National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Gold Standard Science (GSS) Requirement for Applicants
NIJ proposals now require applicants to include a "Gold Standard Science (GSS) Statement describing how the proposed research aligns with principles of rigorous, transparent, and unbiased scientific inquiry.
This requirement stems from Executive Order 14303, guidance issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and corresponding DOJ/NIJ policies reinforcing research integrity and scientific rigor.
This new requirement applies to NIJ funding opportunities released in FY 2026 and later (following Executive Order 14303).
NIJ applicants are expected to:
- Explicitly affirm their commitment to Gold Standard Science (GSS) principles
- Describe hypothesis-driven, testable, and falsifiable research questions and designs
- Demonstrate transparency in analytic plans, methods, and reporting
- Include a clear GSS commitment statement in the application narrative
In most cases, this information can be integrated into existing research design or methods sections rather than presented in a stand-alone component.
Sample GSS Language (For Adaptation)
To support investigators, the University recommends the following sample language, which applicants may adapt as appropriate to their project. Use of this exact wording is not required.
Research Design and Scientific Rigor
This study is designed to meet the National Institute of Justice’s commitment to rigorous, transparent, and unbiased research. The proposed work is hypothesis‑driven and grounded in well‑established theoretical and empirical frameworks within criminal justice research. All primary research questions are testable, and analytic strategies are selected to allow for clear falsification of stated hypotheses rather than confirmation‑based conclusions. A pre‑specified analytic plan will define outcome measures, inclusion criteria, and statistical methods. To the extent feasible, analytic code and derived datasets will be made available to allow independent verification of findings. The research team will maintain independence from implementation partners, expressly address study limitations and threats to validity, and report findings fully, including null or negative results.