NIJ FY18 Artificial Intelligence Technology Applied Research and Development for Law Enforcement Applications | NIJ 2018 14000

Opportunity Information: Apply for NIJ 2018 14000

The NIJ FY18 Artificial Intelligence Technology Applied Research and Development for Law Enforcement Applications grant (Funding Opportunity Number NIJ 2018 14000) is a discretionary research and development funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ). It is designed to push forward applied research that uses newer advances in artificial intelligence to help law enforcement agencies address a set of major crime problems: gang violence, human trafficking and drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, and child pornography. The central aim is not general AI exploration, but practical, law-enforcement-relevant AI R and D that can improve prevention, response, and investigative capabilities in these specific areas.

The program is structured as a grant under the CFDA listing 16.560, and it sits at the intersection of law, justice and legal services and science and technology research and development. NIJ is essentially looking for projects that take credible AI methods and adapt, evaluate, or develop them in ways that translate into real operational benefits for investigators, analysts, and agencies. That can include developing new tools, improving existing analytical approaches, testing AI systems in realistic settings, or producing evidence about what works, how well it works, and under what conditions it can be deployed responsibly in a law enforcement context.

Eligibility is broad, reflecting NIJ's interest in drawing from government, academia, nonprofits, and industry. Applicants may include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than higher education institutions); individuals; for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. This wide eligibility suggests NIJ anticipated proposals ranging from academic research partnerships and public sector pilots to industry-led applied development efforts, as well as collaborations that pair technical AI expertise with operational law enforcement experience.

In terms of scale and competitiveness, the opportunity listed an award ceiling of $2,000,000 and anticipated making about four awards. That combination signals that NIJ expected a limited number of relatively substantial projects, likely ones that can demonstrate strong technical merit, a clear use case tied to the named crime problems, and a credible plan to produce actionable results rather than purely theoretical findings. The funding instrument type is a grant, which typically supports defined project work plans, deliverables, and evaluation activities aligned to NIJ's applied research mission.

The opportunity was created on February 26, 2018, with an original closing date of April 27, 2018, indicating a roughly two-month application window. Overall, the solicitation can be summarized as NIJ's targeted investment in applied AI research and development that directly supports law enforcement missions related to complex, high-harm criminal activity, with funding sized for serious development and evaluation efforts and open to a wide range of organizational types capable of delivering operationally relevant outcomes.

• The Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice in the law, justice and legal services, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY18 Artificial Intelligence Technology Applied Research and Development for Law Enforcement Applications" 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 Feb 26, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 27, 2018. (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 $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for NIJ 2018 14000

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