The Department of State’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (ISN/CTR) is pleased to announce an open competition for assistance awards through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). ISN/CTR sponsors foreign assistance activities funded by the Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) and other accounts, and focuses on mitigating weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and WMD-related delivery systems proliferation and security threats from non-state actors and proliferator states. An underlying aim of all ISN/CTR’s efforts is long-term sustainability to maximize programmatic impact while minimizing the need for foreign partners to rely on outside financial or technical assistance.
As part of the FIRST program, ISN/CTR launched the Nuclear Expediting the Energy Transition (NEXT) One Stop Shop for SMR Support Program to establish a virtual regional support center for eligible current nuclear energy countries and prospective nuclear energy newcomer countries in Europe and Eurasia that are nearing Milestone 2 (the decision to issue a tender) in the IAEA’s milestones process. In FY24, ISN/CTR seeks to expand the NEXT program. Through this virtual center, NEXT will provide countries approaching deployment decisions for a specific reactor project with a suite of advanced U.S. Government-sponsored project preparation tools. The NEXT One Stop Shop for SMR Support will be accessible through a virtual platform now under development for this project. The NEXT virtual center will offer a suite of technical, financial, and regulatory advisory services and expert exchanges for which interested European and Eurasian states may apply, such as: 1) targeted technical and regulatory consultancies and advisory services for potential SMR utilities, operators, national regulatory authorities, ministries of energy, others to support near-term anticipated SMR deployments with significant U.S.-origin content; 2) academic partnerships with U.S. university nuclear engineering programs for joint curriculum development, faculty and graduate student exchanges and select fellowships to develop the next generation civil nuclear workforce; 3) financial consulting support for NEXT countries to secure sound and responsible financing for suitable SMR projects; 4) an SMR simulator, related curriculum development and training to support the deployment of a regional SMR training hub for Southeast Asia and the expansion of a planned regional SMR training hub for Central Asia; and 5) SMR capacity-building study tours for partner country nuclear energy sector representatives to visit potential U.S. nuclear suppliers, universities, nuclear power plants, appropriate nuclear fuel facilities, and USG agencies. This NOFO is intended to identify the implementers who will provide these services to eligible partner countries as directed by ISN/CTR.
Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal package per organization. If more than one proposal package is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution may be considered ineligible for funding. Interested applicants from within Duke should contact fundopps@duke.edu as early as possible.
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2024
The following organizations are eligible to apply: • Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations • Public and private educational institutions • Federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) • For-profit organizations Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions
Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of $5,000,000