Title: Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women. Series: Solicitation Author: National Institute of Justice Published: February 2000 Subject: Funding resources 9 pages 17,000 bytes -------------------------------- Figures, charts, forms, and tables are not included in this ASCII plain-text file. To view this document in its entirety, download the Adobe Acrobat graphic file available from this Web site or order a print copy from NCJRS at 800-851- 3420 (877-712-9279 for TTY users). -------------------------------- Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice National Institute of Justice Solicitation Jeremy Travis, Director February 2000 -------------------------------- Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women FY2000 APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 15, 2000 -------------------------------- U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs 810 Seventh Street N.W. Washington, DC 20531 Janet Reno Attorney General Daniel Marcus Acting Associate Attorney General Laurie Robinson Assistant Attorney General Noel Brennan Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jeremy Travis Director, National Institute of Justice For grant and funding information contact Department of Justice Response Center: 800-421-6770 Office of Justice Programs World Wide Web Site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov National Institute of Justice World Wide Web Site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij -------------------------------- Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women I. Introduction The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is soliciting proposals for research addressing violence against women. Violence against women is defined as intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and may include violence committed by acquaintances and strangers. NIJ anticipates awarding up to 10 grants of varying amounts with a funding total of $2,000,000. II. Background On September 13, 1994, President Clinton signed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), Pub. L. No. 102-322, 108 Stat. 1905-1995, as part of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. For the first time the Federal government adopted a comprehensive approach to fighting domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking, combining tough new penalties with programs to prosecute offenders and services to help female victims of violence. The VAWA gave NIJ responsibility for a number of Congressionally mandated studies and national evaluations. Included among them was a study calling for a National Academy of Sciences panel to develop a research agenda on violence against women. The panel's report, funded jointly by NIJ and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been published by the National Academy Press as Understanding Violence Against Women.[1] The report recommends a research infrastructure and research agenda that include the nature and scope of violence against women, causes and consequences of violence against women, prevention and intervention. Understanding Violence Against Women has provided NIJ with an agenda for an ongoing program to address violence against women research and evaluation issues. The recent National Academy of Sciences report, Violence in Families: Assessing Prevention and Treatment Programs,[2] also guides this research program and the field. NIJ Research in Progress. NIJ is currently supporting a substantial body of research with a criminal justice emphasis addressing violence against women. Projects in progress include the criminal justice system's response to domestic violence, and problems affecting hard-to-reach populations of domestic violence victims. Evaluations are also addressing the major programs of the Violence Against Women Office, coordinated community responses to violence against women, and anti-stalking efforts. NIJ-supported research addressing violence against women includes studies dealing with the following topics: 1. The effectiveness of specialized domestic violence courts in promoting victim safety and offender accountability. 2. The readiness to change model in domestic violence offender treatment. 3. The effects of witnessing domestic violence on child aggression. 4. Women prisoners' experience with violence. 5. Violence against migrant farm worker women. 6. The impact of model legislation on judicial decisionmaking in custody and visitation disputes involving domestic violence. 7. Mediation in domestic violence cases 8. Measurement issues involving violence against women. NIJ's current research portfolio on violence against women and family violence can be accessed at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/vawprog/grntlist.html III. Areas of Research Required Proposals are encouraged for research aimed at enhancing our knowledge of factors associated with three types of outcomes: victim safety, offender accountability, and system accountability. Victim safety factors are those that protect at-risk or victimized women and girls from violence or further violence. Studies are encouraged that examine victim safety issues across the life span including among young girls and elderly women. Violence is defined as intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and stalking, and may include a co-occurrence of more than one form of violence. Offender accountability factors are those that punish offenders, prevent re- offending, and lead to changes in offender behavior. Sex offenders and domestic violence offenders can be addressed under this solicitation. System accountability refers to those policies, procedures, or practices that promote efficiency, effectiveness, and equity in processing violence against women cases, and do not further victimize women. Proposals are encouraged that look at the three outcome areas in underserved communities including African Americans, Native Americans, Asians, Southeast Asians, Latinas, Muslims, lesbians, and women with disabilities. In addition, proposals are encouraged for research that enhances our understanding of "dual arrests" in domestic violence cases; why increasing numbers of women are being arrested for domestic violence in some jurisdictions; and the relationship of such outcomes to mandatory or pro-arrest policies, the adequacy of training for law enforcement officers, and other system policies and procedures. Finally, proposals are encouraged that address the impact of the lifetime experience of sexual and physical abuse on women's dependency on welfare, and their ability to leave the welfare rolls. The above list is not exhaustive and is not intended to limit the applicant. Up to ten awards are anticipated for projects generally up to 24 months. However, projects longer than 24 months will be considered. The duration and the budget for proposed studies should be justified by factors such as the complexity of the design, the number of sites, and the size of the sample. Federal funds requested should be for the entire project, not for one year of the project. Methodological Considerations. Applicants are strongly encouraged to operationalize concepts such as "safety" and "accountability," to develop innovative methods of assessing these concepts (both qualitative and quantitative), and to explore how these operationalizations of measurements relate to and enhance those that are current in the field. Study designs must make a clear distinction between outcomes such as safety and accountability, and "outputs" or interventions. For example, arrest, prosecution, or treatment may be considered outputs that influence outcomes. Applicants are also strongly encouraged to give careful thought and attention to human subject protection, and particularly to how they will protect victims of violence from further harm during the data gathering process. Applicants must anticipate and address potential pitfalls in their proposed methodology such as obtaining suitable control groups where applicable, dealing with possible attrition, or gaining access to hard-to-reach populations. Research can be an evaluation study, basic research, secondary data analysis, or an experimental design, and may include a researcher-practitioner partnership. A wide range of partnerships may be supported under this solicitation. Examples of partnerships include: o battered women's shelter providers, legal service providers, and a researcher; o advocacy groups, private clinicians, and a researcher; o State government agencies such as family courts, child protective service agencies, advocacy groups, and a researcher; o law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and a researcher; o rape crisis centers, advocacy groups and a researcher. A critical element of the researcher-practitioner partnership is that it reflect a genuine collaboration regardless of who initiated the effort. The applicant must clearly demonstrate a commitment to the partnership of all parties involved through activities such as problem definition, the development of assessment tools, and the collection of data, and must also address the issue of confidentiality of human subjects and research data. Funding for researcher-practitioner partnerships is intended to support the establishment of the partnership, the collaborative development of a policy- relevant research agenda, and the completion of at least one research project. The applicant must include a task outline that includes a schedule for the completion of the key tasks over the course of the project. While the partnership may address one or more initial short-term questions or issues, the completion of a specific research study is required. Documentation of the development of the partnership is critical, therefore the applicant must include a plan to create a system to record the establishment, development, and achievement of the research collaboration. Dissemination of Results. NIJ is interested in expeditious and innovative methods to disseminate the results from all projects supported under this solicitation. Methods that would supplement the more traditional forms of dissemination are encouraged. Results of projects are expected to be reported to NIJ as they become available, and at a minimum, through semi-annual progress reports. Presentations at conferences, newsletters, and other correspondence related to the grant are also encouraged. Applicants should provide a discussion of the types of reports or products that would become available over the course of the project. Participation in an annual Grantee meeting is expected. Applicants should budget travel and per diem expenses for a two day trip to Washington, D.C., for each year of the grant to participate in these grantee meetings. IV. How to Apply Those interested in submitting proposals in response to this solicitation must complete the required application forms and submit related required documents. (See below for how to obtain application forms and guides for completing proposals.) Applicants must include the following information/forms to qualify for consideration: o Standard Form (SF) 424-application for Federal assistance. The budget amount for the entire length of the project must be placed in box 15 of the SF 424. o Assurances o Certificates Regarding Lobbying, Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters: and Drug-Free Workplace Requirements (one form) o Disclosure of Lobbying Activities o Budget Detail Worksheet o Budget Narrative o Negotiated indirect rate agreement (if appropriate) o Names and affiliations of all key persons from applicant and subcontractor(s), advisors, consultants, and advisory board members. Include names of principal investigator, title, organizational affiliation (if any), department (if institution of higher education), address, phone, and fax o Proposal abstract o Table of contents o Program narrative or technical proposal o Privacy certificate o References o Letters of cooperation from organizations collaborating in the research project o Resumes o Appendixes, if any (e.g. list of previous NIJ awards, their status, and products [in NIJ or other publications]) Proposal abstract. The proposal abstract, when read separately from the rest of the application, is meant to serve as a succinct and accurate description of the proposed work. Applicants must concisely describe the research goals and objectives, research approach, and method for achieving the goals and objectives. Summaries of past accomplishments are to be avoided, and proprietary/confidential information is not to be included. Length is not to exceed 400 words. Use the following two headers: Project Goals and Objectives: Proposed Research Design and Methodology: Page limit: For grants under $50,000, the page limit is 15 double-spaced pages. For grants exceeding $50,000 the limit is 30 double-spaced pages. Note this limit applies only to the "Program Narrative" part of the application, but not to the other components listed above. Due date. Completed proposals must be received at the National Institute of Justice by the close of business on May 15, 2000. Extensions of this deadline will not be permitted. Award period. In general, NIJ limits its grants and cooperative agreements to a maximum period of 12 or 24 months. However, longer budget periods may be considered. Number of awards. NIJ anticipates awarding up to 10 grants of varying amounts with a funding total of $2,000,000. Award amount. Awards totaling up to $2,000,000 each will be made available under this NIJ solicitation. Higher awards should be justified by the complexity and cost of the design. Applying. Two packets need to be obtained: (1) application forms (including a sample budget worksheet) and (2) guidelines for submitting proposals (including requirements for grant recipients). To receive them, applicant can: o Access the Justice Information Center on the web: http://www.ncjrs.org/fedgrant.htm#NIJ or the NIJ web site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/funding.htm These web sites offer the NIJ application forms and guidelines as electronic files that may be downloaded to a personal computer. o Request hard copies of the forms and guidelines by mail from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at 800-421-6770 (in the Washington, D.C., area, at 202-307-1480). o Request copies by fax. Call 800-851-3420 and select option 1, then options 1 again for NIJ. Code is 1023. Guidance and Information. Applicants who wish to receive additional guidance and information may contact the U.S. Department of Justice Response Center at 800-421-6770. Center staff can provide assistance or refer applicants to an appropriate NIJ professional. Applicants may, for example, wish to discuss their prospective research topics with the professional staff. Send 3 copies (one with original signatures) of completed forms to: National Institute of Justice Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women 810 Seventh Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20531 [overnight courier ZIP code 20001] -------------------------------- Endnotes 1. National Research Council, 1996, Understanding Violence Against Women, N.A. Crowell and A.W. Burgess, eds. Panel on Research on Violence Against Women, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Can be purchased from the National Academy Press at (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313. 2. National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 1998, Violence in Families: Assessing Prevention and Treatment Programs, R. Chalk and P. King, eds. Committee on the Assessment of Family Violence Interventions, Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Can be purchased from the National Academy Press at (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313. -------------------------------- To find out more information about the National Institute of Justice, please contact: National Criminal Justice Reference Service Box 6000 Rockville, MD 20849-6000 800-851-3420 e-mail: askncjrs@ncjrs.org To obtain an electronic version of this document, access the NIJ web site (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij). If you have any questions, call or e-mail NCJRS. -------------------------------- SL000398