2013 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Grant Funding Announced

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) has announced funding for the 2013 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program (BCJI) Grant Competition.

As part of the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI), BCJI is focused on transforming neighborhoods of distress into neighborhoods of opportunity. Specifically, BCJI recognizes that public safety is a vital component of healthy, vibrant communities that provide residents with opportunities to reach their potential. As a grant program, BCJI targets neighborhoods that have significant crime challenges and strives to help these neighborhoods work use data to identify the local drivers of crime and develop evidence-informed strategies that address the needs of the local community. As a key NRI program, BCJI grantees will be connected to broader neighborhood revitalization efforts and will receive technical assistance from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation in planning and implementing their results-focused strategies.

Similar to other NRI programs, such as the Building Neighborhood Capacity Program, BCJI awards are made to a cross-sector partnership in each city, rather than a single entity. By engaging local governments, nonprofit organizations, criminal and juvenile justice organizations and neighborhoods residents, BCJI will bring together stakeholders from various sectors that, together, can share resources and develop comprehensive, interconnected solutions to the complex issue of crime and safety. As mentioned in the Notice, and as evidenced in the NRI program strategies, working with the local community and with residents is a critical component of the BCJI program as residents are often in the best position to inform, implement and sustain local change over time.

Two categories of BCJI applications will be solicited: 

• Category 1: Funding will support communities in the planning and implementation of a targeted crime-reduction strategy. Awards of up to $1 million will be made in this category. 
• Category 2: Funding will support areas that already have community-based initiatives in place and seek plan and implement an enhancement to existing crime-reduction strategies. Awards of up to $600,000 will be made in this category. 

Grant applications are due March 3, 2013. As an NRI program, applicants are encouraged to develop plans that are coordinated with other revitalization efforts, such as the U.S. Department of Education’s Promise Neighborhoods program or the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhoods program. For more information about NRI programs, please click here. The project period for both categories of grants is 36 months.