2017 BJS Visiting Fellows: Criminal Justice Statistics Programs | BJS 2017 11861

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJS 2017 11861

The 2017 BJS Visiting Fellows: Criminal Justice Statistics Programs opportunity is a discretionary funding program from the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) designed to bring academic researchers and government statisticians into closer collaboration. The central purpose is to strengthen BJS statistical programs by supporting visiting fellows who can tackle real-world substantive questions about the criminal justice system while also improving the methods and analytics that underpin federal justice statistics. The program explicitly emphasizes cross-disciplinary expertise, welcoming proposals grounded in survey methodology, statistics, economics, and the broader social sciences, as long as the work clearly connects to BJS priorities and data programs.

Projects funded under this opportunity are meant to address substantive, methodological, and analytic issues that matter to BJS operations and to the broader scientific community that relies on BJS data. In practice, that means a fellow might propose research that refines measurement and estimation approaches, improves survey design, addresses nonresponse or coverage issues, develops new statistical models for justice system indicators, or produces analyses that deepen understanding of how the criminal justice system functions. A distinguishing feature of the fellowship is the ability to work either onsite with BJS in Washington, DC, or from the fellow's home institution, while still leveraging BJS data, facilities, and staff expertise. The program is structured to encourage sustained interaction with BJS staff rather than purely independent scholarship, aligning well with work that benefits from agency context, access to restricted or specialized data resources, and iterative feedback from federal statistical practitioners.

Awards are made as cooperative agreements, which generally indicates a higher level of agency involvement than a standard grant, with BJS likely playing an active role in shaping project execution, coordination, or dissemination. The funding opportunity number is BJS 2017 11861, and it falls under the information and statistics funding activity category with CFDA number 16.734. The anticipated scale of support is substantial, with an award ceiling of $600,000 and an expectation of up to three awards. The opportunity was created on March 20, 2017, with an original application closing date of May 4, 2017, reflecting a relatively short application window typical of competitive federal research solicitations.

Applicants are expected to bring strong qualifications to the table. BJS indicates that fellowship applicants should already have a recognized research record or considerable expertise in the area they propose to study. The application hinges on a detailed research proposal that makes a clear case for why the work belongs in the BJS Visiting Fellows context. Proposals are evaluated primarily on three dimensions: how applicable the proposed work is to BJS programs (meaning it should align with BJS data collections, statistical products, or programmatic needs), the scientific value of the research (its potential contribution to knowledge, methods, or evidence), and the strength of the applicant's research record (demonstrated capacity to deliver high-quality work). While the eligibility field is listed broadly as "Others" with further clarification referenced elsewhere in the full announcement, the overall framing strongly suggests the target pool includes academic and research experts capable of producing publishable, policy-relevant statistical research in partnership with a federal statistical agency.

The solicitation also includes an explicit encouragement for qualified women and members of minority groups to apply, signaling an interest in broadening participation in federal statistical research collaborations and ensuring diverse perspectives in the development and interpretation of criminal justice data. Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a competitive, research-focused fellowship mechanism that supports advanced work using BJS resources to improve criminal justice statistics and generate insights that can inform both BJS outputs and the wider research and policy community.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics in the information and statistics sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2017 BJS Visiting Fellows: Criminal Justice Statistics Programs" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.734.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 20, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 04, 2017. (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 $600,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for BJS 2017 11861

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