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 competitive grant proposals to counter ISIS-K's online radicalization and recruitment of Central Asian foreign workers, particularly Tajik and Uzbek speakers. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions, for-profit organizations (where permitted), public international organizations, and governmental institutions, each of which must obtain a Unique Entity Identifier and maintain active SAM.gov registration. Projects must address online peer engagement, digital literacy training, law enforcement community partnerships, digital forensics capabilities, and technical assistance to Central Asian law enforcement partners to identify and investigate terrorist recruitment efforts. Proposals will be evaluated on five criteria: quality and feasibility of the program idea (30 points), organizational capacity and previous grant performance (20 points), program planning ability to achieve outcomes (15 points), monitoring and evaluation capabilities (15 points), budget justification (10 points), and sustainability (10 points). The application deadline is June 9, 2026, at 5:00 PM Washington, D.C. time, with submissions required electronically through Grants.gov or MyGrants; proposals must not exceed 12 pages and must include a logic model, theory of change, and Performance Monitoring Plan with at least three counterterrorism indicators.
Up to two awards will be made, each with a maximum of $986,679 in FY25/26 Nonproliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR) funding, for a total available funding of $986,679 pending appropriation availability. The anticipated program start date is September 30, 2026, with a performance period of 24 months or less. Successful recipients will be required to submit quarterly financial and program reports, including updates to a Performance Indicator Tracking Table, and must comply with post-award requirements including branding guidance and federal anti-discrimination compliance certifications. The project will focus on Central Asia and key transit hubs where Central Asian labor migrants are working abroad, targeting vulnerable populations who may be susceptible to terrorist recruitment online.
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.
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Posting history
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