Research and Evaluation Initiative

The purpose of the Research and Evaluation (R&E) Initiative is to research and evaluate approaches to combatting domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking (hereafter referred to as “VAWA crimes”). By generating more knowledge about strategies for serving victims and holding offenders accountable, communities that benefit from VAWA funding will be better equipped to align their work with practices that are known to be effective, and they will be more capable of generating empirical knowledge on the efficacy of new and promising ways of doing things. The initiative is designed to support researcher-practitioner partnerships and a broad range of research and evaluation methods, including qualitative, mixed-method, quasi-experimental, and experimental designs. Because OVW has very limited funds to support research and evaluation, this initiative prioritizes topics for which a stronger evidence base would help OVW grantees use federal funds most effectively. 

Topics for Research and Evaluation - This year, OVW invites applications addressing the topics listed below:

1. Evaluations of VAWA-funded interventions 
2. Evaluations of interventions related to new OVW grant programs. 
3. Research and evaluation on ways of ensuring language access in responses to VAWA crimes.
4. Evaluation of training curricula, tools, and other technical assistance (TA) resources developed and implemented with OVW grant funds.
5. Evaluations of emerging innovations for serving victims of VAWA crimes and holding offenders accountable
6. Secondary data analyses related to domestic/dating violence, sexual assault, and/or stalking
7. Research, evaluation, and data analysis related to domestic violence homicide prevention.

For details about the research topics, see: https://www.justice.gov/media/1290361/dl?inline=#page=7

OVW Priority Areas - In FY 2023, OVW is interested in supporting these priority areas:

1. Advance racial equity as an essential component of ending sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
2. Increase access to justice for all survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, including through exploration of survivor-centered criminal justice system reform.
3. Strengthen efforts to prevent and end sexual assault, including victim services and civil and criminal justice responses.
4. Expand economic justice and financial advocacy for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, including as a tool for violence prevention.
5. Improve outreach, services, civil and criminal justice responses, prevention, and support for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking from underserved communities, particularly LGBTQ and immigrant communities.

For information about areas of study, see: https://www.justice.gov/media/1290361/dl?inline=#page=10

• City or township governments
• County governments
• 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
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• State governments

Estimated Total Program Funding: