Countering Terrorist Recruitment of Central Asian Foreign Workers
Closed Posted
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- Opportunity number
- DFOP0018082
- Agency
-
Bureau of Counterterrorism
Department of State
- Applications due
- Award size
- $986,679
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
- Funding instrument
- Cooperative Agreement
- Category
-
- Other
- Eligible applicants
- Not on record
- Points of contact
-
- BE Stearns stearnsbe@state.gov
- Full announcement
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Counterterrorism seeks applicants to develop and implement projects countering ISIS-K's online radicalization and recruitment of Central Asian foreign workers, particularly Tajik and Uzbek speakers. Eligible applicants must propose comprehensive interventions including online peer engagement, digital literacy training, law enforcement community trust-building initiatives, digital forensics enhancement, and partnerships with experts and NGOs to identify and disrupt terrorist recruitment across social media, gaming platforms, and AI-generated propaganda channels. Projects must also provide technical assistance to Central Asian law enforcement partners to strengthen their capacity for identifying, investigating, and prosecuting digital evidence of terrorist recruitment. The program prioritizes activities that disrupt recruitment pipelines and reduce threats to U.S. persons and assets while addressing the vulnerability of labor migrants working abroad. Proposals are due by June 9, 2026, with the funding opportunity announced on April 9, 2026.
Awards under the Global Counterterrorism Programs (CFDA 19.701) typically range from $500,000 to $7 million with performance periods of 12 to 36 months. The funding instrument is a Cooperative Agreement, indicating active collaboration with the Bureau of Counterterrorism throughout project implementation. Activities will be performed in Central Asian countries and transit hubs where ISIS-K recruitment of foreign workers is prevalent, with emphasis on strengthening regional law enforcement capabilities and disrupting online radicalization pathways that threaten U.S. national security interests.
Synopsis
The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Counterterrorism (CT) announces a Notice of Funding Opportunity for projects that counter ISIS-K's online radicalization and recruitment of Central Asian foreign workers, particularly Tajik and Uzbek speakers. ISIS-K uses sophisticated, multilingual online propaganda-including on social media, gaming platforms, and via generative AI-to target vulnerable labor migrants from Central Asia working abroad. This recruitment pipeline creates a persistent risk that seemingly localized radicalization abroad can translate into attacks on U.S. soil or against U.S. persons and assets in key transit hubs. This project is intended to advance early investigative interventions in this recruitment pipeline to close pathways that terrorists can use to move people, money, and operational guidance toward targets in the United States. Activities may include online peer engagement to address isolation among foreign workers; pre-departure and on-arrival consultations; digital literacy training; measures to strengthen trust between local law enforcement and communities to encourage reporting; enhancement of information-sharing platforms; enhanced digital forensics capabilities; and partnerships with experts and non-governmental organizations to identify and disrupt terrorist recruitment online, thereby reducing threats to the U.S. This project should also provide technical assistance to Central Asian law enforcement partners to improve their ability to identify and investigate digital evidence of terrorist recruitment efforts leading to counterterrorism prosecutions.
Posting history
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