BJA FY 20 State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Information Sharing Technical Assistance Program | BJA 2020 17372

Opportunity Information: Apply for BJA 2020 17372

The BJA FY 20 State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Information Sharing Technical Assistance Program (Funding Opportunity Number BJA-2020-17372) is a discretionary grant from the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, created to strengthen how terrorism-related and public safety information is collected, analyzed, and shared across the United States. The opportunity is rooted in the post-9/11 evolution of the national information sharing environment, recognizing that while major progress has been made, the system is still not at an end state. The central idea is that emerging threats are increasingly decentralized and dispersed, which makes consistent, reliable, and fast information sharing between partners even more important, especially at the domestic intersection of national security and day-to-day public safety.

This program is designed as a Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) effort rather than a direct operational funding stream for local agencies. It supports state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) entities by improving their intelligence and analytic capabilities and helping them align with established national policies and doctrine. The opportunity reflects a long-running collaboration among DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), working alongside the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, and practitioner-driven groups such as the Global Justice Information Sharing Initiative (Global) and the Criminal Intelligence Coordinating Council (CICC). Over time, that broader consortium has used targeted support methods like workshops, seminars, peer exchanges, and hands-on technical assistance to help SLTT partners build capacity in ways that are consistent with major guidance frameworks such as the National Strategy for Information Sharing (NSIS), the Fusion Center Guidelines, and the Baseline Capabilities for State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers.

The practical focus of the grant is to keep advancing standardization and interoperability in information sharing. That includes promoting common practices and procedures, improving the identification and sharing of SLTT-generated information that could have value to broader homeland security and law enforcement missions, and spreading promising practices and lessons learned so that effective approaches in one region can be replicated elsewhere. A major emphasized component is continued support for the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative (NSI), which is intended to help agencies recognize, document, and share behavior-based indicators of potential terrorism or other threats in a way that is consistent, privacy-aware, and useful across jurisdictions.

In terms of who can apply, eligibility is broad and includes public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal governments, nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status (other than IHEs), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses. The award structure listed an award ceiling of $200,000, with one expected award, indicating a single provider was anticipated to deliver the TTA services at a national or multi-jurisdictional level rather than distributing many small subawards. The solicitation was posted July 1, 2020, with an original closing date of July 31, 2020. The funding activity categories associated with the opportunity span employment, labor and training; information and statistics; and law, justice, and legal services (CFDA 16.614), which matches the program’s emphasis on capability-building through training, structured technical support, and improved information practices rather than equipment procurement or enforcement operations.

Overall, the grant opportunity is best understood as an effort to reinforce and professionalize the national information sharing ecosystem by helping SLTT agencies and fusion centers operate in a more consistent, networked, and doctrine-aligned way. By investing in technical assistance, peer learning, and standardized approaches, the program aims to make the broader counterterrorism and homeland security enterprise more cohesive and effective, especially as threat actors and risks continue to evolve and spread across traditional jurisdictional boundaries.

• The Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance in the employment, labor and training, humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda), information and statistics, law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BJA FY 20 State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Information Sharing Technical Assistance Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.614.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 01, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 31, 2020. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for BJA 2020 17372

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