BJA FY 18 Technology Innovation for Public Safety (TIPS) Addressing Precipitous Increases in Crime | BJA 2018 13568

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJA 2018 13568

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), within the U.S. Department of Justice, offered this FY 2018 discretionary grant opportunity called Technology Innovation for Public Safety (TIPS): Addressing Precipitous Increases in Crime (Funding Opportunity Number BJA-2018-13568). The program is built around a very specific problem: jurisdictions that have seen a sharp, documented rise in one or more crime types over a two-year period. Rather than funding routine operations or general modernization, the intent is to support targeted, technology-driven projects that can be shown to address those sudden crime increases in a measurable way.

A central feature of this opportunity is that it is not meant to be an equipment purchasing program. In practice, that means the application is expected to go beyond buying hardware or off-the-shelf tools and instead propose a cohesive approach that blends innovative technology with new methods, workflows, or strategies. The emphasis is on identifying, implementing, and evaluating the approach, so the project design should include a clear plan for how the technology will be used, what practices will change as a result, how information will be handled, and how success will be measured. The focus is on problem-solving and outcomes, not inventory.

Eligibility is limited to public-sector governmental entities: state governments, county governments, city or township governments, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. Projects can be proposed at the state, local, county, or regional level, and the program encourages applicants to think beyond a single agency’s boundaries. A strong theme in the solicitation is multijurisdictional collaboration, where agencies share information, services, or capabilities to reduce crime more efficiently. The idea is that coordinated systems and shared approaches can deliver cost and time savings while improving public safety outcomes and strengthening criminal justice policies and practices.

To qualify, an applicant must clearly identify the specific crime or crimes that increased precipitously over the prior two-year period and present that increase in a way that supports the need for the project. The proposal must then connect the chosen technology and methodology to that problem statement, explaining how the project is expected to reduce the targeted crime(s). The expectation is a logical, evidence-informed narrative: what changed in the crime picture, why current approaches are not sufficient, what innovation is being introduced, how it will be implemented across relevant partners, and what indicators will demonstrate whether the effort is working.

Awards were made as cooperative agreements, which typically implies more substantial federal involvement in project execution than a standard grant. The maximum award amount (ceiling) was $500,000, with BJA anticipating approximately seven awards. The opportunity falls under the activity categories of information and statistics and science and technology/other research and development, aligning with the program’s emphasis on data-driven, innovative interventions rather than traditional procurement. The solicitation was created on March 15, 2018, and originally closed on May 1, 2018, positioning it as a time-limited FY 2018 funding initiative aimed at rapid, targeted responses to emerging crime spikes.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the information and statistics, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 18 Technology Innovation for Public Safety (TIPS) Addressing Precipitous Increases in Crime" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.738.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 15, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 01, 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 $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized).

Apply for BJA 2018 13568

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