Preventing U.S. Adversaries Access to Critical Technologies and Exploitation of Scientific and Commercial Facilities for Military Advancement

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (ISN/CTR) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) titled “Preventing U.S. Adversaries’ Access to Critical Technologies and Exploitation of Scientific and Commercial Facilities for Military Advancement” (Opportunity Number: DFOP0017248). This funding opportunity supports global efforts to protect sensitive and advanced technologies from being exploited by adversarial actors, including the Chinese government, for military and weapons development purposes. The initiative aligns with the National Security Presidential Memorandum -3 and seeks to safeguard U.S. intellectual property and emerging dual-use technologies through capacity building, training, and strategic interventions. With an anticipated funding total of $30 million, the program expects to issue approximately 10 awards ranging between $250,000 and $1,000,000. The performance period for awarded projects should range between 12 to 24 months, and all proposed activities must conclude within 15 months of the project start date, which is anticipated to be January 1, 2026. ISN/CTR will support projects via grants, cooperative agreements, or inter-agency agreements, depending on the type of recipient and nature of the proposed work. Cooperative agreements will entail substantial involvement from ISN/CTR in participant selection, agenda approval, logistical planning, and implementation monitoring. The program is global in scope and seeks to fund activities that prevent U.S. adversaries from acquiring dual-use technologies via legal and illegal means, such as joint ventures, research collaborations, and cyber espionage. Eligible project types include trainings, risk assessments, tool development, policy consultations, workshops, and study tours for governments, academia, and private industries. Focus areas include, but are not limited to, aerospace, AI, neuroscience, semiconductors, nanotechnologies, quantum computing, and smart city technologies. Special attention is directed to regions and countries that are either targets of adversarial exploitation or play a strategic role in global research and supply chains. Eligible applicants include U.S.-based for-profit and nonprofit organizations (regardless of 501(c)(3) status), institutions of higher education, federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), foreign-based NGOs and IHEs, public international organizations (PIOs), and foreign public entities (FPEs). While cost sharing is not required or factored into the evaluation, applicants may include voluntary cost sharing; however, failure to meet voluntary contributions may result in a proportional reduction of funding. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by July 30, 2025, at 11:59 PM EDT, unless the applicant is a U.S. government entity applying for Inter-Agency Agreement (IAA) funding, in which case the proposal must be submitted via email to ctr-techprotect-nofo@state.gov and ISN-CTR-BUDGET@state.gov. Required application materials include SF-424 and SF-424A forms, a summary page, project narrative, monitoring and evaluation plan, key personnel listing, consolidated project list, detailed budgets, and budget narratives. Optional forms like SF-424B and SF-LLL may also be submitted. Attachments such as CVs and NICRA documents, if applicable, are encouraged. Applications will undergo a technical eligibility review followed by a merit review by a panel of U.S. government and possibly non-government experts. Evaluation criteria include the feasibility and quality of the project (25 points), organizational capacity (20 points), planning and implementation strategy (15 points), cost-effectiveness (15 points), monitoring and evaluation (15 points), and sustainability (10 points). Unsuccessful applicants will be notified by October 15, 2025. Recipients must submit quarterly financial and narrative reports, and a final report within 120 days of the award end date. All reporting must be conducted in English and financial data submitted in U.S. dollars.