Title: NIJ School Safety Web-Based Curriculum Solicitation Series: Solicitation Author: NIJ Published: June 2001 Subject: Grants and funding 10 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). ------------------------------ U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice National Institute of Justice Solicitation June 2001 NIJ School Safety Web-Based Curriculum Solicitation APPLICATION DEADLINE: JULY 17, 2001 ------------------------------ U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs 810 Seventh Street N.W. Washington, DC 20531 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 This document is not intended to create, does not create, and may not be relied upon to create any rights, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law by any party in any matter civil or criminal. ------------------------------ I. Introduction The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research and development arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. Created by Congress in 1968, the Institute is charged with investing public funds to develop knowledge that will reduce crime, enhance public safety, and improve the administration of justice. Under its enabling legislation, NIJ is authorized to assist State and local justice systems in the following ways: o By conducting and sponsoring basic and applied research into the causes, prevention, and detection of crime. o By sponsoring evaluations of major Federal initiatives concerning crime and justice. o By supporting research, demonstrations, and validations to develop new approaches, techniques, systems, and equipment to improve law enforcement and the administration of justice. o By developing, validating, and evaluating new technologies to deter crime and enhance criminal justice operations. o By making recommendations to Federal, State, and local governments. o By conducting conferences and workshops for criminal justice policymakers and professionals. o By collecting and disseminating both domestic and international criminal justice information obtained by the Institute or other Federal agencies. NIJ's portfolio covers a diverse and dynamic array of research and development topics. Over the course of each year, the Institute's research program evolves as a result of consultations with researchers; technologists and practitioners; Federal, State and local policymakers; and partnerships with other public and private organizations. The NIJ Research Portfolio, which lists ongoing NIJ research and development, with project descriptions, is available online as a searchable database. The Institute encourages prospective applicants to consult the portfolio as well as Building Knowledge About Crime and Justice: The 2000 Research Prospectus of the National Institute of Justice, as guides to NIJ's approach to criminal justice research and development. (See section V of this solicitation for instructions on obtaining these and related documents.) II. Background This solicitation is for a competitive award to an accredited university to develop a comprehensive, web-based, menu-driven, school safety curriculum with components for educators, school staff, parents, students, public safety professionals and concerned citizens. This curriculum must be accessible by the public via the Internet and supported by a training and technical assistance program to facilitate implementation through online and on-site services. The curriculum should provide information and training to effectively and safely address incidents and events in schools (i.e., drugs, shootings, gangs/bullies, etc.,) from preventive measures to incident management. To assist in obtaining information that may be helpful in submitting a proposal, you are encouraged to use the resources and expertise of the NIJ National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center (NLECTC) located in Rockville, Maryland; the regional NLECTCs located in Rome, New York, Charleston, South Carolina; Denver, Colorado, El Segundo, California; and the Border Research and Technology Center (BRTC) located in San Diego, California. More information about the NIJ NLECTC system is available on the Internet at . Please consider the questions below when determining the usefulness of your proposal. In your proposal, you should incorporate information that addresses the general themes posed by these questions; however, it is not necessary to answer explicitly each question. o What will be required to use the web-based curriculum? o How will the technology be delivered and supported? o How will the product of the proposed effort impact those who will use the product? o What is the proposed breakdown of tasks with resource expenditures for each task? (A task breakdown is sometimes very helpful for NIJ managers, who can better understand how the proposer plans to accomplish the work.) o How will the development and implementation of this technology support information exchange? o How will the development and implementation of this technology make a difference in the proposed application? o What technical standards are or will be employed in the development and implementation, of this technology? III. Areas of Research Required Please note that NIJ does not intend to fund "stove-piped" design solutions, but instead requires that all proposed approaches consider ways to accomplish information sharing across agency and/or jurisdictional boundaries. The use of common industry standards and open system architectures is encouraged. While it may be necessary for you to propose a solution that involves proprietary techniques, if it is determined that this approach will preclude or minimize interoperability, then your proposal will be deemed non-responsive to this solicitation and will not be considered for award. Please note, NIJ encourages that all proposed designs consider ways to support information exchange, integrate with existing infrastructures, and adhere to commonly accepted technical standards. IV. Selection Criteria NIJ is firmly committed to the competitive process for awarding grants. All proposals are subjected to an independent, peer-review panel evaluation. The peer-review panel consists of members with academic, practitioner, technical, and operational expertise in the subject areas of the solicitation. Selection criteria used to evaluate proposals are as follows: 1. Quality and Technical Merit o Soundness of methodology, analytic, or technical approach. o Innovation and creativity. o Feasibility of proposed project; awareness of pitfalls. o Awareness of existing research and developmental work currently underway or completed, and related applications. 2. Impact of the Project o Potential for significant advancement in Safe Schools learning technologies. o Understanding the importance of providing information and training to effectively and safely address incidents and events in schools, from preventive measures to incident management. o Potential for advancement of scientific understanding of the problem area for educators, school staff, parents, students, public safety professionals and concerned citizens. o Relevance to practice, including development and demonstration in application domains (if applicable). o Affordability of proposed end product to educators, school staff, parents, students, public safety professionals and concerned citizens, including maintenance and training. 3. Capabilities, Demonstrated Productivity, and Experience of Applicants o Experience with the design and implementation of an Internet, web-based, curriculum. o Qualifications and experience of personnel as related to proposed project. o Demonstrated ability to manage proposed effort. o Adequacy of proposed project management plan including, where appropriate, a task breakdown listing expenditure of resources for each task. o Adequacy of proposed resources to perform effort. 4. Budget Considerations o Total cost relative to perceived benefit. o Use of existing resources to conserve costs. o Cost-effectiveness of program or product for application in the criminal justice system (if applicable). After peer-review panelists' consideration, Institute staff make recommendations to NIJ's Director based on the results of the independent reviews. Final decisions are made by the NIJ Director following consultation with Institute staff. V. How to Apply Persons interested in submitting proposals under this solicitation must submit the required application materials. (See below for instructions on obtaining application forms and guidelines.) Applications must include the following information or completed forms to qualify for funding: o Standard Form (SF) 424--application for Federal assistance o Geographic Areas Affected Worksheet-NEW FORM o Assurances o Certifications 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 name 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-REVISED o Form 310 (Protection of Human Subjects Assurance Identification/Certification/ Declaration)-NEW FORM o Environmental Assessment (if required)-NEW o References o Letters of cooperation from organizations collaborating in the research project o Resumes o Appendices, if any (e.g., list of previous NIJ awards, their status, and products [in NIJ or other publications]) Confidentiality of information and human subjects protection. NIJ has adopted new policies and procedures regarding the confidentiality of information and human subjects protection. Please see the Guidelines for Submitting Proposals for National Institute of Justice-Sponsored Research for details on the new requirements. The Office of Justice Programs encourages integration and interoperability of information technology (IT) systems between all justice agencies and across Federal, State, and local jurisdictional boundaries. IT systems include automated information systems used by each of the justice system components (law enforcement, courts, prosecution, defense, corrections, probation and parole) in their internal day-to-day business and in communicating with each other. To support State and local justice integration and interoperability of these systems, OJP asked the Governor to designate a "point of contact" to provide information on IT plans and coordination in your State and local recipients of awards that will be used in whole or in part for information systems may be required by the awarding OJP Bureau to communicate with this point of contact about their information technology plans. By increasing local communication when planning and implementing information technology, OJP funds may be used to support interoperable, rather than isolated, information systems. The name and address of your State Information Technology Point of Contact can be obtained by calling our customer service line at 1-800-458-0786, or on the OJP web page at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ec/states.htm. Page limit. The number of pages in the "Program Narrative" part of the proposal must not exceed 30 (double-spaced pages), no matter the amount of funding requested. Due date. Completed proposals must be received at the National Institute of Justice by the close of business on July 17, 2001. 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. Award amount. One award totaling approximately $1.4 million will be made available for this NIJ solicitation. Applying. Two packets need to be obtained: (1) application forms (including a sample budget worksheet) and (2) guidelines for submitting proposals (including requirements for proposal writers and requirements for grant recipients). To receive them, applicants can: o Access NIJ's Funding Opportunities Page on the World Wide Web: (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/funding.htm). NIJ application policies and forms are available as electronic files that may be downloaded to a personal computer. o Access the Justice Information Center on the Web: http://www.ncjrs.org/fedgrant.htm#nij This Web site offers 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 800-851-3420 or from the Department of Justice Response Center 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 option 1 again for NIJ. Code is 1023. o For additional information or to request mail delivery contact the National Criminal Justice Reference Service at 800-851-3420. For further information on NIJ research, see: o NIJ Awards in Fiscal Year 1999 (NCJ 179016). o Building Knowledge About Crime and Justice: The 2000 Research Prospectus of the National Institute of Justice (NCJ 178903). o National Institute of Justice Year in Review 1999 (NCJ 182948). o NIJ Online Research Portfolio, http://nij.ncjrs.org/portfolio/. Notes 1. You should choose a title in block 10 of SF 424 Application for Federal Assistance for your proposal that is descriptive of your project and succinct. 2. When estimating budget requests, investigators should note that NIJ policy prohibits the use of grant funds for operational, training, or other nonresearch costs of the project. 3. 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 design, and methods 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: (1) Project Goals and Objectives and (2) Proposed Research Design and Methodology. 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 NIJ professional staff. However, applicants are expected to obtain and carefully read application forms and proposal guidelines in advance. Send completed forms to: Ten (10) copies of fully executed proposals must be received by NIJ by 4:00 P.M. on July 17, 2001. Proposals must be sent to the following address: NIJ School Safety Web-Based Curriculum Solicitation c/o Steven Schuetz, Program Manager National Institute of Justice 810 Seventh Street N.W. Washington, DC 20531 [overnight courier ZIP code 20001] For more information on 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 You can view or obtain an electronic version of this document from the NCJRS Justice Information Center web site (http://www.ncjrs.org) or the NIJ web site (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij).