NIJ FY24 W.E.B. Du Bois Program of Research on Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Justice System

With this solicitation, NIJ seeks applications for two categories of investigator-initiated research: (1) studies that examine how observed racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system might be reduced through public policy intervention at any point during the administration of justice and (2) studies that advance knowledge and practice, policy, or both regarding the intersections of race, ethnicity, crime, and justice within the United States. With this solicitation, NIJ seeks applications for investigator-initiated research in two priority areas from two different categories of investigators. The priority areas are: (1) studies that examine how observed racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system might be reduced through public policy intervention at any point during the administration of justice; and (2) studies that advance knowledge and practice, policy, or both regarding the intersections of race, ethnicity, crime, and justice within the United States. The two categories of investigators are: Category 1: W.E.B. Du Bois Scholars — Researchers who are advanced in their careers (awarded an academic or research doctorate terminal degree at least seven years prior to December 31, 2023) may apply for grants for research, evaluation, and mentoring of lessexperienced researchers. Category 2: W.E.B. Du Bois Fellows — Researchers who are early in their careers (awarded an academic or research doctorate terminal degree within seven years of December 31, 2023) may apply for grants for research and evaluation. Both categories of investigators may submit proposals under either priority area. NIJ will give special consideration to proposals with methods that include meaningful engagement with the people closest to the subject of study, including practitioners as well as community members representing crime victims, people under criminal justice supervision, and members of high-crime communities. 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, race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation, as applicable. Applications proposing research involving partnerships with juvenile justice, criminal justice or other agencies should include a strong letter of support, signed by an appropriate decisionmaking authority from each proposed, partnering agency. A letter of support should include the partnering agency’s acknowledgment 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 that include robust, creative, and multi-pronged dissemination strategies that include strategic partnerships with organizations and associations that are best equipped to ensure that research findings lead to changes in policies and practices. Special consideration Page 8 O-NIJ-2024-172018 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 the preponderance of the work proposed.