Community Policing Development (CPD) Invitational Solicitation | O COPS 2021 75009

Opportunity Information: Apply for O COPS 2021 75009

The Community Policing Development (CPD) Invitational Solicitation is a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office funding opportunity designed to strengthen law enforcement agencies ability to carry out community policing. The solicitation frames community policing as an overall philosophy and set of organizational strategies built around partnerships and problem-solving, with the goal of addressing the underlying conditions that drive public safety challenges. That includes violent crime, nonviolent crime, and the broader fear of crime that can undermine quality of life and trust in public institutions. Instead of focusing only on enforcement outputs, the opportunity emphasizes proactive approaches that help agencies work with residents and local organizations to identify local problems, implement practical solutions, and improve outcomes over time.

The core purpose of CPD funding here is capacity-building: helping the law enforcement field improve how community policing is implemented by developing, testing, and spreading promising practices. The solicitation highlights support for innovative strategies and new approaches that can prevent crime and promote safer communities, while also building the broader knowledge base about what works and under what conditions. In practice, this is aimed at producing usable guidance and knowledge products for the field, not just research for research sake. The COPS Office is looking for projects that can identify practices worth expanding, reduce inconsistent performance across jurisdictions, and translate lessons learned into tools that practitioners can actually apply.

A major theme in the solicitation is that deliverables should reflect "principles of good guidance." Those principles are described in four ways. First, products should be quality-driven, meaning they are built around clear action statements that help agencies adopt promising practices and reduce variation in how work is performed. Second, they should be evidence-based, with recommendations aligned to the best available evidence, ideally grounded in systematic review rather than anecdote. Third, they should be accessible, using clear language and manageable lengths that fit the realities of law enforcement work. Fourth, they should be memorable, meaning the guidance should be easy to recall and usable in complex, high-pressure situations officers and agencies face. The solicitation points applicants to the COPS Office publication "Community Policing Defined" for a baseline overview of community policing principles.

The opportunity also ties CPD work to DOJ-wide priorities, explicitly connecting community policing efforts to advancing civil rights, increasing access to justice, supporting crime victims, protecting the public from evolving threats, and building trust between law enforcement and the community. The solicitation describes law enforcement as playing a central role in these priorities by maintaining meaningful relationships with all segments of the community and partnering with those communities to provide prevention, intervention, and response services. Applicants are expected to account for these priorities in their proposals where relevant, and to align proposed activities with the broader strategic direction of the COPS Office for fiscal year 2021.

This particular solicitation is invitational only, meaning applications are accepted only from organizations that have been specifically invited to apply. It is a discretionary award offered as a cooperative agreement, which generally signals substantial involvement or collaboration by the federal agency during the project period (for example, coordination on deliverables, review processes, or other federal oversight expectations). Eligible applicants are listed as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced outside the excerpt, reinforcing that this is not a general open-competition program and is limited to invited entities.

Several operational requirements are emphasized. Award recipients are expected to begin work immediately upon selection and notification. For any deliverables, recipients must follow the COPS Office Curriculum Standards and Review Process Guides (referenced at https://cops.usdoj.gov/training), and must comply with the COPS Office conference request approval process when conferences are part of deliverables. The solicitation also encourages adherence to the COPS Office Editorial and Style Manual to keep publications and products consistent and usable. If a project includes site-specific work, letters of support from the targeted agencies are strongly encouraged to demonstrate buy-in and practical feasibility.

The solicitation is authorized under federal policing and public safety statutes, including the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (as amended) and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Title I, Part Q), codified at 34 U.S.C. 10381 et seq. Like most federal grants, awards are subject to the availability of appropriated funds and any additional legal requirements that may apply.

Key funding details included in the source data identify the opportunity as "Community Policing Development (CPD) Invitational Solicitation" (Funding Opportunity Number: O-COPS-2021-75009), with a creation date of May 20, 2021 and an original closing date of July 7, 2021. The CFDA number is 16.710, the award ceiling is listed as $9,990,000, and the program anticipated making 2 awards. For questions, the solicitation directs applicants to the COPS Office Response Center at 800-421-6770 or AskCopsRC@usdoj.gov, available Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.

• The Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Community Policing Development (CPD) Invitational Solicitation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 16.710.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 20, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 07, 2021. (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 $9,990,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 2 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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