Fellowship for Counter Nuclear Smuggling in Support of U.S. Security and Nonproliferation Projects | SFOP0009254

Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0009254

The Department of State, through the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation and its Office of the Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund (NDF), offered a discretionary grant opportunity to fund one-year fellowships focused on countering nuclear and radiological smuggling. The core purpose is twofold: to strengthen U.S. security and nonproliferation efforts by tapping into specialized operational experience, and to support the continued professional integration in the United States of up to five former Afghan government partners who previously worked to prevent the illicit movement of nuclear or radiological materials. In practical terms, the grant is meant to pay an eligible U.S. nonprofit to employ these individuals full-time and place them into meaningful, mission-aligned work that advances U.S. nonproliferation objectives.

The fellowships are designed for individuals with relevant law enforcement, border security, investigative, or related security backgrounds specifically tied to counter nuclear smuggling. A key requirement is that the fellows must lead or participate in projects or activities that are new and not already funded by the U.S. Government. This condition is intended to ensure the fellowship work adds capacity and produces additional security value rather than duplicating existing federally funded programming. The opportunity allows flexibility in how the fellowship work is structured, including in-person, virtual, or hybrid arrangements, as long as the proposal clearly demonstrates substantive, continuous engagement.

Selection of the fellows is not left solely to the applicant organization. Instead, an interagency planning and assignment panel identifies the candidate pool and then coordinates with the grant recipient(s) to match each fellow's expertise to appropriate needs and project roles. This structure signals that the U.S. Government is managing candidate vetting and alignment at the policy level, while the grantee is responsible for hosting, employing, and operationalizing the fellows in a way that yields concrete deliverables and supports broader U.S. security priorities.

Applicants are expected to make a clear, detailed case for how each fellow will be employed for 40 hours per week on counter nuclear smuggling-related work and how the proposed activities directly support U.S. Government nonproliferation and security objectives. Strong proposals would typically spell out what the fellow will do day-to-day, what outputs are expected over the year, how performance and impact will be tracked, and how the host organization has the infrastructure to supervise and integrate the fellows into real work rather than purely observational or training roles. Proposals also must explain exactly how grant funds will be used, which in this context generally implies personnel costs, project activity expenses, and administrative support necessary to run a full-time fellowship program.

The opportunity is open to U.S.-based nonprofits with IRS 501(c)(3) status, excluding institutions of higher education. The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity category is listed under science and technology and other research and development, reflecting the technical and security-focused nature of counter nuclear smuggling work, even when the fellowship duties may include policy support, operational analysis, capacity-building, or coordination rather than laboratory research.

In terms of scale and competition structure, the notice anticipated up to five awards and set an award ceiling of $800,000. Applicant organizations could propose to host anywhere from one to all five fellows, and proposals were not supposed to be judged negatively if they supported fewer than five. That flexibility makes it feasible for smaller or more specialized nonprofits to participate if they can credibly support one or two fellows with strong, relevant project work, while larger organizations could propose a cohort approach. The original closing date listed for applications was January 10, 2023, and the full application requirements and formats were provided through the attached solicitation materials in SAMS Domestic.

• The Department of State, Bureau of International Security-Nonproliferation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fellowship for Counter Nuclear Smuggling in Support of U.S. Security and Nonproliferation Projects" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.224.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 10, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 10, 2023. (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 $800,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 5 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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