Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2023 171886
The BJA FY 23 Virtual Reality Training Development for Law Enforcement opportunity is a discretionary funding solicitation from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). It is offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning the federal agency expects to have an active role during the life of the project rather than simply issuing funds with minimal involvement. The overall purpose aligns with OJP priorities around advancing civil rights and racial equity, improving access to justice, supporting people harmed by crime and those impacted by the justice system, strengthening community safety, addressing evolving threats, and building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
At the center of the solicitation is the development, design, and piloting of a virtual reality (VR) training program intended to improve law enforcement interactions with all individuals, with a clear emphasis on de-escalation tactics. The solicitation reflects a belief that immersive technology can improve readiness by letting officers rehearse high-stakes encounters in a safe, controlled setting where they can practice decision-making, communication, and threat assessment without real-world consequences. It also highlights that modern VR platforms can support multi-participant engagement, which allows scenarios to involve multiple officers or role-players at once and better mirror the complexity of real incidents. Beyond officer skill-building, the program is framed as a tool that can help law enforcement share the realities of public safety work in a virtual setting with key partners, potentially supporting transparency, mutual understanding, and trust-building.
Eligibility is limited to public and state-controlled institutions of higher education. A key structural requirement is collaboration: the project must be carried out through a partnership between two or more universities. Even though multiple universities must participate, only one institution may serve as the applicant and lead recipient; the remaining universities would participate as partners (for example, through subawards or formal collaboration agreements). The expectation is that the university partnership will combine expertise needed to build a credible training product, such as criminal justice and policing research, instructional design, human factors and psychology, technology development, evaluation, and community engagement.
The maximum award amount is $4,000,000, and BJA anticipated making a single award under this solicitation. The funding opportunity is identified as O-BJA-2023-171886 under CFDA 16.054 (BJA). The solicitation was created on September 19, 2023, with an original application deadline of November 13, 2023. In practical terms, the competition was designed to select one lead university (working with at least one other university) to produce and test a VR-based training program that can be integrated into law enforcement training environments and that specifically targets improved interactions and de-escalation outcomes, with the broader goal of improving public safety and strengthening community trust.Apply for O BJA 2023 171886
- The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 23 Virtual Reality Training Development for Law Enforcement" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.054.
- This funding opportunity was created on Sep 19, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 13, 2023. (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 $4,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.
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