Solicitation: Forensic DNA Unit Efficiency Improvement

Solicitation: Forensic DNA Unit Efficiency Improvement

All applications are due March 23 2009, 11:59 p.m. eastern time.

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a component of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). NIJ provides objective, independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to enhance the administration of justice and public safety. NIJ solicits applications to inform its search for the knowledge and tools to guide policy and practice.

With this solicitation, NIJ is seeking proposals from States and units of local government for projects to improve the efficiency and capacity of public forensic DNA laboratories through the development and adoption of an improved laboratory process. Eligible public forensic DNA laboratories may submit proposals for projects that will increase capacity to meet the mission-critical needs of these laboratories within the scope of this solicitation. Priority consideration will be given to proposals that involve novel or innovative solutions and/or have the potential to affect the entire DNA forensic community. NIJ’s objective is to publish successful, carefully evaluated, and novel efficiency improvement methodologies as models to be considered by other public forensic laboratories.

This solicitation will not fund proposals seeking to support efficiency and capacity enhancement projects that would duplicate projects eligible for support and planned to be supported under the FY2009 Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Program.

The due date for applying for funding under this announcement is March 23 2009, 11:59 p.m. eastern time.

Within 24 to 48 hours after submitting your electronic application, you should receive an e-mail validation message from Grants.gov. The validation message will tell you if the application has been received and validated or if it has been rejected, and why.

Important: You are urged to submit your application at least 72 hours prior to the due date of the application to allow time to receive the validation message and to correct any problems that may have caused the rejection notification.

For a copy of the solicitation go to www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000867.pdf

For assistance with the requirements of this solicitation, contact Mark S. Nelson, Senior Program Manager, at 202–616–1960 or Mark.S.Nelson@usdoj.gov or Minh Nguyen, Program Manager, at 202–305–2664 or Minh.Nguyen@usdoj.gov.

This application must be submitted through Grants.gov. For technical assistance with submitting the application, call the Grants.gov Customer Support Hotline at 1–800–518– 4726 or send an e-mail to support@grants.gov.