Research Grants for Small Businesses

National Institute of Justice

This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the NIJ FY 2026 State and Local Collection and Reporting of Crime Data program. This opportunity seeks proposals for rigorous research that examines the accuracy of crime data collection and reporting practices across state and local jurisdictions. The goal is to identify common challenges and develop scalable and widely adoptable best practices to improve data quality and integrity. Of particular interest are studies that examine how agencies collect information regarding offenses to ensure fidelity between reported data and actual events and to strengthen broader data governance practices.

Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor

DRL is soliciting a program that pairs civil society led early warning networks with strengthened government rapid response capacity across the Middle Belt. By deploying community monitors, establishing secure communications between at risk communities and security forces, and building joint coordination centers that link federal, state, and local responders to real time threat data, the program aims to detect threats before they become attacks, accelerate security force deployment, and reduce both casualties and attack severity, directly addressing the protection gap and accountability deficit that have allowed this violence to persist.

69A355 Research and Technology

he U.S. Department of Transportation s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R) is announcing a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Tribal Transportation Safety Strategy Pilot Program. This three-year cooperative agreement is designed to address the critical public safety crisis in Tribal communities, as American Indian and Alaska Native populations experience traffic fatality rates more than twice the national average.The primary objective of this program is to research, identify innovations, and develop a next-generation Tribal Transportation Strategic Safety Plan. The selected applicant will develop a comprehensive toolbox of training, analysis tools specifically geared toward decision making when historical crash data is not readily available, and risk-based safety planning guidelines. The project will culminate in a pilot program with at least one Federally recognized Tribal community that has a high traffic fatality rate, and will include the implementation of a temporary, low-cost safety infrastructure demonstration project.

69A355 Research and Technology

The U.S. Department of Transportation s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R) is announcing a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Interdisciplinary Transportation Law and Policy Technology Training Development program. This 24-month cooperative agreement aims to bridge the critical knowledge gap between fast-changing transportation technologies and our Nation's policymakers, lawmakers, and legal counsel.The primary objective of this program is to research, prioritize, and provide instructional materials on rapidly developing transportation technologies, specifically artificial intelligence (AI), automated vehicles (AV), and the digital infrastructure supporting automation. The selected applicant will be responsible for developing three distinct educational tools: a one-day training course for congressional and support staff, a one-hour Executive Briefing for busy elected leaders and policymakers, and a full-semester curriculum for law students planning to work in transportation policy. The project will culminate in regional pilot training sessions and the transfer of materials for future use.

U.S. Mission to Iraq

The U.S. Embassy Baghdad Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) announces an open competition to implement English Access Microscholarship Program for Central and Southern Iraq. The Public Diplomacy Section seeks to provide Iraqi youth with educational opportunities through English-language instruction in accordance with Mission Iraq goals. English language skills are an important tool for Iraqi youth seeking access to higher education, employment, exchange programs, and broader engagement with the global community.

Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor

The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) seeks to support analysis that increases understanding of how malign foreign governments and their proxies weaponize migration to serve their geopolitical ends. Similar to East Germany s Soviet-backed trafficking of migrants from developing countries into West Germany to stoke social tensions in the 1980s, nefarious state and state-backed criminal actors, seek to lure migrants from the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia to Central and Eastern European democracies to weaken and destabilize them. In addition, such nefarious actors exploit or exacerbate conflicts in other regions and channel conflict-affected populations toward Europe. Thus, DRL announces an open competition for proposals for programs to analyze and develop approaches to expose and counter such weaponized migration.

U.S. Mission to ASEAN

The U.S. Mission to ASEAN (USASEAN) Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) announces an open competition for applications to develop, organize, and oversee the U.S.-ASEAN Road to 50: Rising Leaders Forum. This one-day Jakarta workshop will gather approximately 50 rising leaders selected exclusively from the USASEAN alumni networks across Southeast Asia. Celebrating 50 years of partnership, this forum looks ahead to the next 50 years: building an independent, self-sustaining alumni network that collaborates to address regional challenges and advance shared goals. Participants will design joint action plans aligned with U.S. priorities, including strengthening the U.S.-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), ASEAN centrality, AI, digital economy, energy security, critical minerals, resilient supply chains, maritime security, and entrepreneurship. Through expert panels, strategy sessions, and a joint social media campaign, alumni will turn shared policy goals into practical, cross-border initiatives that mark the U.S.-ASEAN relationships successes over the past 50 years and prepare for even more triumphs over the next 50. Please follow all instructions below. Read the full NOFO here: https://asean.usmission.gov/nofo-u-s-asean-road-to-50-rising-leaders-forum/

Maritime Administration

<p>The United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP), codified at 46 U.S.C. 55601, was originally established by Section 1121 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to reduce landside congestion through the designation of Marine Highway Routes. The USMHP statute authorizes the U.S. Department of Transportation (“Department” or “DOT”) to make grants to implement Projects or components of Projects that 1) provide a coordinated and capable alternative to landside transportation; mitigate or relieve landside congestion; promote Marine Highway Transportation; or use vessels documented under 46 U.S.C. chapter 121; and 2) develop, expand, or promote Marine Highway Transportation or shipper use of Marine Highway Transportation</p>

Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor

This program will help responsible businesses counter unfair competition from production models relying on forced labor, worker exploitation, and other violations or abuses of internationally recognized labor rights. The program will also promote worker upskilling by working with leading foreign companies in critical industries to develop and strengthen private-sector workforce development practices and programs that support resilient, rights-respecting supply chains.