FY 17 National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X-State) Project: Technical Assistance and Implementation Support | BJS 2017 12780

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJS 2017 12780

The FY 17 National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X-State) Project: Technical Assistance and Implementation Support is a Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) funding opportunity designed to accelerate the national shift toward incident-based crime reporting through the FBI National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). The larger NCS-X initiative aims to expand the number of law enforcement agencies capable of submitting NIBRS data and, in particular, to transition a targeted sample of 400 agencies nationwide, including all of the largest agencies, so that incident-based data can be used to produce more complete and detailed national crime statistics. Because many agencies and state programs face practical barriers to adopting NIBRS, this solicitation focuses heavily on hands-on implementation support, tailored technical assistance, and coordinated project management to keep transitions moving and to ensure data meet NIBRS requirements.

This award is structured as a discretionary cooperative agreement, meaning the federal government expects substantial involvement in guiding the work, aligning deliverables with NCS-X needs, and coordinating across stakeholders such as BJS, the FBI, state Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Programs, and local law enforcement agencies. The work sits in the Information and Statistics funding activity category under CFDA 16.734. The opportunity was created June 16, 2017, with an original application deadline of July 17, 2017. BJS anticipated making a single award, with a maximum (ceiling) of $3,000,000, reflecting an expectation that one lead organization would operate as a central provider of assistance and coordination rather than distributing the role among multiple awardees.

The practical purpose of the project is to remove the operational and technical friction that often slows NIBRS adoption. NIBRS compliance is not just a software switch; it frequently requires agencies to change how they define, capture, validate, and transmit incident data. Needs differ widely by jurisdiction depending on their records management system (RMS), vendor capabilities, state UCR submission processes, staffing, data quality practices, and local policies. BJS is therefore looking for an applicant capable of working across these varied environments to help agencies and state programs develop the policies, practices, and technology pathways required for reliable incident-based reporting and routine NIBRS submissions.

Applicants are expected to support NCS-X implementation across four major project areas. First, the project must assist with implementation planning for state UCR Programs and local law enforcement agencies transitioning to NIBRS. This typically involves assessing readiness, mapping gaps between current reporting and NIBRS requirements, creating transition roadmaps, sequencing tasks, and helping partners anticipate dependencies such as RMS upgrades, interface development, staff training, and state-level certification or submission rules. The planning function is meant to translate a broad mandate to "move to NIBRS" into a realistic, step-by-step plan that agencies and states can execute.

Second, the project must deliver direct technical assistance to state UCR Programs and local agencies. This is the core service component and can include advising on data elements and business rules, helping partners interpret NIBRS specifications, troubleshooting data validation errors, supporting testing and onboarding to state and FBI pipelines, and improving ongoing data quality once reporting begins. Because implementation obstacles can be organizational as well as technical, this assistance may also extend to workflow redesign, documentation, training materials, stakeholder communication, and strategies for sustaining reporting once initial grant-driven momentum fades. The solicitation emphasizes that technical assistance will vary by agency, so the provider must be able to tailor support rather than rely on one uniform approach.

Third, the project must provide technological and analytical support to BJS and other NCS-X stakeholders to help develop a suite of implementation options and practical methods for working with incident-based crime data. This means the awardee is not only helping individual states and agencies but also supporting the national initiative by developing reusable tools, approaches, and guidance that can be applied across jurisdictions. It can include creating and comparing implementation pathways (for example, different integration models between local RMS, state repositories, and FBI submissions), offering technical input on data architecture and exchange, and assisting with analytic considerations that arise when shifting to incident-level reporting. The intent is to help BJS and its partners build an evidence-based menu of workable approaches and to strengthen the overall ecosystem for using NIBRS data for national statistics.

Fourth, the project must manage and coordinate ongoing and new NCS-X activities. This is the program-management backbone of the award and includes project management, task coordination, and ongoing support to BJS to keep multiple moving parts aligned. Since NCS-X involves recruiting and transitioning a large, selected sample of agencies, coordination is essential to track progress, manage timelines, ensure consistency in technical guidance, reduce duplication, and maintain clear communication among federal partners, state programs, local agencies, and vendors. The awardee is expected to function as an organizing hub that can manage deliverables, document status, and provide the operational structure needed to scale assistance across many participants.

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced in the original announcement text, indicating that the opportunity is not limited strictly to state or local governments and may be open to qualified organizations capable of delivering nationwide technical assistance and project coordination. Overall, the opportunity is aimed at building the capacity needed to move a strategically selected set of agencies into NIBRS reporting, strengthen state UCR Programs and local agency readiness, and help BJS and the FBI achieve the broader goal of producing national crime statistics grounded in richer incident-based data.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics in the information and statistics sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 17 National Crime Statistics Exchange (NCS-X-State) Project: Technical Assistance and Implementation Support" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.734.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jun 16, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 17, 2017. (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 $3,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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