NIJ FY 2026 Research on Gender Dysphoria and Violent Crime | O NIJ 2026 172802

Opportunity Information: Apply for O NIJ 2026 172802

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is offering a discretionary research grant opportunity titled "NIJ FY 2026 Research on Gender Dysphoria and Violent Crime" (Funding Opportunity Number: O-NIJ-2026-172802). The goal of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to support foundational, empirical research examining gender dysphoria, approaches to treatment, and any observed associations with the perpetration of violence or violent behavior. NIJ emphasizes that the current empirical evidence base is limited, especially when it comes to understanding potential causal mechanisms, and is therefore prioritizing research that can help clarify what is known, what is not known, and what can be responsibly inferred from existing data.

The NOFO is specifically oriented toward retrospective, secondary data analysis rather than new data collection. In practice, this means NIJ is looking for projects that analyze data that already exist (for example, administrative records, criminal justice datasets, health or behavioral health datasets, corrections data, or other established sources) to explore patterns and relationships involving gender dysphoria diagnoses and/or treatments and violent outcomes. The agency is signaling interest in rigorous analytic approaches that can leverage available datasets to fill key gaps in the evidence, including careful consideration of confounding variables and contextual factors that could influence observed relationships.

NIJ provides several illustrative research directions. One area of interest is estimating prevalence rates of violent crime and violent behavior within the relevant population, including demographic breakdowns and characteristics of the crimes (such as offense types and other incident-level details when available). Another priority area involves post-conviction analyses, including studies based on individuals who have been incarcerated, which could draw on corrections or post-sentencing data to examine offending patterns, institutional behavior, or other outcomes connected to violence. NIJ is also interested in analyses that directly examine the relationship between violent behavior and either a gender dysphoria diagnosis, treatment, or both, which may include examining timing (for example, pre- and post-diagnosis, or pre- and post-treatment) where the data support those comparisons.

In addition, NIJ is encouraging research that can help interpret trends by examining contextual dynamics, such as the victim-offender overlap. This could involve assessing the extent to which individuals in the study population are more often victims, offenders, or both, and what situational or environmental factors might explain those overlaps. The NOFO also highlights the importance of comorbidities, calling out substance use disorders and mental health disorders as examples. NIJ wants analyses that assess how comorbid conditions may affect, mediate, or moderate any relationship between gender dysphoria diagnosis/treatment and violence, which is a way of acknowledging that violence-related outcomes can be strongly shaped by co-occurring conditions and broader life circumstances.

From an administrative standpoint, the program is run by the National Institute of Justice under the CFDA number 16.560, and it falls under the "Science and Technology and other Research and Development" activity category. The funding instrument is a grant, and NIJ expects to make about two awards. The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $1,000,000 per award. The original closing date for applications is November 23, 2026, and the opportunity was created on October 9, 2026.

Eligibility is broad and includes state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status, excluding higher education institutions in those nonprofit categories as specified); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses. Overall, the NOFO is positioned as a targeted call for strong, methodologically careful secondary-data studies that can improve the empirical foundation around gender dysphoria, treatment, and violent behavior, with particular attention to prevalence, post-conviction contexts, explanatory factors, and the role of co-occurring disorders.

• The National Institute of Justice in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIJ FY 2026 Research on Gender Dysphoria and Violent Crime" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.560.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2026-10-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-11-23. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

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