The Laura and John Arnold Foundation is creating a $50 million fund for gun violence research. The fund’s agenda will focus on research priorities identified by the National Academy of Sciences, including characteristics of gun violence, risk factors that increase the likelihood of shootings, prevention, safety technology, and the influence of media.
The foundation has contributed $20 million to the fund and plans to raise an additional $30 million for the project, which has been dubbed the “National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research.” If fully funded, the amount will surpass the federal government’s spending on the issue.
A May 31, 2018 article in The Trace quoted Deborah Azrael, associate director of the Harvard Youth Violence Prevention Center. Azrael provided several suggestions on research projects that could be pursued with the funding, including improving the quality of data on gun violence, conducting years-long studies on social groups affected by gun violence, and launching clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of violence reduction programs.
Read The Trace article: Gun Violence Research Gets $50 Million Boost From Private Funders
Learn more
Gun Violence: A Public Health Crisis (The Harvard Chan Forum)
Why there’s so little gun violence research (Harvard Chan School news)
At gun violence press conference, students, mothers call for action (Harvard Chan School news)