-making | NIJ 2017 11500

Opportunity Information: Apply for NIJ 2017 11500

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), within the U.S. Department of Justice, offered the FY17 grant opportunity titled "Research to Improve Officer Decision-making" (Funding Opportunity Number NIJ 2017 11500) to support research and development projects focused on strengthening police officer decision-making through innovative training. The central goal is to improve real-world outcomes in police-citizen interactions by funding work that either creates new training approaches, rigorously evaluates existing or newly developed training, or combines both development and evaluation. The emphasis is not simply on whether officers complete training, but on whether training meaningfully changes how officers assess situations, choose actions, and respond under stress in ways that improve safety, reduce harmful outcomes, and enhance the quality of interactions with the public.

A key priority for NIJ in this solicitation is training "dosage" and "curriculum." In practical terms, NIJ is signaling interest in projects that carefully define how much training is delivered (for example, the length, frequency, sequencing, refresher components, and overall exposure required) and what is actually taught (the content, instructional methods, scenario design, and learning objectives). Competitive projects would be expected to move beyond broad descriptions like "de-escalation training" and instead provide a clear and testable model of training inputs and intended learning outcomes. This includes details on how training is structured, what skills or decision frameworks are being taught, and how the program is expected to work in the field.

NIJ also highlights the need for evaluations that can measure transfer of training into the workplace, not just short-term learning in a classroom or simulator. That means the solicitation favors research designs that examine whether officers apply what they learned during actual calls for service and day-to-day policing, and whether that application produces measurable outcomes. Examples of outcomes that could fit this focus include changes in officer behavior during encounters, reductions in unnecessary escalation, improved communication and procedural justice practices, fewer uses of force, fewer injuries, fewer complaints, or other indicators tied to interaction quality and safety. In effect, NIJ is asking applicants to connect training to observable practice and then connect practice to outcomes, using credible measurement strategies rather than relying only on self-reports or immediate post-training tests.

The award mechanism is a cooperative agreement, which typically indicates substantial involvement from the funding agency during the project period, such as coordination on research plans, deliverables, or dissemination. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary and falls under the Law, Justice and Legal Services funding activity area, with CFDA number 16.560. NIJ anticipated making about four awards under this solicitation, with an award ceiling of $3,000,000, suggesting support for relatively large, multi-part projects that could include training development, implementation partnerships with law enforcement agencies, and robust evaluation components.

Eligibility was broad and included state, county, city or township governments; federally recognized tribal governments; public and private institutions of higher education; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status; individuals; for-profit organizations (including small businesses); and other relevant entities. This wide eligibility pool indicates NIJ was open to proposals from academic research teams, police agencies, training organizations, policy institutes, technology developers, and cross-sector partnerships, as long as the proposed work aligned with NIJ's research goals and methodological expectations.

The solicitation was created on January 6, 2017, with an original application closing date of March 23, 2017. Overall, the opportunity targeted evidence-driven improvements in policing by funding training innovations and, critically, the kind of rigorous evaluation work that can show not only that a training program exists, but that it is delivered at an effective dosage, uses a well-specified curriculum, translates into on-the-job behavior change, and produces measurable improvements in police-citizen interaction outcomes.

• The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY17 Research to Improve Officer Decision-making" 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 06, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 23, 2017. (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 $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township 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, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for NIJ 2017 11500

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