Terrorism and Targeted Violence Research and Evaluation | DHS ST 23 108 FR01

Opportunity Information: Apply for DHS ST 23 108 FR01

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through its Science and Technology-focused research funding, offered the grant opportunity "Terrorism and Targeted Violence Research and Evaluation" (Funding Opportunity Number: DHS ST 23 108 FR01; CFDA 97.108). The program is framed as a research and development effort designed to strengthen the evidence base around terrorism and targeted violence in ways that are directly useful to prevention and intervention work. The overarching emphasis is on foundational, state-of-the-science research that is novel, nuanced, innovative, and methodologically rigorous, including the use of diverse and non-traditional research strategies and multi-disciplinary approaches. In practice, the solicitation is asking applicants to push beyond standard or purely descriptive studies and instead produce findings that materially improve what practitioners and policymakers can do to reduce harm.

The first core objective is to fund basic and applied research that improves understanding of radicalization and violence pathways: how and why individuals radicalize to violence, how they mobilize to violence, and how they disengage from violence. DHS is signaling interest in research that captures the complexity of these processes, rather than one-size-fits-all theories, and that draws on multiple disciplines (for example, psychology, sociology, criminology, communications, public health, data science, or related fields). The intent is to advance scientific understanding of behavior and motivation linked to terrorist or targeted violence activity, especially in ways that can translate into better prevention, diversion, or rehabilitation strategies.

A second major objective is to assess the effectiveness of non-government online interventions aimed at preventing, deterring, or otherwise mitigating harms connected to online behaviors that intersect with DHS mission areas. This includes interventions delivered in online spaces by non-government actors, and the NOFO is explicit that any research involving such efforts must include an independent and objective evaluation component. That evaluation is expected to focus on outcomes and, when feasible, impacts, with an emphasis on measures that are clearly defined, measurable, and repeatable. In other words, DHS is not only looking for creative online prevention ideas; it is prioritizing credible evaluation designs that can show whether an intervention works, how it works, and under what conditions it is likely to be effective.

The third objective focuses on translation and implementation support: ensuring that key stakeholders have the knowledge and tools to put effective prevention and intervention programming into practice. The listed stakeholders include federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial partners; community-based organizations; violence prevention practitioners; and the public. This signals that DHS wants research products that do not remain stuck in academic publication pipelines, but instead result in actionable resources such as frameworks, toolkits, guidance, training materials, implementation playbooks, or other practical deliverables that can realistically be adopted by practitioners and partner organizations.

In terms of topical boundaries, the NOFO prioritizes investigations of historical acts, events, and movements of terrorism and targeted violence that occur within the United States and its territories, or that specifically target U.S. citizens. The emphasis on historical cases suggests a preference for careful empirical study grounded in real-world incidents, using those cases to strengthen situational awareness of terrorist movements and to support better-designed prevention and rehabilitation approaches. At the same time, DHS makes clear what it does not want to prioritize: proposals centered on traditional counterterrorism or state-sponsored adversarial behavior are deprioritized, and proposals that attempt to predict future patterns of behavior or future threats are also not prioritized. This effectively steers applicants away from forecasting, threat prediction, or geopolitically focused adversary analysis, and toward explanatory research and evaluation that can strengthen prevention and intervention capacity.

Eligibility is broad and includes public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations (both with and without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations other than small businesses, small businesses, and other entities as described in the opportunity’s eligibility notes. The funding instrument is a discretionary grant. DHS anticipated making about 15 awards under this opportunity. The listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically indicates the ceiling was not specified in that particular summary field rather than implying no funding; applicants would normally need to consult the full NOFO for budget expectations, limits (if any), and allowable costs. The opportunity was created on May 4, 2023, with an original closing date of June 23, 2023, and it was administered by DHS through the Office of Procurement Operations, Grants Division.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a DHS effort to strengthen the research and evaluation backbone of terrorism and targeted violence prevention in the U.S., with a strong preference for rigorous, multi-disciplinary studies and independently evaluated, non-government online intervention efforts, and with a clear expectation that results will be translated into practical tools and knowledge for frontline prevention stakeholders rather than being oriented toward prediction or traditional state-adversary counterterrorism analysis.

• The Department of Homeland Security, Office of Procurement Operations - Grants Division in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Terrorism and Targeted Violence Research and Evaluation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 97.108.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 04, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 23, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for DHS ST 23 108 FR01

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: