BJA Field Initiated: Encouraging Innovation 2025

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) seeks to support new and innovative strategies for preventing and reducing crime, improving community safety, and strengthening criminal justice system outcomes.

Donor Name: Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)

State: All States

County: All Counties

Territory: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 04/10/2025

Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million

Grant Duration: 3 Years

Details:

BJA seeks to accomplish this by promoting collaborations with the field to identify, define, and respond to emerging or chronic crime problems or justice system challenges. BJA is looking for strategies that address these issues, including trying new approaches, addressing gaps in responses, building or translating research knowledge, or building capacity.

Program Goals and Objectives

Goal: To identify, define, and respond to emerging or chronic crime problems or criminal justice system challenges by supporting new and innovative strategies that address these issues, including trying new approaches, addressing gaps in responses, building or translating research knowledge, or building capacity.
- Objective 1: Develop and implement new and innovative strategies to prevent and reduce crime and enhance public safety.
- Objective 2: Develop effective and efficient strategies that can be replicated in the criminal justice system.
- Objective 3: Enhance the capacity of criminal justice professionals and the communities to respond to crime and justice system challenges effectively through training and education.
- Objective 4: Advance knowledge and build capacity by developing and providing tools and resources for the field.

Opportunity Categories

Category 1: State, local, or tribal innovations (with a research partnership)
- Category 1: Applications that propose to test a strategy or theory of change at the state, local, or tribal level working with a research partner to document the implementation and develop tools to support national replication. In Category 1, applicants are required to formally partner with a research organization for project development, assessment, or evaluation activities, as well as the development of tools to support replication. No more than 20 percent of the total budget may be used to support research or evaluation services.
Category 2: National or regional strategies to advance or translate knowledge
- Category 2: Applications that propose to develop targeted national or regional strategies to advance or translate knowledge that will make an impact in addressing a critical need or gap in the field. Regional projects must propose a model that is specific to a regional need or could be effectively implemented regionally and replicated elsewhere. In Category 2, applicants are required to work with a research partner to document the implementation and develop tools to support further implementation in the field. No more than 50 percent of the total budget may be used to support research or evaluation services.

Funding Information

Total amount: $10,000,000.
Award Ceiling: $1,000,000.

Grant Period

36 months.

Eligibility Criteria

Category 1:
- Government Entities
  - State governments
  - County governments
  - City or township governments
  - Special district governments and other units of local government, such as towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state
  - Native American tribal governments (federally recognized)
- Educational Organizations
  - Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
  - Private institutions of higher education
- Public Housing Organizations
  - Public housing authorities
  - Indian housing authorities
- Nonprofit Organizations
  - Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (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
- For-Profit Organizations
  - Organizations other than small businesses
  - Small businesses
Category 2:
- Educational Organizations
  - Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education
  - Private institutions of higher education
- Public Housing Organizations
  - Public housing authorities
  - Indian housing authorities
- Nonprofit Organizations
  - Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue Service (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
- For-Profit Organizations
  - Organizations other than small businesses
  - Small businesses.
For the purposes of this NOFO, “state” means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.