Funding will be available for one and two-year research projects
The National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research (NCGVR) will award more than $3 million in funding for research on extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), also known as gun violence restraining orders or red flag laws.
The funding round will be open to research on all aspects of ERPOs, including descriptive research on how such orders are used by courts, police, families, and communities; their effectiveness in reducing firearms violence; equity impacts and effects on vulnerable communities; whether recipients of these orders receive due process and fair treatment; implementation best practices; and other related research questions.
ERPO laws are risk-based, temporary protective orders issued by courts to remove firearms from people who have been determined to be at risk of harming others or themselves.
The 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act set aside $750 million to support state and local implementation of ERPOs, and many states have implemented some type of ERPO legislation.
NCGVR director Andrew Morral said, “ERPOs are a relatively recent innovation, and early evidence suggests they may be helpful in reducing gun violence and suicide, but there is a lot to learn yet about when, for whom, and under what conditions they are most likely to be effective. With this new funding round NCGVR will concentrate new funding on answering questions like these.”
The Request for Proposals will be released on July 17, with letters of interest due on September 5, 2023.
Support for this round of grantmaking was provided by Arnold Ventures and marks NCGVR’s fifth major funding round.
NCGVR funds rigorous scientific research on firearm violence reduction in the United States and has awarded more than $21 million across 50 research projects.
NCGVR is funded through philanthropic donations and was established in 2018 with support from Arnold Ventures to help broaden research on gun violence and injuries. It is administered by the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation.