The Research Advisory Committee (RAC) of the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research met on June 4 and 5, 2019 to consider 47 research proposals aimed at expanding the evidence base on gun policy and gun violence prevention. The committee will award up to $10 million in this funding round.
Led by Chairman Frank M. Clark, the nonpartisan RAC provides oversight for the collaborative and is responsible for all decisions on grant funding.
The applicants were invited to submit proposals after almost 250 letters of interest were submitted in response to the release of the collaborative’s first request for proposals (RFP), in January.
Each proposal received a scientific merit review from at least two Ph.D.-level researchers with expertise in the proposal’s content area, by the collaborative management, and by members of the RAC. Funding decisions were made based on these reviews as well as on considerations of the collaborative’s research priorities and the mix of project types to include in this round of funding.
Applicants will be notified of award decisions during the week of June 10. The collaborative will publicly announce grant awards and recipients in July.
The day before they selected awardees, the committee heard from a range of firearms research stakeholders on where they believed new research was most needed.
Six organizations, representing diverse perspectives, concerns and interests, provided written statements in advance of the meeting and then met with the committee to discuss their recommendations. In this round of stakeholder testimony, the committee heard from:
- Colleen Carr, Director of the Secretariat of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention
- Thomas Abt, Senior Research Fellow with the Center for International Development
- Elizabeth McGuigan, Director of Legislative & Policy Research with the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF)
- Kris Brown, President of the Brady Campaign
- Dr. Robert Kinscherff, member of the Board of Professional Affairs at the American Psychological Association (APA)
- Ryan McBride, Senior Congressional Lobbyist at the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)
This was the second of three planned rounds of stakeholder input on where new and better research could make the greatest difference in promoting fair and effective gun policies. At a previous meeting, the committee heard from groups including the National Rifle Association, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Everytown for Gun Safety, and March for Our Lives. Groups or individuals interested in sharing ideas with the collaborative are welcome to submit through the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research’s feedback form.
The committee also finalized the collaborative’s strategic plan. The plan identifies how the collaborative will work to achieve its mission, measure progress and outcomes, and incorporates feedback from a wide range of stakeholders. The strategic plan will be completed and published on the National Collaborative website in July.
Reprinted with permission from the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research
