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

The U.S. Department of State’s (DOS) Office of the Nonproliferation and Disarmament Fund (NDF) seeks to award grants to an institution/institutions to support one-year fellowships for up to five (5) of the U.S. Government’s former Afghan partners, who were previously employed by the Afghan government to prevent the smuggling of nuclear or radiological materials. The fellowships should employ these individuals with experience in law enforcement or security fields related to counter nuclear smuggling, export controls, or border security and the individuals must lead or participate in new projects/activities that are not currently funded by the U.S. Government. Individuals will be selected by an interagency planning and assignment panel, which will determine the list of candidates and will work with the grant recipient(s) to match expertise with needs. These individuals have transitioned to life in the United States under DOS and/or Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designations (i.e., refugee, humanitarian parole, Priority-1, Priority-2) and apply for work authorization as part of that process. All proposals must make a clear and compelling case for how the fellow will be engaged in work related to counter nuclear smuggling for 40 hours/week, how this work supports the nonproliferation and security objectives of the U.S. Government, and how the grant funding will be used. Proposals may offer to sponsor anywhere from one to all five fellows. Fellowship proposals that do not house all five fellows will not be penalized in the evaluation panel. In-person, virtual, and hybrid formats will be considered.