Collaborative Issues New Call for Research Proposals to Deliver Evidence Needed to Reduce Gun Violence and Save Lives

The National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research today issued its second request for proposals (RFP) for high-quality research on gun policy and gun violence reduction. The collaborative expects to award up to $9.5 million in total in this funding round.

The collaborative is seeking proposals for descriptive or basic research to assess the characteristics associated with aspects of

• urban gun violence
• domestic gun violence
• mass shootings
• gun suicides
• officer-involved shootings.

It also seeks applied or policy research to inform effective interventions and strategies for reducing gun violence, such as:

• Evaluations of interventions that are implemented by or involve the community, law enforcement, schools or other service system organizations
• Analysis of existing and potential gun regulations at the local, state, and federal levels
• Evaluation of organizational policies, such as police use of force policies or training standards.

This round of grants is expected to fund 10 to 25 research awards, including six or more dissertation awards and up to two postdoctoral research fellowship awards.

“Close to 40,000 people in the United States die from gun violence every year and thousands more are injured. The collaborative is supporting research that can provide rigorous scientific evidence to tell policymakers, teachers or parents what will work and what won’t to prevent gun violence,” said collaborative director Andrew Morral. “We want this research to help fill the many gaps in our understanding that results from years of underfunding of gun violence prevention research by the federal government.”

The collaborative was established in 2018 with $20 million in seed funding from Arnold Ventures to help reinvigorate research on gun violence and injuries. Since then, other organizations have joined Arnold Ventures in funding the collaborative’s work, including Wells Fargo and Missouri Foundation for Health.

Wells Fargo’s significant gift of nearly $3 million will advance research into what contributes to gun violence and how to prevent it. The funding represents the first investment from the business sector in the nonpartisan collaborative’s work.

With support from Missouri Foundation for Health, the collaborative is earmarking $1.5 million for Missouri-relevant research. Missouri has some of the nation’s highest rates of gun violence, and more than 1,300 Missourians die from gunshot wounds each year.

Applicants have until February 4, 2020, to submit a letter of interest, after which the collaborative’s independent Research Advisory Committee will invite full proposals from some applicants. Download the RFP document.

Last year, the collaborative awarded grants to 17 research projects, including two randomized controlled trials and four dissertation projects. Nearly $10 million was awarded for projects addressing suicide, school violence, officer-involved shootings, firearm safety, and other issues.

The National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research supports carefully selected, rigorous research designed to broaden agreement on the facts associated with gun policy and support development of fair and effective policies. The collaborative is administered by the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation.