Research Grants to Rigorously Evaluate Innovative and Promising Approaches to Prevent Firearm-Related Violence and Injuries
🏛 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - ERA (HHS-CDC-HHSCDCERA)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Jul 15, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for research organizations and institutions conducting rigorous evaluation of firearm violence prevention approaches. Researchers and academic institutions can apply to evaluate effectiveness of existing or new prevention strategies. Projects must use scientific methods to assess interventions without infringing on legal firearm ownership rights.
Two funding tracks are available. Option A funds secondary data analysis (up to $350,000/year, 2 years). Option B funds new data collection and implementation studies (up to $650,000/year, 3 years).
Research can address multiple firearm injury types: mass shootings, homicides, assaults, suicides, unintentional deaths, and crime. Studies may focus on specific populations (military, rural, tribal, youth) or settings (schools, homes, communities, online).
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Key dates
- Jul 9, 2026 Applications open
- Dec 1, 2026 Application deadline in 138 days
- Aug 28, 2027 Award announced
- Sep 30, 2027 Project start
Program description
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC or the Injury Center) is soliciting investigator-initiated research to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of innovative and promising approaches to prevent all forms of firearm-related injuries, deaths, violence, or crime without infringing on the rights of legal firearm owners. For this announcement such forms include: Mass shooting incidents, Defensive gun use incidents, Firearm-related homicides and assaults, Firearm-related suicides and self-harm, Unintentional firearm deaths and injuries, Firearm-related crime.
This NOFO offers Funding Option A or B to address the research objective. Applicants may submit a research proposal under either Funding Option A or B (not both).
Funding Option A will support research projects that rely on existing data to evaluate effectiveness and that do not support implementing prevention activities. These projects will be funded up to $350,000 per year (direct and indirect costs) for a period of performance up to 2 years.
Funding Option B will support research projects that require new data collection and/or implementation of prevention activities to evaluate effectiveness. These projects will be funded up to $650,000 per year (direct and indirect costs) for a period of performance up to 3 years.
Investigations could, for example, conduct research to evaluate the effectiveness and/or test the effects of scaling up, expanding, or improving approaches: 1) To prevent mass shooting incidents, suicide/self-harm firearm injuries, firearm-related assaults and homicides, unintentional firearm deaths and injuries, and firearm-related crime; 2) To study defensive gun use as a strategy for prevention of injuries, deaths, and crime 3) For different population groups (e.g., children, youth, young adults, active-duty military/veterans, rural communities, tribal populations, and those at risk of harming themselves or others, including in situations of family and intimate partner violence); 4) For different settings (e.g., rural/urban, home, school, neighborhood, community, online) that can be leveraged to prevent firearm-related injuries and crime; 5) For addressing various individual, peer/family, community and societal risk and protective factors including approaches that address the community factors that contribute to firearm-related injuries, violence, deaths, and crime.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
- 501(c)(3) Public Charity
- City / Municipal Government
- Colleges (all higher ed)
- County Government
- Nonprofits
- Private University
- Public Authority
- Public K-12 School
- Public University
- Small Business (SBA-defined)
- Special District
- State Government
- Tribal Nation
- Tribal Organization
Demographic focus
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance)
- SF-424 R&R (Research and Related Budget Form)
- Project narrative/research proposal
- Detailed budget and justification
- Biosketch for key personnel (NIH format)
- Letters of support or institutional commitment
- Research protocol or study design documentation
Program contact
- 👤 Joyce Dieterly
- 📧 ncipc_erpo@cdc.gov
- 📞 404-718-5301
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 93.136 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
-
$34,000,000
-
$31,738,059
-
$30,693,766
-
$28,459,850
-
$28,222,200
-
$26,704,737
-
$26,450,431
-
$26,071,385
-
$26,070,052
-
$25,767,710
Top States by Funding
- DC 6 awards $120.7M
- OH 5 awards $95.2M
- GA 4 awards $80.9M
- FL 4 awards $68.0M
- PA 3 awards $65.5M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 93.136). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $456,943,397 | |
| 2025 | $458,397,564 | |
| 2026 est. | $458,397,564 |
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
Research institutions, universities, and organizations conducting rigorous evaluation research on firearm violence prevention. Principal investigators typically have research credentials and institutional affiliation.
What is the deadline?
The application deadline is December 1, 2026. This is a fixed, non-rolling deadline.
What types of research activities are supported?
Both secondary data analysis (Option A) and new data collection with implementation studies (Option B) are funded. Projects must rigorously evaluate effectiveness of prevention approaches.
What is the funding range?
Option A: up to $350,000/year for 2 years. Option B: up to $650,000/year for 3 years. Both include direct and indirect costs.
How competitive is this program?
CDC research grants are typically highly competitive. Strong applications require sound study design, feasible timelines, and clear evaluation methods that address a significant firearm violence prevention gap.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Choose the correct funding option early. Option A requires only existing data; Option B requires new data or implementation activities. Misalignment with your approach weakens your application.
- Build a strong research team. Include expertise in epidemiology, statistics, study design, and the specific prevention area (suicide, homicide, mass shooting, etc.).
- Focus on rigorous evaluation methods. CDC prioritizes applications with clear evaluation plans, appropriate study designs, and measurable outcomes.
- Address health equity and population diversity. Proposals that examine effects across different populations and settings are more competitive.
- Include a realistic budget and timeline. Both funding options have specific duration limits; ensure your scope matches the timeframe and budget ceiling.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Weak evaluation designs or unclear outcome metrics. Proposals without specific, measurable objectives for assessing intervention effectiveness are rejected.
Misalignment between funding option and study design. Choosing Option A when new data is needed, or vice versa, triggers desk rejection.
Insufficient attention to legal and ethical considerations. Vague discussion of how research respects legal firearm ownership rights weakens applications.
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