Opportunity Information: Apply for O BJA 2023 171563
The BJA FY 23 Supporting Small, Rural, and Tribal Law Enforcement Agency Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program is a U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP) solicitation administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) aimed at strengthening trust and accountability in policing through body-worn camera (BWC) adoption and improvement. The opportunity is built around OJP priorities that emphasize protecting civil rights, advancing racial equity, improving access to justice, supporting victims and justice-involved individuals, strengthening community safety, and responding to evolving public safety threats. In practical terms, the program is meant to help smaller and often resource-limited agencies implement BWC programs in a way that is thoughtful, policy-driven, and sustainable rather than piecemeal.
This grant is not primarily designed to fund individual police departments directly. Instead, BJA intends to make one award to a single organization that will act as the administrator of a competitive microgrant program. That organization will be responsible for creating the structure and rules for the microgrants, running a competitive selection process, and then making awards to small, rural, and tribal law enforcement agencies that want to start a BWC program or expand an existing one. The microgrant approach is intended to lower barriers for agencies that may not have grant-writing capacity, specialized procurement expertise, or internal policy resources, while still ensuring funds are distributed through a competitive and accountable process.
A second major component of the award is training and technical assistance (TTA). The funded organization must provide comprehensive TTA specifically to the agencies that receive microgrants from that same organization. This means the awardee is expected to support grantees beyond simply passing through funds. The TTA role typically implies hands-on help with the practical and policy issues that determine whether BWCs actually improve transparency and public confidence, such as developing or refining camera use policies, aligning practices with constitutional and civil rights considerations, handling public records and discovery obligations, building community-facing communication strategies, and establishing internal procedures for supervision, auditing, retention, and accountability. In many BWC efforts, the policy and implementation details are where programs succeed or fail, so this solicitation explicitly pairs funding with implementation support.
The opportunity is a discretionary cooperative agreement under CFDA 16.835 in the Law, Justice and Legal Services category. A cooperative agreement generally indicates that BJA expects to have substantial involvement in the project’s direction, coordination, or oversight compared to a standard grant, which matters because the selected organization will likely collaborate closely with BJA on the design of the microgrant competition, performance expectations, and reporting. The funding opportunity number is O-BJA-2023-171563. The solicitation was created on February 6, 2023, with an original closing date of April 4, 2023.
Funding is structured around a single, large award with an award ceiling of $8,000,000 and an expected number of awards of 1. That structure reinforces that BJA is selecting one lead entity to design the microgrant program, manage subawards, and deliver TTA at scale. Because only one organization is expected to be funded, applicants would need to demonstrate strong operational capacity, credible experience supporting law enforcement implementation efforts, sound financial and subrecipient monitoring systems, and the ability to deliver consistent, high-quality guidance to geographically dispersed small, rural, and tribal agencies.
Eligible applicants include nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (also other than institutions of higher education), and other entities as described in the solicitation’s additional eligibility information. In other words, the target applicants are organizations capable of serving as an intermediary and technical assistance provider, not the individual law enforcement agencies that will ultimately receive microgrants. The overall intent is to increase the reach and quality of BWC programs in communities that often have fewer resources, while reinforcing national priorities around constitutional policing, equity, transparency, and community trust.Apply for O BJA 2023 171563
- The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 23 Supporting Small, Rural, and Tribal Law Enforcement Agency Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.835.
- This funding opportunity was created on Feb 06, 2023.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 04, 2023. (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 $8,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: 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, Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the BJA FY 23 Supporting Small, Rural, and Tribal Law Enforcement Agency Body-Worn Camera Policy and Implementation Program?
It is a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP) solicitation administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The program is intended to strengthen trust and accountability in policing by supporting the adoption and improvement of body-worn camera (BWC) programs, especially in small, rural, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
What problem is this program trying to solve?
The opportunity is designed to help smaller and often resource-limited law enforcement agencies implement BWC programs in a thoughtful, policy-driven, and sustainable way rather than in a piecemeal manner. It also aims to reinforce trust, transparency, and accountability through better implementation practices.
Is this grant meant to fund individual police departments directly?
No. The solicitation is not primarily designed to fund individual police departments directly. BJA intends to make one award to a single organization that will run a competitive microgrant program for small, rural, and tribal law enforcement agencies.
How will funding reach small, rural, and tribal law enforcement agencies?
Funding is intended to flow through a competitive microgrant program administered by the single selected awardee. That awardee will design the microgrant structure and rules, run a competitive selection process, and then make subawards (microgrants) to eligible law enforcement agencies that want to start or expand BWC programs.
What is a "microgrant" in the context of this program?
In this solicitation, a microgrant is a smaller award made by the lead organization (the single BJA awardee) to small, rural, and tribal law enforcement agencies. The microgrant approach is intended to lower barriers for agencies that may have limited grant-writing capacity, procurement expertise, or internal policy resources, while still using a competitive and accountable selection process.
How many awards does BJA expect to make under this solicitation?
BJA expects to make one (1) award.
What is the maximum funding amount for the single award?
The award ceiling is $8,000,000.
What type of award is this?
This opportunity is a discretionary cooperative agreement.
What does "cooperative agreement" mean here?
A cooperative agreement generally means BJA expects to have substantial involvement in the project’s direction, coordination, or oversight compared to a standard grant. For this program, that matters because the selected organization will likely work closely with BJA on items like the microgrant competition design, performance expectations, and reporting.
What is the required role of the funded organization (the single awardee)?
The awardee is expected to function as an administrator of a competitive microgrant program and as a training and technical assistance (TTA) provider. This includes building the microgrant program structure, conducting a competitive selection process, making microgrant awards to agencies, and supporting those agencies with implementation guidance.
What is the training and technical assistance (TTA) requirement?
The funded organization must provide comprehensive TTA specifically to the agencies that receive microgrants from that same organization. The program is structured so that the awardee does not only pass through funds, but also provides support that helps micrograntees implement and sustain effective BWC programs.
What kinds of topics might TTA cover under this solicitation?
Based on the solicitation description, TTA typically implies hands-on help with issues that affect whether BWCs improve transparency and public confidence, including policy development or refinement, alignment with constitutional and civil rights considerations, public records and discovery obligations, community-facing communication strategies, and internal procedures for supervision, auditing, retention, and accountability.
Who is eligible to apply for the single BJA award?
Eligible applicants include nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education), nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (also other than institutions of higher education), and other entities as described in the solicitation’s additional eligibility information.
Are institutions of higher education eligible under the nonprofit categories listed?
No. The eligibility description specifically notes that the nonprofit categories listed are "other than institutions of higher education."
Who is the intended applicant type: law enforcement agencies or intermediary organizations?
The intended applicants are intermediary organizations capable of administering a subaward (microgrant) program and delivering training and technical assistance. The law enforcement agencies are the intended recipients of microgrants awarded by the intermediary, rather than direct applicants to BJA under this specific solicitation.
What kinds of law enforcement agencies are intended to benefit from microgrants?
The program is aimed at supporting small, rural, and tribal law enforcement agencies seeking to start a body-worn camera program or expand an existing one.
What is the overall purpose of pairing microgrants with TTA?
The solicitation emphasizes that policy and implementation details often determine whether a BWC program succeeds or fails. Pairing funding with TTA is intended to help ensure BWCs are implemented in a way that is consistent, accountable, and supportive of transparency and community trust.
Which federal agency and offices are associated with this solicitation?
The solicitation is from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), and it is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
What OJP priorities does the opportunity highlight?
The opportunity is built around OJP priorities emphasizing protecting civil rights, advancing racial equity, improving access to justice, supporting victims and justice-involved individuals, strengthening community safety, and responding to evolving public safety threats.
What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?
The CFDA number is 16.835.
What category is this opportunity listed under?
It is listed in the Law, Justice and Legal Services category.
What is the funding opportunity number?
The funding opportunity number is O-BJA-2023-171563.
When was the solicitation created and when did it originally close?
The solicitation was created on February 6, 2023, and the original closing date was April 4, 2023.
What capabilities would a strong applicant likely need to demonstrate?
Because the solicitation anticipates one organization managing the microgrant program and providing TTA at scale, applicants would likely need to show operational capacity, experience supporting law enforcement implementation efforts, sound financial and subrecipient monitoring systems, and the ability to deliver consistent, high-quality guidance to geographically dispersed small, rural, and tribal agencies.
How does this program relate to accountability and community trust?
The program’s stated intent is to strengthen trust and accountability in policing through BWC adoption and improvement, with an emphasis on strong policies, civil rights considerations, transparency practices, and community-facing strategies that can reinforce public confidence.
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