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The Smart Defense Initiative, administered by BJA, is part of BJA's "Smart Suite" of criminal justice programs including Smart Pretrial, Smart Policing, Smart Supervision, and Smart Prosecution. BJA established the Smart Suite over 5 years ago with the creation of the Smart Policing Initiative. The Smart Suite supports criminal justice professionals in building evidencebased, data-driven criminal justice strategies that are effective, efficient, and economical. BJA's smart programs represent a strategic approach that brings more "science" into criminal justice operations by leveraging innovative applications of analysis, technology, and evidence-based practices. In many states, the public defense delivery system is in crisis, with too many defendants lacking access to quality advice and representation. In addition to being a matter of constitutional concern, this void can contribute to over-incarceration, reduced confidence in the justice system, and other inequities. Without quality effective representation, a defendant may not be treated fairly, may not understand the process, and may not get the benefit of available alternatives to incarceration for first-time or low-level offenses. Additionally, ifthese issues are not addressed, victims are ill-served and the criminal justice system's shared goals of justice and public safety go unmet. To help jurisdictions strengthen state and local public defense delivery systems, BJA is releasing this competitive grant announcement. Under Smart Defense, BJA is seeking applicants who are interested in developing innovative, data-driven approaches to improve their public defense delivery systems guided by the Ten Principles of a Public Defense Delivery System. This program is funded under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (Pub. L. No. 113-76).

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Young Faculty Award (YFA) program aims to identify and engage rising stars in junior faculty positions in academia and equivalent positions at non-profit research institutions and expose them to Department of Defense (DoD) and National Security challenges and needs. In particular, this YFA will provide high-impact funding to elite researchers early in their careers to develop innovative new research directions in the context of enabling transformative DoD capabilities. The long-term goal of the program is to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers in the research community who will focus a significant portion of their future careers on DoD and National Security issues. DARPA is particularly interested in identifying outstanding researchers who have previously not been performers on DARPA programs, but the program is open to all qualified applicants with innovative research ideas.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking applications for the testing and fielding of a data collection program that surveys public defenders. This study will continue BJS’s efforts to collect data on indigent defense in the United States. It will extend the efforts of the Census of Public Defender Offices (CPDO) and National Survey of Indigent Defense Systems (NSIDS) to enhance our understanding of the work done by attorneys who represent indigent clients. While the CPDO and NSIDS were conducted at the agency level, the proposed collection will survey public defenders who provide services to adults and juveniles charged with criminal offenses. The design for this work was previously awarded in the Survey of Public Defenders: A Design Study (SPDDS). The SPDDS was renamed the Design of the Survey of Publicly Appointed Defense Attorneys (DSPADA); however, this first solicitation will be limited to public defenders. Applicants are strongly encouraged to review a summary of the final report from this earlier development work, available in an appendix to the solicitation. Please note that the project recommendations include the use of incentives. BJS is not proceeding with a test of incentives with this solicitation.

This project will provide professional and technical development for defense legal professionals that provide criminal legal aid services in Bangladesh and help develop the organizational capacity of government legal aid committees to improve access to justice for indigent Bangladeshis. The project will provide legal training for defense lawyers to enhance the quality of legal aid services and engage with government legal aid committees to develop strategic initiatives to improve public outreach capabilities, planning, administrative capacity, and coordination among government facilities and NGOs. The project will support efforts to counter violent extremism in Bangladesh through improving access to justice and formal mechanisms to air grievances.

The goal of the Criminal Justice Collaboration and Partnership Program (CJ-CAP) is to provide an opportunity for police, investigators, judges, prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys, court administrators, civil society actors, correctional officers, relevant Ministry of Justice or Interior officials, and other criminal justice sector representatives from host-country nations to produce sustainable, long-term change within their institutions and criminal justice systems through a coordinated and integrated approach to tackling cross-sectoral criminal justice problems. This program centers on potential thematic areas designed at breaking down silos and encouraging cooperation between law enforcement (police and investigators), justice (judges, prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys, and administrators), corrections officials, and civil society or relevant ministry officials, as appropriate, in the criminal justice system with an aim to develop innovative solutions to address fixable criminal justice problem areas.

The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Consulate General Hyderabad (PAS Hyderabad) seeks proposals to organize a two-day conference on "U.S.-India Defense Ties" highlighting the role played by the city of Hyderabad and local state government in encouraging stronger cooperation between our two countries in this sector.

The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is soliciting proposals from organizations, groups, or individuals to enter into a cooperative agreement for a 15-month period to begin no later than August 31, 2013. Work under this cooperative agreement will involve the development and pilot of a training curriculum targeted toward teams of pretrial justice stakeholders who have the primary responsibility of developing and maintaining the pretrial justice system within their jurisdiction. This curriculum is intended to prepare these teams to plan, develop, and implement critical policy and systemwide pretrial decisions in a collaborative structure based on the most current legal and evidence-based pretrial knowledge. These teams must have the participation of the judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, sheriff or jail administrator, and pretrial director, who have primary oversight of pretrial justice in their jurisdiction. The curriculum will help teams explore their independent and collaborative roles in the development and daily operational functions of maintaining pretrial justice within their jurisdiction. This project will be a collaborative venture with the NIC Community Services Division.

The program focuses on areas of strategic importance to U.S. national security policy. It seeks to increase the Department's intellectual capital in the social sciences and improve its ability to address future challenges and build bridges between the Department and the social science community. Minerva brings together universities, research institutions, and individual scholars and supports multidisciplinary and cross-institutional projects addressing specific topic areas determined by the Department of Defense. The Minerva Research Initiative aims to promote research in specific areas of social science and to promote a candid and constructive relationship between DoD and the social science academic community.

 This purpose of this grant is to: educate, train, and produce materials for law enforcement, criminal justice practitioners, and treatment providers to reduce justice costs, reduce recidivism, improve access to services and service delivery, and reduce disproportionality of punishment in the criminal justice system. The grant recipient shall:* Use expert practitioners in the fields engaged in law enforcement, criminal justice systems planning, and drug courts, specifically law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, probation and parole officers, corrections officials, treatment providers, and criminal justice and public health policymakers. * Provide in-person training and jurisdiction-specific technical assistance to a variety of demographically-composed areas at the state, local, and tribal levels.* Include ONDCP policy priorities in the development and execution of training and technical assistance program and educational materials: o evidence-based treatment, medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders, o overdose prevention, o diversion programming with comprehensive case management and service provision* Collect and analyze data from jurisdictions engaged in grantee programming on alternatives to incarceration to determine the effectiveness of the trainings and on-site assistance.

NIJ is seeking applications for the funding of research and program evaluation projects that inform efforts to prevent and reduce intentional, interpersonal firearm violence and public mass shootings in the United States. NIJ will support scientifically rigorous research and evaluation projects designed to strengthen the knowledge base and produce findings with the high practical utility to improve public safety. While NIJ will consider applications for relevant, scientifically rigorous research and evaluation projects designed to produce findings that address firearm violence, NIJ is particularly interested in applications in the following four areas: (1) Evaluate prevention or intervention programs and/or policies aiming to reduce firearm violence; (2) Examine the defensive use of firearms and its impact on firearm violence; (3) Examine the impact of plea bargaining firearm charges on firearm violence, and (4) Improve the understanding of mass shooters and mass shooting incidents to inform prevention efforts at a local level. This solicitation supports the U.S. Department of Justice’s priority to prevent and reduce gun crimes, gun violence related victimization, and the wide range of criminal activities related to firearm violence.

Countries in the East Asia and Pacific region (EAP) are increasingly focused on enhancing regional security. Transnational criminal organizations take advantage of porous borders and fragile rule of law to illegally traffic drugs, arms, people, and wildlife. While countries in EAP face a range of challenges in developing robust rule of law, commonalities provide the context for INL's regional rule of law programming. Interagency and international cooperation on cases remains limited. Corruption is pervasive in many countries in the region. Legal systems are overburdened, and professionals may not have the resources to address their caseloads fully. This project will pilot professional development opportunities for legal professionals in the first five years of their career. The project will focus on sustainable legal professional development for prosecutors, judges, and public defense attorneys involved in criminal cases in the proposed pilot country. In the second year of the project, the implementer will conduct an assessment of a proposed second country for expansion.

The purpose of the Capital Case Litigation Initiative (CCLI) is to assist states with: (1) enhancing the ability of prosecutors to effectively represent the public in state capital cases; (2) developing and implementing appropriate standards of practice and qualifications for state and local prosecutors who litigate capital cases; (3) minimizing the potential for error in the trial of capital cases; and (4) improving the quality of legal representation provided to indigent defendants in state capital cases. BJA achieves this purpose by funding national training and technical assistance (TTA) providers that work with states, prosecutors, and defense counsel in capital cases.

It is in this environment that NIC developed, in collaboration with the Legal Decision-Making Lab of Carleton University, a tool - structured decision making framework (SDMF) - to improve decision making for offenders being released into the community from prisons. This tool, SDMF, acts as a road map or guideline for parole board members to help them reach, consistent, transparent and defensible release decisions. The structured approach guides parole board members through the deliberation process of making parole decision by considering the offender's information that has been demonstrated to be closely linked to positive post-release performance.

The Legal Assistance for Victims (LAV) Grant Program is intended to increase the availability of civil and criminal legal assistance needed to effectively aid adult and youth victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking who are seeking relief in legal matters relating to or arising out of that abuse or violence, at minimum or no cost to the victims. LAV Grant Program funds may not be used provide criminal defense services. Grant funds may be used to provide direct legal services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking in matters related to or arising out of that abuse or violence. The objective of the LAV Grant Program is to develop innovative, collaborative projects that provide quality representation to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.

The Program aims to enhance the capability of forensic science applications in traditional law enforcement/criminal justice purviews and in expeditionary environments. The Program accomplishes this mission by funding research projects that lead to the production of useful knowledge, materials, devices, systems, or methods that have forensic function. To be eligible for an award under this announcement, a prospective awardee must meet certain minimum standards pertaining to financial resources and responsibility, ability to comply with the performance schedule, past performance, integrity, experience, technical capabilities, operational controls, and facilities