BJS FY 2026 National Incident-Based Reporting System Estimation Program

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics is offering the National Incident-Based Reporting System Estimation Program through Assistance Listing Number 16.734, Special Data Collections and Statistical Studies. The program supports the continued maintenance and development of statistical protocols and procedures needed to produce national estimates of crime and arrest using data from the FBI National Incident-Based Reporting System. The NIBRS Estimation Program is a large-scale, multiphase data quality, nonresponse, and estimation initiative through which BJS develops and tests procedures to assess the quality and completeness of submitted NIBRS data, adjust for item and unit nonresponse, and generate national incident-based statistics. The next phase is intended to enhance the technical capacity and efficiency of the estimation system, improve the timeliness of crime and arrest estimates, refine measurement methodologies, and strengthen support for state UCR programs and local law enforcement agencies. The program has four principal goals. Award activities are expected to enhance NIBRS Estimation System architecture and processing efficiency, integrate automated validation programs, generate NIBRS extract files, and support directed research on topical and methodological issues. The recipient will also develop and refine monthly estimation methodology for more timely crime reporting, investigate alternative approaches for estimating uncertainty, refine weight calibration models, and develop products that identify important gaps in NIBRS implementation and reporting. Work supporting state UCR programs and local law enforcement agencies includes gap analyses, products addressing hate crime identification and classification practices, modernized reporting tools, interactive data quality reports, training materials, user guides, summary materials, and updated NIBRS data documentation. BJS expects to make one cooperative agreement of up to $5,300,000, with total expected program funding of $5,300,000. The expected award period is 36 months beginning November 1, 2026. The opportunity does not require cost sharing or matching. Costs included in the proposed budget must be reasonable, allocable, necessary to implement the project, allowable under the applicable funding statute, and consistent with agency requirements. Certain activities are expressly outside the program scope, including activities that violate or facilitate violations of federal immigration law or applicable federal civil rights or nondiscrimination law. Certain legal services for removable aliens or aliens otherwise unlawfully present in the United States are also unallowable, subject to the exceptions stated in the notice. Because the award will be a cooperative agreement, OJP expects substantial federal involvement in carrying out the project. Eligible applicants are public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status other than institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations without IRS 501(c)(3) status other than institutions of higher education, and for-profit organizations other than small businesses. If two or more entities will carry out a project, only one entity may submit the application; other project partners must be proposed as subrecipients rather than co-applicants. An entity may be proposed as a subrecipient in more than one application. Applicants must be eligible and their applications must be responsive to the scope of the funding opportunity to satisfy the basic minimum requirements considered during responsiveness review. Submission follows a two-step process. Applicants must first submit the required SF-424 through Grants.gov by September 21, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The full application must then be submitted through JustGrants by September 28, 2026, at 8:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Required application elements include Standard Applicant Information, a Proposal Narrative, and a Budget. The application process also provides for a proposal abstract, the Financial Management and System of Internal Controls Questionnaire including Applicant Disclosure of High-Risk Status, the Agency Funding Priorities Inventory, applicable budget and financial attachments, a Privacy Certification, a Human Subjects Protection Certification of Compliance Form, and required disclosures and assurances. The proposal abstract is limited to 2,000 characters. The Proposal Narrative must generally be double-spaced in a standard 12-point font, use margins of at least one inch, have numbered pages, and not exceed 25 pages, excluding specified additional sections such as the cover page and resume appendices. Peer review scoring assigns 5 percent to Description of the Need, 15 percent to Project Goals and Objectives, 30 percent to Project Design and Implementation, 35 percent to Capabilities and Competencies, and 15 percent to the Budget. Applicants seeking agency priority consideration should identify the applicable priority or priorities and explain how the project advances them. OJP may consider projects that directly support law enforcement operations, combat violent crime, support services to American citizens, protect American children, or support American victims of trafficking and sexual assault, although priority consideration does not guarantee funding. Recipients must submit required deliverables and regular performance reports. They must also develop and maintain a BJS-approved data management plan and submit it for review and approval no later than 60 days after the award start date, with updates submitted as applicable with semi-annual performance reports. The funding opportunity was released August 13, 2026. The Grants.gov submission deadline is September 21, 2026, and the JustGrants full application deadline is September 28, 2026. BJS anticipates notification by December 1, 2026, and the expected 36-month award period begins November 1, 2026. No recurring application schedule is stated. The NOFO contact is Lizabeth Remrey, Statistician, at AskBJS@usdoj.gov or 202-307-0765; applicants are instructed to include FY26 NIBRS EP in the email subject line. Grants.gov assistance is available at support@grants.gov or 800-518-4726, and JustGrants assistance is available at JustGrants.Support@usdoj.gov or 833-872-5175.

Align the proposal directly with the stated NIBRS goals and objectives and document the need with supporting information, data, or evidence. Provide specific activities, implementation timing, staffing, participants, deliverables, and subrecipient roles. Emphasize demonstrated technical and administrative capacity because Capabilities and Competencies accounts for 35 percent of the score, while Project Design and Implementation accounts for 30 percent. Follow the required narrative format because noncompliance may reduce the score or ranking. Ensure all budget costs are reasonable, allocable, necessary, allowable, clearly described, and supported by calculations.