Simpler Grants.gov #O-NIJ-2026-172805

NIJ Grant Opportunity for Research and Evaluation of Drones as First Responders

The U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is offering grant funding for research on small drones used as first responders by law-enforcement agencies. - Government buyer: U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), National Institute of Justice (NIJ); no further sub-agency or office is specified. - Opportunity type: Grant solicitation for research and evaluation, not a purchase of specified drone equipment. - Scope: Evaluate existing drone-as-first-responder (DFR) capabilities and police pilots, or implement new pilots and demonstrations. Research may examine use in violent-crime response, immigration enforcement, and other law-enforcement activities. - Expected collaboration: Research entities are expected to work with law-enforcement agencies to assess implementation and operational performance. - Funding: $3,500,000 is available, with six awards anticipated. - OEMs and vendors: None are named. No drone models, part numbers, or purchase quantities are specified. - Notable provision: Participating agencies may retain DFR technology purchased for an evaluation after the evaluation concludes.

Description

This funding opportunity seeks proposals for rigorous evaluations of drone technology implementations in violent crime prevention, immigration enforcement, and other law enforcement activities. It aims to provide actionable information about police use of small drones through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and researchers. Proposals may evaluate existing drones-as-first-responders capabilities or pilot programs, or implement new pilots or demonstrations. NIJ expects research entities and law enforcement agencies to collaborate on implementation and operational performance evaluation; participating agencies may retain purchased technology at the study’s conclusion.

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