This program is authorized by 34 U.S.C. 12514. This Fiscal Year 2024 Restorative Practices Pilot Program Evaluation Solicitation (RPPP Evaluation) invites applications to conduct research and evaluation on restorative practices in collaboration with pilot sites and training and technical assistance (TTA) providers. The pilot sites and TTA providers will be funded under separate funding announcements; this solicitation is exclusively to fund research and evaluation. OVW anticipates investing approximately $8 million in RPPP Evaluation efforts to answer some but not all of the research questions found on page 8 of this solicitation through approaches that align with OVWs methodological principles for research and evaluation, found on page 12. Applicants should also demonstrate the capacities and competencies described on page 12. OVW expects to issue one award under this solicitation to support various research projects under one award that will generate knowledge that practitioners, policymakers, and the public can use to make decisions about developing, implementing, and using restorative practices to redress the harm caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The recipient will work in close collaboration with OVW staff, TTA providers, evaluation liaisons, and pilot site practitioners to develop reasonable and useful evaluation measures across and within pilot sites. Additionally, the research that OVW will fund through this award will mirror the aims of restorative practices, use mixed methods approaches, and be adaptable and community-specific with strong researcher-practitioner-community partnerships. OVW anticipates issuing the RPPP Evaluation award as a cooperative agreement that will involve multiple junctures at which the recipient will be required to submit detailed plans for OVWs approval before those plans can proceed. The reason for this is that pilot sites have not been identified yet, and an evaluator cannot realistically determine a detailed and comprehensive evaluation approach without information about the pilot sites. Applicants proposals should include recommended check points at which the evaluator and OVW staff will confer before different phases of project activities proceed.
