OVW Fiscal Year 2022 Measuring Effectiveness Initiative Solicitation | O OVW 2022 171384

Opportunity Information: Apply for O OVW 2022 171384

The OVW Fiscal Year 2022 Measuring Effectiveness Initiative (VAWA MEI) Solicitation is a discretionary funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), offered as a cooperative agreement under CFDA 16.526 (Technical Assistance). Its core purpose is to sustain and strengthen OVW's ability to measure and communicate the effectiveness of programs funded under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The legal basis for the initiative is tied to VAWA and related statutory authorities, including requirements that VAWA grantees report on program effectiveness to the Attorney General, and that the Attorney General report to Congress every two years on the effectiveness of grant-funded activities. In practical terms, this opportunity exists because OVW must reliably collect, interpret, and summarize performance information across many grant programs and jurisdictions, and do so in a way that supports accountability, continuous improvement, and Congressional reporting.

The solicitation builds on OVW's established performance reporting system, which uses annual and semi-annual reporting forms tailored to each OVW grant program. These forms capture both quantitative outputs (consistent measures that can be aggregated across grantees and programs) and qualitative context (narrative information about goals, activities, accomplishments, and unmet needs). OVW uses these data for multiple operational and oversight functions: monitoring grant implementation, identifying where training and technical assistance are needed, sharing results with stakeholders, spotting promising practices, meeting obligations under GPRA and related performance laws, responding to DOJ performance and budget data requests, preparing required reports to Congress, and handling ad hoc inquiries from inside and outside government. The VAWA MEI awardee is essentially the technical and analytical partner that helps OVW keep this system accurate, useful, and responsive to evolving information needs.

The funded work is described as the first 12 to 18 months of a larger five-year project to continue and enhance the VAWA MEI. Key activities include reviewing, cleaning, and analyzing data submitted through grantee performance reports; maintaining those data in a database; and working closely with OVW to meet routine and special reporting requirements. The recipient is also expected to respond to data requests, support OVW in preparing reports to Congress and other public-facing materials, and produce additional analyses related to VAWA-funded activities. Another major component is providing ongoing training and technical assistance to OVW grantees so they can collect performance data that better assesses their own progress and complete performance reports accurately and consistently. The project also emphasizes staying current on newly published research and data related to gender-based violence, then incorporating relevant findings into OVW reporting and analytical products. Finally, the awardee is expected to create practical tools that make performance data collection, reporting, and analysis easier for formula program grantees and subgrantees, which is often where reporting burdens and data quality challenges can be most pronounced.

Funding is structured as a cooperative agreement, signaling that OVW expects substantial involvement in guiding and collaborating on the work rather than simply receiving deliverables at arm's length. The overall project period is five years (60 months), but the initial award supports only 12 to 18 months of activity, with the project start date set for January 1, 2023. After that initial period, the recipient may apply for additional funding for the remaining 42 to 48 months on a noncompetitive basis in FY 2023, but continuation is not automatic; it is discretionary with the OVW Director and will consider past performance. Applicants are required to submit a budget that covers only the initial 12 to 18 months, and the SF-424 "estimated funding" figure must match that same initial time window rather than the full five-year horizon.

The award ceiling for the initial budget period is up to $2.6 million, and OVW expects to make a single award. Applicants are cautioned not to exceed the stated maximum and to align proposed costs with what is realistically needed to deliver the full scope of data management, analysis, reporting support, and training/technical assistance. Budget reasonableness is explicitly identified as an evaluation factor, meaning proposals will be judged not only on technical approach and capability but also on whether costs make sense relative to the work plan.

Eligible applicants include a range of entities with the capacity to carry out national-level performance measurement, analysis, and technical assistance functions: public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3), excluding institutions of higher education in those nonprofit categories); and Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments). The solicitation was posted on September 8, 2022, and the original application deadline was November 7, 2022. Overall, the opportunity is designed to ensure OVW can credibly aggregate and interpret grantee performance information, improve data quality through hands-on support, and produce timely, research-informed reporting that meets statutory requirements and informs policy, budget, and program decisions.

• The Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "OVW Fiscal Year 2022 Measuring Effectiveness Initiative Solicitation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.526.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 08, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 07, 2022. (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 $2,600,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, 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.

Apply for O OVW 2022 171384

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