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 announced the FY25 Notice of Funding Opportunity titled “Preventing U.S. Adversaries’ Access to Critical Technologies and Exploitation of Scientific and Commercial Facilities for Military Advancement.” This initiative is designed to counter efforts by adversarial states, particularly China, to exploit advanced and emerging technologies, international research collaborations, and commercial ventures to advance military capabilities and develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The program will support foreign partners in protecting sensitive U.S. technologies, intellectual property, and research from being diverted for adversarial military use. The grant opportunity, numbered DFOP0017248, is funded through FY25/26 Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) and other relevant accounts, with a total estimated funding pool of $30,000,000, contingent on fund availability. Awards will range from $250,000 to $1,000,000 and are anticipated to support approximately 10 projects, particularly those building on existing programming. The proposed performance period is between 12 to 24 months, with projects ideally completed within 15 months. Award instruments include grants, cooperative agreements, and interagency agreements. Cooperative agreements involve substantial engagement from ISN/CTR in project development, implementation, and oversight. The purpose of this funding is to assist governments, universities, research centers, and private companies in developing and implementing measures to safeguard against the acquisition and misuse of dual-use technologies by foreign adversaries. Eligible activities include raising awareness on dual-use risks, strengthening research integrity frameworks, enhancing cybersecurity practices, improving physical and personnel security across supply chains, and countering the military use of joint scientific and smart city facilities. Additionally, applicants may create tools and case studies to assist foreign partners in denying adversaries access to strategic technologies and propose programming to reduce the military application of artificial intelligence by adversarial states. Eligible applicants include U.S.-based for-profit and nonprofit organizations, U.S. public and private institutions of higher education, foreign-based NGOs and institutions of higher education, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), Public International Organizations (PIOs), and Foreign Public Entities (FPEs). There is no mandatory cost-sharing requirement, and proposals will not be scored more favorably for including voluntary cost-share. All applicants must be registered in SAM.gov and have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Only one application per organization will be accepted, though a single application may include multiple independently evaluated projects. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by July 30, 2025, at 11:59 P.M. EDT, except for U.S. government entities applying for Inter-Agency Agreements, which should submit directly via email. Each submission must include standard federal forms (SF-424, SF-424A), a project summary, key personnel bios, a monitoring and evaluation narrative and plan, a consolidated project list, detailed project narratives and budgets, and required attachments such as CVs, past performance references, and indirect cost rate agreements where applicable. Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of project quality and feasibility (25 points), organizational capacity (20 points), ability to achieve stated objectives (15 points), financial capacity and cost-effectiveness (15 points), monitoring and evaluation plans (15 points), and sustainability (10 points). The award decisions will be finalized by senior ISN/CTR officials, and unsuccessful applicants will be notified by October 15, 2025. Successful applicants will report quarterly on financial and programmatic progress and must submit a final report within 120 days of project completion. All financial documentation must be maintained in U.S. dollars, and the English version of all documents is considered the official version. For questions, applicants may contact ctr-techprotect-nofo@state.gov and ISN-CTR-BUDGET@state.gov. A Q&A document will be posted weekly through July 25, 2025, on Grants.gov. Applicants should start the SAM.gov registration process early, as it may take 4–8 weeks.

ISN/CTR advises following all formatting guidelines, keeping responses concise, and ensuring narratives remain within page limits. Voluntary cost-share is allowed but not required.