2020 CTR Global Chemical Security Engagement Activities | SFOP0006244

Opportunity Information: Apply for SFOP0006244

The 2020 CTR Global Chemical Security Engagement Activities opportunity (SFOP0006244) is a U.S. Department of State grant competition run through the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation under the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) umbrella, specifically supporting the Chemical Security Program (CSP). The core purpose is to help partners overseas prevent, detect, and respond to chemical threats by reducing the risk that terrorist groups or proliferator states can obtain or use chemicals and related capabilities for chemical attacks. In practical terms, CSP is looking to fund on-the-ground engagement that improves how countries and key institutions anticipate chemical weapon risks, secure dangerous materials, and build the capacity to recognize and disrupt early indicators of chemical weapon production or attack planning.

The program is international in focus, concentrating on the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. These are regions where non-state actors and proliferator states have shown either the intent or the capability to pursue chemical weapons, weaponizable toxic industrial chemicals, and enabling assets such as specialized equipment, technologies, know-how, and infrastructure. The opportunity description makes clear that CSP is not limited to a single sector; it intentionally works across law enforcement, government agencies, universities and research organizations, and industrial stakeholders. The idea is to strengthen whole-of-society chemical security ecosystems rather than treating chemical security as only a military or intelligence problem.

Activities supported by this opportunity generally fall into three connected lines of effort. First, preventing diversion and transfer: securing chemical weapons-related assets and reducing the chances that sensitive chemicals, equipment, technical expertise, or production infrastructure can be diverted to terrorist networks or proliferator states. Second, vulnerability identification and remediation: helping partners find weak points in chemical security, whether those vulnerabilities are physical (storage, access control, inventory management), procedural (screening, compliance, reporting), or systemic (regulatory gaps, lack of coordination between agencies, limited investigative capability). Third, early warning and investigative capacity: improving the ability to detect and investigate signals that suggest chemical weapon production or attack planning, which can include suspicious procurement patterns, anomalous laboratory activity, illicit trafficking indicators, or other precursor behaviors that merit attention and follow-up.

A notable emphasis in the announcement is innovation. CSP explicitly values innovative strategies and novel tools that can adapt to evolving chemical weapon threats. That can reasonably include new training approaches, risk assessment methods, interdiction-support tools, industry engagement models, or other practical solutions that help partners stay ahead of adversaries who may change tactics, materials, or procurement channels. The framing also suggests the program is threat-driven and selective, aiming resources at places and problems with demonstrated relevance to chemical weapon development, acquisition, or use.

From an administrative standpoint, the award mechanism is a cooperative agreement, which typically means the U.S. government expects substantial involvement during implementation, such as coordinated planning, iterative oversight, and close collaboration on deliverables. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding and is listed under CFDA 19.033. Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to a wide range of entity types), subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that may appear in the full solicitation. The posting was created on November 1, 2019, with an original closing date of January 31, 2020. The notice indicates an award ceiling of 1 (as recorded in the source data) and an expectation of approximately 10 awards, signaling an intent to support multiple projects or implementers under this funding round.

Overall, this opportunity is designed to fund practical, partner-facing chemical security engagements that reduce the likelihood of chemical attacks and limit the proliferation of weaponizable chemicals and enabling assets. It prioritizes capacity building across institutions, proactive detection and investigation of early warning signs, and targeted security improvements in higher-risk environments, while encouraging creative approaches that can keep pace with changing chemical weapon threat landscapes.

• The Department of State, Bureau of International Security-Nonproliferation in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2020 CTR Global Chemical Security Engagement Activities" 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 Nov 01, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 31, 2020. (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 $1.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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