24STFRG00019

In 2020, our research team at the University of Maryland began development of an open-source, event-level database on terrorism and targeted violence in the United States (T2V). Consistent with the Department of Homeland Securitys strategic framework for countering terrorism and targeted violence implementation plan and the White Houses national strategy for countering domestic extremism, the objective of T2V is to create robust, comprehensive data that are widely accessible to a variety of audiences and to provide critical insights on key questions about patterns of targeted violence in the United States.

Our T2V research team conducted requirements gathering and supporting research to develop a strategy for data collection, analysis, and dissemination. Here, we propose research that addresses priority (I) in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Terrorism and Targeted Violence Research and Evaluation: research to understand trends, nature, causes, and correlates in terrorism and targeted violence in the United States.

The proposed project resumes our work on T2V, building on already-completed requirements gathering efforts and existing research infrastructure to complete the project plan and begin to 1) collect detailed data on terrorism and targeted violence events in the United States, 2) provide relevant and insightful analytical products, and 3) disseminate data and analytical products widely. The project team will combine the fundamentals of social science with state-of-the-art technology and information science, using effective and efficient workflows and repeatable processes that produce important analytical results, while also positioning the project for sustainability and future improvements.

Our approach to this task adopts the following principles: 1) objectivity and consistency, 2) transparency and documentation, 3) building on existing scholarly literature and addressing timely questions, 4) developing novel strategies for efficient and accurate data collection, and 5) innovation to enhance accessibility of data and analysis. The T2V research team will carry out this research with full awareness of the state of the art, including long-standing resources developed by the principal investigators like the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) project portfolio, as well as data collection efforts carried out by others.

We will leverage lessons learned from previous efforts build on existing workflows, expertise, and resources where appropriate and produce data and analysis that complement and contribute to the broader knowledge base. To achieve these goals, it is critical that the data and analysis are accessible to a wide audience. This means not only that the underlying data and documentation are available in a user-friendly format for users to explore and download for use in custom applications, but also that the analysis is presented clearly, and data dissemination tools allow audiences with diverse skill sets and objectives to retrieve valuable information.

The T2V team has extensive experience documenting and sharing structured data in user-friendly file formats producing analysis in a variety of written formats, including infographics, fact sheets, research briefs, full technical reports, and peer-reviewed journal articles and designing and delivering in-person and online briefings. These research transition efforts reach tens of thousands of people each year across disciplines and sectors in the United States and around the world, including scholars, analysts, policy makers, journalists, industry security professionals, and the public.

This has allowed our research team to build a network of contacts that can be used to both inform the development of analytical initiatives and disseminate analytical products to maximize their usefulness.

College Park University Of Maryland

97.108 - Homeland Security, Research, Testing, Evaluation, and Demonstration of Technologies

Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) [DHS]

Maryland United States

State-Wide

ST-FRG-23-001

Termination This project grant was reported as terminated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in July 2025. See All