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.Apply for SFOP0009254
- 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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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1) What is this grant opportunity?
This is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN), through the Office of the Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund (NDF). It funds one-year, full-time fellowships focused on countering nuclear and radiological smuggling.
2) What is the main purpose of the grant?
The grant has two core purposes: (1) strengthen U.S. security and nonproliferation efforts by leveraging specialized operational experience, and (2) support continued professional integration in the United States of up to five former Afghan government partners who previously worked to prevent illicit movement of nuclear or radiological materials.
3) Who is the intended applicant (who can apply)?
The opportunity is open to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations with IRS 501(c)(3) status. Institutions of higher education are excluded.
4) What is the funding instrument?
The funding instrument is a grant.
5) What is the period of performance for the fellowships?
The fellowships are designed as one-year fellowships.
6) How many fellows can be supported under this opportunity?
The program is intended to support up to five fellows (up to five former Afghan government partners).
7) How many awards were anticipated?
The notice anticipated up to five awards.
8) What is the maximum award amount?
The award ceiling listed in the notice was $800,000.
9) Can an organization apply to host fewer than five fellows?
Yes. 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.
10) Who are the fellows expected to be?
The fellowships are designed for individuals with relevant law enforcement, border security, investigative, or related security backgrounds specifically tied to countering nuclear and radiological smuggling. The opportunity also emphasizes supporting the continued professional integration in the United States of up to five former Afghan government partners with relevant experience preventing illicit movement of nuclear or radiological materials.
11) Does the applicant organization select the fellows?
No. An interagency planning and assignment panel identifies the candidate pool and coordinates with the grant recipient(s) to match each fellow's expertise to appropriate needs and project roles.
12) What is the role of the grantee organization?
The grantee is expected to employ the fellows full-time, host them, supervise them, and place them into meaningful, mission-aligned work that advances U.S. nonproliferation objectives. The grantee is responsible for operationalizing the fellowship work and producing concrete deliverables aligned with U.S. security priorities.
13) Are fellows required to work full-time?
Yes. Applicants are expected to explain how each fellow will be employed for 40 hours per week on counter nuclear smuggling-related work.
14) What kind of work are fellows expected to do?
The work should be counter nuclear smuggling-related and advance U.S. Government nonproliferation and security objectives. The notice indicates fellowship duties may include policy support, operational analysis, capacity-building, or coordination (and not necessarily laboratory research), as long as the work is mission-aligned and substantive.
15) Must the fellowship projects be new?
Yes. A key requirement is that fellows must lead or participate in projects or activities that are new and not already funded by the U.S. Government. The intent is to add capacity and produce additional security value rather than duplicating existing federally funded programming.
16) Can the fellowship be structured as in-person, virtual, or hybrid?
Yes. The opportunity allows in-person, virtual, or hybrid arrangements, as long as the proposal clearly demonstrates substantive, continuous engagement.
17) What does "substantive, continuous engagement" mean in this context?
Based on the notice, the proposal should clearly show that the fellow will be meaningfully integrated into real work on an ongoing basis (not occasional or purely observational involvement), with continuous participation in mission-aligned activities throughout the fellowship year.
18) What makes a proposal strong under this opportunity?
Strong proposals would typically describe (a) what each fellow will do day-to-day, (b) the outputs expected over the year, (c) how performance and impact will be tracked, and (d) how the host organization has the infrastructure to supervise and integrate fellows into real work rather than purely observational or training roles.
19) What should the proposal include regarding use of grant funds?
Proposals must explain exactly how grant funds will be used. In this context, that generally implies personnel costs to employ fellows full-time, project activity expenses, and administrative support necessary to run a full-time fellowship program.
20) How is this opportunity categorized?
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.
21) Does the work have to be laboratory research to fit the category?
No. The notice indicates the category reflects technical and security-focused work even when fellowship duties may include policy support, operational analysis, capacity-building, or coordination rather than laboratory research.
22) What is the deadline mentioned in the notice?
The original closing date listed for applications was January 10, 2023.
23) Where were the full application requirements provided?
The full application requirements and formats were provided through the attached solicitation materials in SAMS Domestic.
24) What is the expected relationship between the fellows' work and U.S. Government objectives?
Applicants are expected to make a clear, detailed case that the fellows' 40-hour-per-week work directly supports U.S. Government nonproliferation and security objectives, and that it results in concrete deliverables and added capacity.
25) Is it acceptable for an organization to propose a cohort model?
Yes. The notice allows organizations to propose hosting one to five fellows. This supports either a smaller placement approach (for one or two fellows) or a cohort approach (for more fellows), as long as the organization can credibly support the proposed number with strong, relevant work.
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