BJA FY 21 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program (BCJI) | O BJA 2021 94001

Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2021 94001

The BJA FY 21 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program (BCJI) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, designed to help communities reduce serious and violent crime while strengthening trust and collaboration between residents and law enforcement. The program is framed around broader DOJ priorities such as advancing civil rights, increasing access to justice, supporting crime victims, and protecting the public from emerging threats. In practical terms, BCJI focuses on place-based strategies that address persistent violence and disorder in targeted neighborhoods by combining data-driven enforcement with deep community partnership, rather than relying on enforcement alone.

BCJI’s central goal is to reduce serious and violent crime, with particular emphasis on gun violence, dismantling gang activity, and improving local capacity to confront drug abuse and related crime. The program encourages communities to use information and analysis to understand what is driving crime in specific places and then coordinate responses that blend law enforcement tactics with community-based crime reduction efforts. This approach is intended to produce more precise interventions, better alignment of local resources, and outcomes that are sustainable because they are built with community input and buy-in.

A defining pillar of the program is neighborhood empowerment. BCJI places heavy importance on community-oriented strategies that elevate residents and community leaders as full partners in identifying priorities, shaping interventions, and sustaining improvements over time. The logic behind this requirement is straightforward: strategies imposed without strong collaboration often fail, miss a neighborhood’s unique conditions, or create unintended harm. BCJI highlights that community participation can improve perceptions of fairness and legitimacy, encourage cooperation with interventions, and support shared norms that reduce violence. Applicants are expected to demonstrate that the proposal was developed in collaboration with community members and to clearly explain how residents will remain actively involved throughout the entire project period, not simply consulted at the beginning.

Eligibility is broad and includes county governments; city or township governments; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; other Native American tribal organizations; nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status; nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (excluding IHEs); and other entities as allowed under additional eligibility guidance. This mix signals that BJA expects multi-sector partnerships and recognizes that effective neighborhood-based public safety work often requires coordination among local government, community organizations, and research or academic partners.

The funding instrument is a grant, with an award ceiling of $1,000,000. BJA anticipated making about 20 awards under this opportunity. The opportunity was created on May 19, 2021, with an original application closing date of June 22, 2021. The CFDA number associated with the program is 16.817, and the funding opportunity number is O-BJA-2021-94001. Overall, the BCJI program is aimed at communities that are ready to pair targeted enforcement and analytical capacity with strong resident leadership and authentic collaboration, using that combination to achieve measurable reductions in violence and lasting neighborhood-level change.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the affordable care act sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 21 Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program (BCJI)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.817.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 19, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 22, 2021. (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 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: County governments, City or township governments, 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, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for O BJA 2021 94001

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