OVW Fiscal Year 2023 Research and Evaluation Initiative Solicitation | O OVW 2023 171728

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2023 171728

The OVW Fiscal Year 2023 Research and Evaluation (RampE) Initiative Solicitation is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), focused on building stronger evidence about what works to prevent and respond to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (referred to in the solicitation as "VAWA crimes"). Authorized under 34 U.S.C. 12291(b)(7), the program is meant to help communities and organizations that receive Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funding make better, more informed decisions by supporting research and evaluation that identifies effective strategies for serving victims and holding offenders accountable. The core idea is practical: when local systems have credible data on which interventions are effective, they can spend federal resources more wisely, strengthen coordinated community responses, and develop better approaches that can be replicated elsewhere.

A major emphasis of RampE is collaboration between researchers and practitioners. OVW is looking to fund projects where academic or research partners work closely with on-the-ground agencies, systems, or service providers so that studies reflect real-world conditions and answer questions that matter to victim services, justice systems, and community partners. The solicitation supports a wide range of research designs, including qualitative studies, mixed-method approaches, quasi-experimental evaluations, and fully experimental designs. This flexibility is important because VAWA-related work spans many settings and populations, and not every research question can be answered with the same methodology. The program is also framed around generating empirical knowledge not only on established strategies, but on newer or promising practices that communities may be piloting but have not yet been rigorously assessed.

Because OVW notes it has limited funds available for research and evaluation, the initiative is designed to prioritize specific topic areas where stronger evidence could have the greatest practical payoff for OVW grantees. In other words, OVW is not broadly funding any research on VAWA crimes; it is steering applicants toward priority topics where better evaluation results could directly improve how federally funded programs operate and how outcomes are measured. The solicitation also highlights that the topics OVW is inviting proposals under have been updated compared to the prior year, signaling that applicants needed to align proposals with the revised set of priorities for FY 2023 rather than relying on last year’s framework.

From an administrative standpoint, the opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number: O-OVW-2023-171728) is categorized as a grant under the Law, Justice and Legal Services funding activity area (CFDA 16.026). The maximum award amount listed is $450,000, with an expectation of about 12 awards. The solicitation was created May 1, 2023, and the original closing date was June 29, 2023. Eligible applicants are broad and include state, county, and local governments; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public and private institutions of higher education; and nonprofit organizations (including those with and without 501(c)(3) status, as long as they are not institutions of higher education in the nonprofit category). Overall, RampE is positioned as a targeted research-and-evaluation funding stream meant to tighten the connection between VAWA-funded practice and evidence, helping programs move toward approaches that are demonstrably effective while also testing and learning from innovative interventions.

• The Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW Fiscal Year 2023 Research and Evaluation Initiative Solicitation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.026.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 01, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 29, 2023. (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 $450,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 12 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for O OVW 2023 171728

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