Federal grant · National Institute of Justice

NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Drones as First Responders

Status
Open
Posted
Oct 22, 2026
Closes
Nov 30, 2026
Est. total funding
$3.5M
Award range
— – $3.5M
Expected awards
6
Opportunity number
O-NIJ-2026-172805
Who can apply

Eligible applicants

Other Units of Local Government

About this grant

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.

Instrument
Grant
Activity
Science, technology and other R&D
Assistance listings
16.560
Cost sharing
Not required
Last updated
Oct 22, 2026

From Grants.gov's public daily extract of Oct 25, 2026. Agency contacts, full eligibility and application packages are on Grants.gov; always confirm deadlines there before applying.

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