National Victimization Statistical Support Program 2020

Project Description: (18,000 characters max) The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is seeking an agent to support the continuation of the National Victimization Statistical Support Program (NVSSP). The NVSSP is designed as a flexible vehicle for providing scientific and technical support for statistical and methodological research, statistical analyses, documentation, and dissemination related to BJS work on crime and victimization. This vehicle is critical to provide methodological and statistical expertise that complements and supplements the current BJS staffing structure. The NVSSP supports methodological research to improve the utility and cost- effectiveness of the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS); efforts to improve the efficiency of the survey administration and sample design, including the implementation of the redesigned NCVS; efforts to enhance the measurement of existing and emerging crimes; and the continued development of the NCVS subnational estimation program. These efforts are important for producing valid and reliable credible NCVS estimates. Currently in the final year of its second competitive award, NVSSP's research and development work remains critical in supporting BJS' work in addressing methodological issues related to the NCVS, improving our measurement of victimization, and preparing for the redesign of the NCVS instrument. The primary interest in funding a new award for FY 2020 is to support new and continued research needs for the implementation of the redesigned NCVS and other priority areas as well as to support ongoing needs for methodological and statistical research in victimization. In particular, as the field test for the redesigned NCVS instrument is slated to conclude later in this fiscal year and planning for its implementation to ramp up, the NVSSP is expected to play an important role in helping BJS prepare for this transition. To achieve BJS goals for the NVSSP project, the following primary task areas will be addressed during this 1-year project period: 1) continue to assist BJS with activities related to the implementation of the redesigned survey instrument 2) conduct methodological research related to improving NCVS estimates and their utility 3) conduct research on new and existing measures of various crimes and variables 4) address issues efforts related to the annual production of NCVS data including weighting and sampling including support of the NCVS subnational estimation program 6) perform other ad hoc tasks including independent validation and verification of work completed by the Census Bureau and other contractors upon request. Statutory Authority: Under Section 302 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act, BJS is authorized to "make grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements or contracts with public agencies, institutions of higher education, private organizations, or private individuals" for purposes of collecting and analyzing criminal justice statistics. BJS is authorized to issue this solicitation under 34 U.S.C. § 10132.