2026 CTR Non-Proliferation Programing | DFOP0017675

Opportunity Information: Apply for DFOP0017675

The "2026 CTR Non-Proliferation Programing" opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DFOP0017675) is a discretionary U.S. Department of State grant competition run through the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, specifically the Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR). The award instrument is a cooperative agreement, which usually means the government expects substantial involvement during implementation (for example, coordinated planning, shared technical direction, or ongoing collaboration rather than a hands-off grant). The program is positioned as a national security and foreign policy tool focused on countering proliferation risks and strategic technology threats through practical engagement with foreign partners, especially via training, capacity building, and program implementation support.

At a high level, CTR is seeking projects that help protect U.S. advantages in sensitive and dual-use technology areas while reducing pathways for adversaries to acquire capabilities that could undermine U.S. interests. The description emphasizes training and programming with foreign partner countries to strengthen research security, cybersecurity, and intellectual property protection. The goal is to disrupt efforts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to exploit critical U.S. intellectual property and dual-use technologies, with explicit mention of advanced fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum technologies, semiconductors, and space-related technologies. In practical terms, this suggests proposed activities could include building partner-country policies and compliance systems, improving cyber and information security practices in research environments, strengthening institutional safeguards around sensitive collaborations, and increasing awareness and enforcement mechanisms to prevent theft or diversion of technology and know-how.

A major second pillar of the opportunity is CTR's leadership role in the FIRST program (Foundational Infrastructure for the Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology). The notice ties this work to Section 8(e) of Executive Order 14299 on deploying advanced nuclear reactor technologies for national security. The intent described is to support the deployment of secure and safe U.S. small modular reactors (SMRs) in strategic regions, specifically naming Latin America, the Indo-Pacific, and the Middle East. The stated strategic rationale is competitive: helping U.S. vendors secure long-term partnerships in regions where major power competitors are also seeking influence, with the added assertion that these deployments could generate multi-billion dollar commercial deals for U.S. companies and create significant U.S. jobs. Projects aligned with this theme would likely revolve around enabling conditions for responsible SMR adoption abroad, such as regulatory capacity building, nuclear security best practices, safeguards culture, workforce development, and partner readiness to work with U.S. SMR technologies in ways consistent with U.S. security expectations.

A third prominent pillar is pressure on Iran's proliferation-related activities. The opportunity cites maximum pressure policy (NSPM-2) and highlights training foreign partner countries to implement and enforce U.S. sanctions related to Iran's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. This implies a focus on practical sanctions implementation capacity, including detection and disruption of procurement and finance networks, strengthening export controls and border/interdiction capabilities, improving investigative and compliance practices, and enhancing coordination among relevant partner-country agencies. The description also notes an intent to disrupt broader proliferation networks tied not only to Iran, but also to the CCP, North Korea (DPRK), and Russia, emphasizing network disruption as an operational outcome rather than purely awareness raising.

In terms of funding parameters, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $10,000,000 and anticipates up to 50 awards, indicating the program could support a mix of project sizes and that multiple implementers may be selected across different regions or technical lines of effort. The posting shows a closing date of March 6, 2026, with a creation date of January 8, 2026. The CFDA/Assistance Listing number provided is 19.033, which is associated with State Department nonproliferation-related assistance.

Eligibility is broad and includes U.S. for-profit organizations and businesses; U.S.-based nonprofits/NGOs (with or without 501(c)(3) status); U.S.-based private, public, or state institutions of higher education; federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs); public international organizations; and several foreign entities, including foreign-based NGOs, foreign public entities, and foreign-based institutions of higher education. This wide eligibility range suggests CTR expects to fund implementers with strong technical expertise and on-the-ground access, potentially including consortia that combine policy training capacity, technical security expertise (cyber, research security, export controls), regional implementation experience, and specialized nuclear energy or sanctions compliance knowledge.

Overall, the opportunity is geared toward applied, partner-facing national security programming that produces measurable improvements in how foreign governments and institutions protect sensitive technology and comply with nonproliferation and sanctions objectives. Competitive proposals will likely be those that can credibly demonstrate an ability to deliver high-quality training and assistance, operate in complex international environments, coordinate closely with the U.S. government under a cooperative agreement structure, and show clear pathways to concrete outcomes such as strengthened partner-country controls, reduced technology diversion risk, improved cyber and IP protection practices, enhanced readiness for secure SMR partnerships with U.S. vendors, and more effective disruption of proliferation and sanctions-evasion networks.

• The Bureau of International Security-Nonproliferation in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2026 CTR Non-Proliferation Programing" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.033.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2026-01-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-03-06. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 50 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for DFOP0017675

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