In advance of the releasing of a formal 2020 solicitation, this brief statement covers a program overview, funding, and eligibility for the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ's) Research and Evaluation for the Testing and Interpretation of Physical Evidence in Publicly Funded Forensic Laboratories (Public Labs) program.
This program's intent is to fund projects that direct the findings of research and evaluation toward the identification of the most efficient, accurate, reliable, and cost-effective methods for the identification, analysis, and interpretation of physical evidence for criminal justice purposes. The program focuses on the assessment of existing laboratory protocols and the evaluation of emerging methods. Regarding eligibility for a program grant, applicants must be, or be partnered with, publicly funded forensic laboratories that are currently accredited by an independent accrediting or certifying forensic science organization. Publicly funded forensic science laboratories include state, regional, county, municipal, and tribal agencies. This solicitation encourages applicant laboratories to consider partnering with another research organization and funding a post-graduate fellowship as part of their proposal. In advance of NIJ releasing the 2020 solicitation, this preparatory report calls on public laboratories, universities, and other research organizations to submit contact information to foster collaboration and/or partnerships to assist in preparing an application for the forthcoming solicitation.