O-NIJ-2026-172645 NIJ FY 2026 State and Local Collection and Reporting of Crime Data

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the National Institute of Justice FY 2026 Byrne Discretionary Community Project Grants/Byrne Discretionary Grants Program. This opportunity seeks to support projects designated for funding pursuant to the Department of Justice Appropriations Act, 2026 (Pub. L. No. 119-74, Div. A, Title II.) to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system, to prevent or combat juvenile delinquency, and to assist victims of crime (other than compensation). The Congressional Joint Explanatory Statement accompanying the 2026 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act lists the designated projects, which the Act incorporates by reference, as stated in relevant part, below— • $537,978,926 is for discretionary grants to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system, to prevent or combat juvenile delinquency, and to assist victims of crime (other than compensation), which shall be made available for the OJP—Byrne projects, and in the amounts, specified in the table titled ‘‘Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending’’ included for this division in the explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act): Provided, That such amounts may not be transferred for any other purpose; (Pub. L. No. 119-74, Div. A, Title II). Note that this NOFO is only for OJP-Byrne projects to be administered by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Separate NOFOs will be posted and invitations sent for projects to be administered by OJP’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), and Office for Victims of Crime (OVC).

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the NIJ FY 2026 State and Local Collection and Reporting of Crime Data program. This opportunity seeks proposals for rigorous research that examines the accuracy of crime data collection and reporting practices across state and local jurisdictions. The goal is to identify common challenges and develop scalable and widely adoptable best practices to improve data quality and integrity. Of particular interest are studies that examine how agencies collect information regarding offenses to ensure fidelity between reported data and actual events and to strengthen broader data governance practices.