Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2025 172606
The NIJ FY25 Research and Evaluation on Human Trafficking grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number O-NIJ-2025-172606) is a discretionary federal research grant released by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in partnership with the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Its core purpose is to strengthen the evidence base for addressing human trafficking in the United States by funding research and evaluation projects that close persistent knowledge gaps, respond to emerging needs, and translate findings into practical improvements in criminal justice policy and day-to-day practice. A central emphasis in this solicitation is trafficking connected to the Southern Border, with a related priority on protecting children and improving outcomes for both labor and sex trafficking victims.
The opportunity is positioned as science and technology and other research and development funding (CFDA 16.560), and it is meant to build on prior NIJ and OVC investments by moving beyond general descriptive work toward studies that can directly inform investigations, prosecutions, network disruption strategies, and victim service approaches. Applicants are expected to propose projects that do not just generate academic knowledge, but that clearly affect U.S. criminal justice decision-making, such as how agencies identify trafficking, how they build cases, how they coordinate across jurisdictions, and how they evaluate whether interventions are actually working for victims and communities.
The solicitation offers two distinct project categories. Category 1, Justice System Responses to Trafficking, has an anticipated award amount of up to $3,000,000 and targets research and evaluation on strategies that improve trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and the disruption of trafficking networks, especially along the Southern Border. This category also calls for evaluations of well-developed direct service programs that support American child and adult victims of labor and sex trafficking. In practice, this means NIJ is looking for rigorous work that can test or assess investigative and prosecutorial approaches (for example, multi-agency task force models, intelligence-led strategies, cross-border or cross-jurisdictional coordination practices, or methods that improve victim-centered and trauma-informed case development), as well as strong outcome evaluations of mature victim service programs where there is enough operational history to measure effectiveness and implementation.
Category 2, Technology and Trafficking, has an anticipated award amount of up to $1,000,000 and focuses on the intersection of technology and trafficking. The intent is to fund research and evaluation that addresses both sides of the technology problem: how traffickers use technology (such as online recruitment, facilitation, communication, payment mechanisms, or platform-based coordination) and how law enforcement and partners use technology to investigate trafficking and build prosecutable cases. Projects in this category are expected to produce actionable findings about investigative tools, analytic methods, digital evidence practices, or technology-enabled strategies that can be evaluated for effectiveness, limitations, and real-world implementation barriers, rather than simply describing technology trends.
Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions); for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits that are not small businesses). This wide eligibility is consistent with NIJ research programming, where strong applications often involve partnerships among researchers, criminal justice agencies, victim service providers, and technology or data partners in order to access data, implement or evaluate interventions, and ensure findings are usable in the field.
Key administrative details include an award ceiling of $3,000,000, an expectation of approximately 5 total awards, and an application closing date of June 8, 2026 (with a creation date of May 4, 2026). Overall, the opportunity is aimed at producing credible, policy-relevant evidence on what works (and what does not) in combating trafficking, particularly in the Southern Border context, while also advancing knowledge about the rapidly evolving role of technology in both trafficking operations and anti-trafficking enforcement and case building.Apply for O NIJ 2025 172606
- The National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY25 Research and Evaluation on Human Trafficking" 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 2026-05-04.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-06-08. (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 5 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), 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, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the name of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled NIJ FY25 Research and Evaluation on Human Trafficking.
2. What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is O-NIJ-2025-172606.
3. Which federal agency is offering this grant?
The grant is released by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), in partnership with the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).
4. What is the core purpose of the solicitation?
The core purpose is to strengthen the evidence base for addressing human trafficking in the United States by funding research and evaluation projects that close persistent knowledge gaps, respond to emerging needs, and translate findings into practical improvements in criminal justice policy and day-to-day practice.
5. Is this a research grant or a direct service grant?
It is described as a discretionary federal research grant. At the same time, it includes interest in evaluations of well-developed direct service programs for victims (particularly in Category 1), meaning the funding emphasis is on generating credible evidence about what works, rather than simply operating a program without an evaluation component.
6. What is the CFDA number and program framing?
The opportunity is positioned as science and technology and other research and development funding under CFDA 16.560.
7. What themes and priorities are emphasized?
A central emphasis is human trafficking connected to the Southern Border, with a related priority on protecting children and improving outcomes for victims of both labor trafficking and sex trafficking.
8. What does NIJ want applicants to produce?
Applicants are expected to propose projects that go beyond general descriptive work and produce findings that directly inform U.S. criminal justice decision-making, such as how agencies identify trafficking, build cases, coordinate across jurisdictions, disrupt networks, and evaluate whether interventions are working for victims and communities.
9. How many project categories are available under this solicitation?
There are two project categories: Category 1: Justice System Responses to Trafficking and Category 2: Technology and Trafficking.
10. What is Category 1 focused on?
Category 1: Justice System Responses to Trafficking targets research and evaluation on strategies that improve trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and the disruption of trafficking networks, especially along the Southern Border. It also calls for evaluations of well-developed direct service programs supporting American child and adult victims of labor and sex trafficking.
11. What kinds of approaches does Category 1 mention as examples?
Examples referenced include research or evaluation of multi-agency task force models, intelligence-led strategies, cross-border or cross-jurisdictional coordination practices, and methods that improve victim-centered and trauma-informed case development.
12. What does it mean that Category 1 seeks evaluations of "well-developed" direct service programs?
Based on the solicitation description, the intent is to evaluate mature victim service programs with enough operational history and development to allow for measurement of effectiveness and implementation, rather than early-stage or untested services that do not yet have sufficient history to support rigorous evaluation.
13. What is the anticipated award amount for Category 1?
The anticipated award amount for Category 1 is up to $3,000,000.
14. What is Category 2 focused on?
Category 2: Technology and Trafficking focuses on the intersection of technology and trafficking, including both (1) how traffickers use technology and (2) how law enforcement and partners use technology to investigate trafficking and build prosecutable cases.
15. What kinds of technology use by traffickers are mentioned?
The solicitation references traffickers using technology for activities such as online recruitment, facilitation, communication, payment mechanisms, and platform-based coordination.
16. What does Category 2 expect projects to deliver?
Projects are expected to produce actionable findings about investigative tools, analytic methods, digital evidence practices, or technology-enabled strategies, including evaluation of effectiveness, limitations, and real-world implementation barriers, rather than simply describing technology trends.
17. What is the anticipated award amount for Category 2?
The anticipated award amount for Category 2 is up to $1,000,000.
18. What is the overall award ceiling for this opportunity?
The opportunity lists an award ceiling of $3,000,000.
19. Approximately how many awards does NIJ expect to make?
The solicitation states an expectation of approximately 5 total awards.
20. Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is broad and includes:
- State, county, city or township, and special district governments
- Independent school districts
- Public and private institutions of higher education
- Federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations
- Nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions)
- For-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits that are not small businesses)
21. Are partnerships encouraged?
Yes. The description notes that strong NIJ research applications often involve partnerships among researchers, criminal justice agencies, victim service providers, and technology or data partners to access data, implement or evaluate interventions, and ensure findings are usable in the field.
22. What is the application closing date?
The application closing date is June 8, 2026.
23. What is the creation date listed for the opportunity?
The creation date is May 4, 2026.
24. What does the solicitation mean by moving beyond "general descriptive work"?
It means the solicitation is looking for studies that can directly inform investigations, prosecutions, network disruption strategies, and victim service approaches, rather than work that only describes the scope of trafficking or summarizes issues without testing, evaluating, or producing practice-relevant evidence.
25. What types of outcomes is this opportunity ultimately trying to improve?
Based on the description, the opportunity aims to improve outcomes by generating credible evidence that strengthens criminal justice policy and practice, including improved identification of trafficking, stronger case building, better cross-jurisdiction coordination, more effective network disruption, and improved victim service approaches for children and adults affected by labor and sex trafficking.
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