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WASHINGTON, DC, December 4, 2023 — Today, the Urban Institute announced a new $5 million award from the National Institute of Justice under the Office of Justice Programs to establish and operate a Community Violence Intervention Research and Evaluation Training and Technical Assistance Center.

The center, which will begin its work in January 2024, will be part of a five-year collaboration with partners including the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, and the California Partnership for Safe Communities. Housed at Urban, it will support researcher-practitioner partnerships among Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative (CVIPI) grantees working to reduce gun violence, bolster the process of evaluating their interventions, and enhance the broader evidence base around effective methods for addressing both community and gun violence.

“The funding represents a monumental stride towards amplifying and reinforcing community violence intervention initiatives that counteract the pervasive issue of gun violence across the US,” said the Urban Institute’s vice president for justice policy David Pitts, who noted that Urban and its partners bring a multidisciplinary skill set to this work with community violence intervention expertise, training and technical assistance acumen, and research capabilities. “With a keen focus on coaching, training, and capacity-building, the center will aim to advance promising strategies, while addressing challenges within and outside the CVIPI grantee community.”

For years, community violence intervention strategies aimed at disrupting violent patterns among the most vulnerable people have grown and spread across the nation. Recognizing the value and potential of such efforts, the US Department of Justice made a historic federal investment in community violence intervention programs with its establishment of the CVIPI. 

Launched in 2022 by the US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, the CVIPI seeks to prevent and reduce violent crime in communities by supporting comprehensive, evidence-based violence intervention and prevention programs based on partnerships among community residents, local government agencies, victim service providers, community-based organizations, law enforcement agencies, hospitals, researchers, and other community stakeholders. 

About the Urban Institute

The Urban Institute is a nonprofit research organization that provides data and evidence to help advance upward mobility and equity. We are a trusted source for changemakers who seek to strengthen decisionmaking, create inclusive economic growth, and improve the well-being of families and communities. For more than 50 years, Urban has delivered facts that inspire solutions—and this remains our charge today.