Bureau of Conflict Stabilization Operations

The Department of State Bureau of Conflict Stabilization Operations (CSO) is a civilian sub-agency that designs and executes conflict prevention, stabilization, and peacebuilding programs in fragile and conflict-affected regions worldwide. CSO transacts through both federal contracts and grants to deploy analysis, technical assistance, and on-the-ground support for stabilization efforts.

CSO has awarded 404 federal contracts totaling $111.1 million in combined potential value since 2008, with $98.3 million obligated to date. Contract activity has declined sharply in recent years: 23 awards in 2021, 17 in 2022, 12 in 2023, 7 in 2024, and 1 year-to-date in 2025, with the most recent award recorded in March 2025. Among 84 distinct prime contractors over the last five years, competitive concentration is moderately concentrated by award count but highly fragmented by potential value. Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. leads by award count with 6 recent awards totaling $367 thousand, followed by New TECH Solutions, Inc. and American Association for the Advancement of Science with 4 and 3 awards respectively. By potential value, however, Tuvli LLC dominates with 2 awards worth $7.1 million, accounting for the bulk of recent top-line spending; the top five vendors by value cover only 8 percent of combined potential value, reflecting a long tail of smaller engagements. Eighty percent of awards carry no set-aside designation; 7 percent are 8(a) Sole Source awards, 6 percent are Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business set-asides, and the remainder split among Total Small Business and Competitive 8(a) categories.

CSO has made 49 federal grant awards totaling $108.9 million in obligated federal dollars since 2013, with consistent but modest activity: 5 awards in 2020, 2 in 2021, 5 in 2022, 3 in 2023, and 5 in 2024. The most recent grant award closed in December 2024. Grant recipient concentration is concentrated by award count but fragmented by federal dollars. The United Nations Development Programme leads by award count with 3 recent awards worth $8 million in federal dollars, and The Carter Center, Inc. leads by federal-dollar value with a single award of $9.9 million. The top five recipients by award count cover 62 percent of recent awards, while the top five by federal dollars cover 24 percent, indicating broader dispersal of larger individual awards across different organizations. Cooperative Agreements dominate the assistance mix at 80 percent of awards; the remaining 20 percent are Project Grants.

Contract opportunities are not presently recorded against CSO. Grant opportunities are also not presently recorded against CSO in the available data.