Research and Evaluation on Domestic Terrorism Prevention, Fiscal Year 2021 | O NIJ 2021 60007

Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2021 60007

The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ) released this discretionary grant opportunity, titled "Research and Evaluation on Domestic Terrorism Prevention, Fiscal Year 2021" (Funding Opportunity Number: O-NIJ-2021-60007; CFDA: 16.560), to support rigorous research and evaluation that strengthens the national understanding of domestic radicalization and improves real-world prevention and intervention strategies. The central goal is to move the field toward evidence-based approaches, meaning projects are expected to generate findings that can stand up to careful scrutiny and can be used by practitioners and policymakers to make better decisions about preventing domestic terrorism and related violence.

A core feature of the solicitation is its explicit interest in multiple domestic radicalization pathways and threats. NIJ highlights research that examines the radicalization of Americans to white nationalist extremism, as well as research on emerging militant left-wing movements. The emphasis is not simply descriptive; NIJ is looking for work that helps identify practical, testable strategies that can reduce risk, interrupt mobilization to violence, and support effective intervention and prevention across different contexts and communities.

NIJ specifies three main areas of focus. First, it seeks research that can directly inform terrorism prevention efforts, which could include studies that clarify drivers of radicalization, recruitment dynamics, network influences, online and offline mobilization patterns, or local risk and protective factors that shape pathways into extremism. Second, it seeks research on the reintegration of offenders into the community, reflecting the idea that successful reentry, supervision, and support can reduce the likelihood of reengagement with extremist movements and can help communities manage risk over time. Third, NIJ seeks evaluations of programs and practices intended to prevent terrorism, indicating a strong preference for studies that assess whether specific interventions actually work, under what conditions they work, and for whom they are most effective.

The solicitation strongly encourages a researcher-practitioner partnership model. Funded projects are expected to actively engage researchers and on-the-ground practitioners, such as criminal justice agencies or other relevant organizations, to jointly define the practical problem, design the study, and ensure results are usable beyond a single site. NIJ signals that it values "transportable" lessons, meaning findings, tools, and strategies that can be adapted by other jurisdictions facing similar challenges rather than being limited to a single locality or unique operational environment.

Because many of these projects depend on operational access, data, and implementation cooperation, NIJ places particular emphasis on formal partnership commitments. Applications that propose partnerships with criminal justice or other agencies are expected to include strong letters of support signed by an appropriate decision-making authority at each partnering agency. These letters are not meant to be generic endorsements; they must confirm the agency's understanding of the project and, importantly, acknowledge that de-identified data connected to the project will be archived with the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data (NACJD) at the conclusion of the award. Applicants and partners are encouraged to review NACJD policies and protections in advance so that data sharing and privacy considerations are addressed early and realistically.

Data stewardship and archiving are treated as requirements rather than optional best practices. If selected for funding, recipients are expected to have formal agreements in place with partnering agencies by January 1, 2022, and those agreements must include language that enables compliance with the NACJD archiving requirement. This reflects NIJ's broader interest in transparency, research reproducibility, and long-term value from federal investments, ensuring that de-identified datasets can support future research and validation where appropriate.

On eligibility and competition basics, the opportunity is open to a wide range of applicants, including state, county, and local governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other entities as clarified in the full solicitation. The funding instrument is a grant within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category. The opportunity was created on January 14, 2021, with an original closing date of March 31, 2021. NIJ anticipated making around 11 awards, with an award ceiling listed at $8,000,000.

Finally, the solicitation clarifies how to structure multi-entity projects financially and administratively. Even when several agencies will participate and potentially use federal funds, only one entity may apply as the primary applicant. Any additional participating organizations that will carry out part of the work using award funds must be included as subrecipients. This structure is meant to keep accountability clear while still enabling collaborative, multi-partner research designs that reflect the complexity of domestic terrorism prevention work.

• The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research and Evaluation on Domestic Terrorism Prevention, Fiscal Year 2021" 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 14, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 31, 2021. (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 $8,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 11 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), 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, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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