Grants / Department of State / Bureau of International Security-Nonproliferation

DFOP0017252: Denying U.S. Adversaries Access to Sensitive Nuclear, Missile, and Advanced Technical Expertise for Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs that Threaten America

Closed Closed July 30, 2025 Opportunity DFOP0017252 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of Bureau of International Security-Nonproliferation notices from 2025.

• Award ceiling$2.0 million
• Award floor$100,000
• Total funding$6.0 million
• Expected awards5
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeCooperative Agreement

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

The following organizations are eligible to apply: U.S. for-profit organizations or businesses; U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations with or without 501(c) (3) status of the U.S. tax code; U.S.-based private, public, or state institutions of higher education; foreign-based non-profit organizations/non-government organizations (NGO); Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs); Public International Organizations (PIO) ; Foreign Public Entities (FPE); and foreign-based institutions of higher education.

Is this a realistic fit?

• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

ISN/CTR created the Nonproliferation Scientist Engagement Program (NSEP) to provide focused, near-term national security engagement to civilian scientists, technicians, and engineers (STE) with nuclear, missile, and other advanced WMD-relevant technical expertise who are geographically displaced or otherwise rendered financially vulnerable to exploitation by Iran, North Korea, China, or other U.S. adversaries for WMD programs that threaten the American homeland, American lives, and American prosperity. Tailored for FY 25/26 to advance President Trump’s Maximum Pressure Campaign on Iran, address North Korea’s WMD and ballistic missile programs, and deny the Chinese Communist Party access to expertise to advance WMD programs designed to challenge American security and American leadership, NSEP focuses narrowly on the subset of civilian STEs who have scientific or engineering expertise that could be redirected and exploited by U.S. adversaries to support nuclear, ballistic missile, and advanced weapons programs that could be used to attack the United States. Additionally, this program protects America's technological edge by preventing expertise proliferation of sensitive technical expertise to U.S. adversaries and builds U.S. private sector and related scientific partnerships with these scientists instead.

Category: Other.

We found no grant awards under Assistance Listing 19.033 in fiscal 2021 to 2025, which usually means the program is new or very small.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

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