Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

The Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, a civilian sub-agency within the State Department, administers educational exchanges, cultural programs, and international partnerships that advance U.S. diplomatic objectives through people-to-people engagement and institutional collaboration. The Bureau operates both contracting and grant-making functions to procure services and fund exchange organizations, educational institutions, and international partners worldwide.

The Bureau has awarded 2,281 federal contracts since 2005, with a combined potential value of $3.24 billion and $579 million in obligated dollars. Contract volume has declined over the recent five-year period, from 108 awards in 2023 to 100 in 2024, 72 in 2025, 74 in 2026, and 2 recorded awards in 2027. The competitive landscape is highly concentrated by potential value: Thundercat Technology, LLC dominates with $2.38 billion in combined potential value across 5 awards over the last five years, accounting for approximately 78 percent of the top five primes' combined value. Creative It Solutions LLC ranks second with 44 awards totaling $82.8 million. By award count, the top five primes—dominated by various Miscellaneous Foreign Awardees entries and Creative It Solutions LLC—hold 41 percent of recent awards. The Bureau heavily favors open competition: 92 percent of all awards carry no set-aside designation, with small-business set-asides (predominantly 8(a) sole source at 3 percent of awards) comprising the remainder. Across 404 distinct prime contractors in the portfolio, recent contract opportunities have become sparse; no current solicitations are recorded.

Grant activity dominates the Bureau's portfolio: 15,792 total grants awarded since 2003, with $8.69 billion in federal dollars obligated and $10.11 billion in combined federal and non-federal share. Annual grant volume has declined sharply, from 1,550 awards in 2023 to 1,326 in 2024, 708 in 2025, 199 in 2026, and 2 recorded awards in 2027. Recipients are highly fragmented by award count but moderately concentrated by federal dollars: the Institute of International Education Inc. leads by federal dollars with $694.8 million across 34 awards, followed by American Councils for International Education: Actr/Accels, Inc. at $251.2 million across 67 awards and International Research and Exchanges Board Inc. at $118.2 million across 21 awards. The top five recipients by federal dollars hold 15 percent of the five-year obligated total. Grants are predominantly Project Grants (84 percent of awards) with Cooperative Agreements comprising 16 percent. Among 2,309 distinct grant recipients, recent opportunities are minimal; no current grant solicitations are recorded against the Bureau.