NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Drones as First Responders
National Institute of Justice · Other Federal · O-NIJ-2026-172805
Source: Grants.gov · View original posting ↗
- AwardWhat a single award can be worth — the funder's published per-award amount or floor–ceiling range.
- Up to $3.5M
- DeadlineFinal application due date.
- Nov 30, 2026
- Letter of intentDue date for the letter of intent (a short pre-application some funders require or request before the full proposal).
- —
- MechanismNIH activity code — the grant type (R01 research project, R21 exploratory, K series career development, F series fellowship, …).
- —
- DurationMaximum project period for a single award.
- —
- Expected awardsHow many awards the funder anticipates making under this opportunity.
- 6
- Funding cycleHow often the program accepts applications (annual, multiple cycles per year, rolling, or one-time).
- Unknown
- Open dateWhen applications open (or opened).
- Oct 22, 2026
- Total fundingThe overall pool the funder expects to commit across ALL awards under this opportunity — not what one project receives.
- $3.5M total
- Clinical trialWhether proposed projects must, may, or must not include a clinical trial.
- Unspecified
Description
This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Drones as First Responders. This opportunity seeks proposals for rigorous evaluations of implementations of drone technology to combat violent crime, immigration enforcement, and other law enforcement activities. The goal of this NOFO is to provide actionable information about police implementation of small drones through a collaboration between law enforcement agencies and researchers. NIJ welcomes research and evaluation of drones as first responders (DFR) capabilities, including evaluation of existing capabilities or pilot programs at police departments already using DFR, as well as implementation of new pilot programs or demonstrations. NIJ expects research entities and law enforcement agencies to collaborate on implementing DFR and evaluating operational performance. Law enforcement agencies participating in evaluations will have the option to retain any DFR technology purchased through the NOFO at the study’s conclusion.