Build Partner Capabilities to Protect Critical Advanced and Emerging Technologies | DFOP0016988

Opportunity Information: Apply for DFOP0016988

The grant opportunity titled "Build Partner Capabilities to Protect Critical Advanced and Emerging Technologies" (Funding Opportunity Number DFOP0016988) is a discretionary program run by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, under CFDA 19.033. Its core purpose is to help international partners better safeguard critical advanced and emerging technologies that can be used for both legitimate civilian purposes and harmful military or weapons-related ends. The government is responding to the reality that many of these technologies are dual-use, meaning they can accelerate economic and scientific progress while also lowering the barriers for adversaries to develop or deliver weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and advanced conventional weapons.

A central problem the program targets is the widespread gap in awareness and readiness across global research institutions, private-sector technology companies, and start-up ecosystems. Many organizations outside the United States do not fully recognize how the tools, data, know-how, and talent they work with can be repurposed for military end uses, nor do they always have mature systems in place to prevent theft, unauthorized transfer, or exploitation. As a result, sensitive research outputs, intellectual property, proprietary datasets, and specialized expertise can be lost or diverted in ways that directly strengthen adversarial military and strategic capabilities.

The opportunity also highlights the broad set of methods malign actors use to obtain foreign technology and knowledge. These methods include lawful pathways such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and research collaborations, as well as illicit activity such as cyber theft, state-sponsored industrial espionage, and covert supply chain diversion. It also flags risks tied to the sale, transfer, or donation of untrustworthy hardware and software, which can introduce surveillance, sabotage, or data-exfiltration vulnerabilities into research and industrial environments. Overall, the program frames the threat as both technical and organizational, spanning cyber risks, supply chain integrity, and research security practices.

Funding is intended to support projects that build partner capacity to identify and mitigate these risks in real-world settings. While the notice does not list specific project models in the provided text, the emphasis suggests practical capability-building such as improving institutional research security, strengthening technology protection policies and procedures, reducing vulnerability to cyber and insider threats, raising awareness of dual-use concerns, and helping organizations adopt safeguards to protect critical data, IP, and specialized expertise from unwanted transfer or exploitation. The focus is not simply on compliance, but on raising the overall maturity of partner systems so that universities, laboratories, and companies can continue to innovate while reducing exposure to adversarial collection efforts.

The funding structure indicates a sizable program. The award ceiling is $9,000,000, and the agency anticipates making about five awards. The original closing date is January 17, 2025, and the opportunity was created on October 26, 2024. The funding instrument type is listed as "Other," and the activity category is also labeled "Other," which typically signals flexibility in how awards may be structured compared with standard grant categories, though applicants would still need to follow the specific instructions and requirements in the full announcement.

Eligibility is broad and includes U.S.-based and foreign-based entities across nonprofit, academic, research, and business sectors. Eligible applicants include U.S.-based nonprofits and NGOs (with or without 501(c)(3) status), foreign-based nonprofits/NGOs, federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), public international organizations, foreign public organizations, U.S.-based private/public/state institutions of higher education, foreign-based institutions of higher education, and U.S. for-profit organizations or businesses. This wide eligibility reflects the program's intent to reach the ecosystems where advanced technology is developed and commercialized, and to support implementers capable of delivering training, tools, policy support, and protective measures across different national and institutional contexts.

In plain terms, this opportunity is about preventing the loss or diversion of strategically important technology and know-how by helping partners build the awareness, policies, and operational defenses needed to protect sensitive innovation from theft, coercive acquisition, and exploitation, especially when that innovation could enable WMD development or advanced military capabilities.

• The Bureau of International Security-Nonproliferation in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Build Partner Capabilities to Protect Critical Advanced and Emerging Technologies" 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 2024-10-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-17. (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 $9,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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