2024 Restorative Practices Pilot Program Evaluation – United States

The pilot sites and TTA providers will be funded under separate funding announcements; this solicitation is exclusively to fund research and evaluation.

OVW expects to issue one award under this solicitation to support various research projects under one award that will generate knowledge that practitioners, policymakers, and the public can use to make decisions about developing, implementing, and using restorative practices to redress the harm caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. The recipient will work in close collaboration with OVW staff, TTA providers, evaluation liaisons, and pilot site practitioners to develop reasonable and useful evaluation measures across and within pilot sites. Additionally, the research that OVW will fund through this award will mirror the aims of restorative practices, use mixed methods approaches, and be adaptable and community-specific with strong researcher-practitioner-community partnerships.

OVW anticipates issuing the RPPP Evaluation award as a cooperative agreement that will involve multiple junctures at which the recipient will be required to submit detailed plans for OVW’s approval before those plans can proceed. The reason for this is that pilot sites have not been identified yet, and an evaluator cannot realistically determine a detailed and comprehensive evaluation approach without information about the pilot sites. Applicants’ proposals should include recommended check points at which the evaluator and OVW staff will confer before different phases of project activities proceed.

Pilot Sites 

• In 2024, OVW anticipates releasing a competitive solicitation to invite applications for RPPP pilot site awards. After that solicitation closes, which is estimated to be in Summer 2024, OVW will subject the applications to a review process to assess, among other factors, applicants’ capacity to: (a) implement programming aligned with the pilot program defined in 34 U.S.C. § 12514; (b) implement an approach that is conducted in a victim services framework and adheres to guardrails set forth in the statute and those required by OVW to ensure safety and autonomy for the person(s) harmed and accountability for the person who committed the harm; (c) participate in intensive and tailored TTA; and (d) participate in evaluation efforts, including designating an Evaluation Liaison. OVW anticipates selecting up to or greater than 10 pilot sites and awarding them a maximum of $2 million each for an initial five-year project that will involve a planning phase.

Training and Technical Assistance 

• OVW issued a Call for Concept Papers in March 2023 to identify organizations with the requisite experience and capacity to provide training and technical assistance (TTA) to grantees, subgrantees, and potential grantees and subgrantees of the Restorative Practices Pilot Program (RPPP). Following an intensive review of responses to the Call for Concept Papers, OVW invited five entities to submit full applications. OVW issued awards to three of those applicants in March 2024 for five-year TTA projects that will run from April 2024 through March 2029 and will involve a planning phase. In addition to providing TTA to the pilot sites, the TTA providers will participate in evaluation efforts of the RPPP funded through this solicitation.

Funding Information

• Applicants should request an award period of 60 months, and maximum total project funding of $8,000,000. The budget cap of $8,000,000 includes direct and indirect costs. OVW anticipates making one award under this solicitation.
• Budgets, including the total estimated funding requested on the SF-424, must reflect a 60 month project duration. OVW anticipates making one award for a total of $8,000,000 with the award period beginning on October 1, 2024.

Methodological Principles 

• Any project funded under this solicitation must adhere to the methodological principles listed below. OVW will only support research methods that:
  • Are well-matched to the purpose of the research and build on existing evidence;
  • Uphold victim safety as the paramount objective, with the understanding that scientific progress is always subordinate to that objective;
  • Are likely to yield findings that have practical utility for victim services providers, justice system professionals, and others;
  • Are developed collaboratively between researchers and practitioners;
  • Place as minimal a burden as possible on crime victims, offenders, and systems;
  • Operate from a cogent theoretical framework; and
  • Have been approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) if they involve human subjects research.

Out-of-Scope Activities 

• The activities listed below are out of the program scope and will not be funded under this program. See also the list of unallowable costs in the Funding Restrictions section of this solicitation.
  • Proposals primarily to purchase equipment, materials, or supplies. (A budget may include these items if they are necessary to conduct the proposed study.)
  • Proposals that are not responsive to this specific solicitation.
  • Training in support of programs or direct services unrelated to or, unassociated with, the proposed research project.
• Applications that propose activities deemed to be substantially out-of-scope may be eliminated from consideration.

Research Team Capabilities and Competencies 

• OVW expects applicants to demonstrate:
  • Capacity to develop and conduct rigorous mixed-methods research projects;
  • Experience developing and conducting research in meaningful partnership with non-researchers, and capacity to involve, recruit, and train local community members to help conduct research locally and collaborate with Evaluation Liaisons designated by the pilot sites;
  • An understanding of RPs generally and their use specifically in matters involving domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking;
  • Ability to formulate a research design that is consistent with, or mirrors, some of the goals of RPs, such as approaches that are geared toward empowerment, conducive to healing, and make space for multiple perspectives.

Eligibility Criteria

• The following entities are eligible to apply for RPPP Evaluation funding:
  • Nonprofits, including culturally specific and population specific organizations, with 501 (c)(3) status with the IRS.
  • Nonprofits, including culturally specific and population specific organizations, without 501(c)(3) status with the IRS.
  • Private institutions of higher education.
  • Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education.
  • An eligible entity shall demonstrate, through its own organizational capacity and/or through partnerships, a history of comprehensive training and experience in conducting research with victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
• Foreign governments, foreign organizations, and foreign institutions of higher education are not eligible to apply.
• Faith-Based and community organizations, including culturally specific organizations, tribal organizations, and population-specific organizations, that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this solicitation.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.