CDC National Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention (YVPCs): Rigorous Evaluation of Prevention Approaches to Prevent and Reduce Youth Violence

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) seeks investigator-initiated research proposals to expand the evidence base for the prevention of violence among youth aged 10 to 24 years. The purpose of this announcement is to fund the National Centers of Excellence in Youth Violence Prevention (or Youth Violence Prevention Centers; YVPCs) to continue to build the evidence-base for youth violence prevention approaches, build strong community collaboration and engagement to inform the research, and support training for early career researchers. The proposed YVPCs should focus activities on communities with rates of youth violence that are higher than the national average. The YVPCs will address four core elements: 1) Administrative Capacity: YPCS should establish a strong administrative infrastructure within the YVPC to support the effective implementation and evaluation of prevention approaches and the translation and dissemination of results. 2) Research and Rigorous Evaluation: YVPCs should conduct a rigorous evaluation of at least two distinct violence prevention approaches. These approaches must address at least two of the priority research areas specified in the funding announcement to reduce rates of youth violence in the selected communities. 3) Collaboration and Engagement: YVPCs should foster partnerships with local organizations and individuals who can provide insights and guidance to inform prevention and research activities. They should actively engage in efforts to share knowledge and collaborate on youth violence prevention efforts and establish a youth advisory council in each intervention community. 4) Training and Education: YVPCs should integrate training activities for early career researchers in youth violence prevention. These activities should complement the YVPC’s implementation, evaluation, and research efforts and foster collaboration and engagement.