A BLANKET PURCHASE AGREEMENT AWARD
The U.S. Department of Justice recently awarded BETAH a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) to provide technical assistance, training, and logistical and administrative support for peer reviews of various Office of Justice Programs (OJP) competitive grant programs. This mission-critical aspect of OJP’s operations is integral to the planning and ongoing implementation of comprehensive services associated with its grant award activities. It involves engaging an expansive national network of criminal, juvenile justice, and victim services experts.OJP provides leadership to federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems, through the dissemination of best practices and knowledge across the US, and the provision of grants to implement effective crime fighting strategies. OJP works with the justice community to identify challenges and provide innovative strategies to address them. Additionally, OJP awards grants to criminal and juvenile justice organizations and victim service providers at the national, state, local, and tribal levels. To make these awards, OJP uses the peer review process to ensure an unbiased review of all applications and provide recommendations to OJP decision makers. On average, OJP issues nearly 130 competitive grant solicitations and receives more than 4,000 applications annually.
Under this BPA, BETAH will work with OJP to oversee this large-scale, multi-faceted grant review process to ensure reliable and fair procedures. In addition to expanding the network of expert reviewers, our team will plan and implement telephonic, in-person, and virtual review panels. These panels convene to discuss grant applications and deliver outputs such as scoring reports and summaries that highlight the strengths and weaknesses of each submission.
The BETAH team will provide peer review support services to various OJP offices and bureaus:
- Bureau of Justice Assistance
- Bureaus of Justice Statistics
- National Institute of Justice
- Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
- Office for Victims of Crime
- Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering, and Tracking; and
- Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (a partner with OJP, in the administration of the Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation)
To complement our capabilities, BETAH teamed with Lockheed Martin Corporation and RealStreet Staffing. Lockheed has more than 20 years of experience supporting OJP and, as the previous contractor, has specifically supported the OJP peer review process. RealStreet has supported the peer review process by providing temporary staffing requirements and supporting seasonal work.
Together, the BETAH team is well qualified to deliver a proven set of OJP peer review systems to provide efficient and impartial processes and procedures for all peer review activities.