Global Defense Reform Program

The Department of State's Bureau of Political-Military Affairs funds institutional capacity building and security sector governance development through the Global Defense Reform Program (CFDA 19.888), with the most recent award issued on September 30, 2024.

Program activity is sparse but recent. Three awards have been obligated since September 2023, averaging approximately two awards per year. All funding flows from a single source—the Department of State Bureau of Political-Military Affairs—which obligated $2.8 million in combined federal dollars. Non-federal matching contributions added $600 thousand, bringing total obligated dollars to $3.4 million. The assistance portfolio is predominantly Cooperative Agreements (67 percent) with a smaller Project Grant component (33 percent).

The program funds advisory and technical support for partner governments' security sector development. Recent awards illustrate the scope: a $1.39 million cooperative agreement with Morocco's government to develop national space strategy and policy through advisory services; a $1.92 million cooperative agreement assisting the Republic of the Marshall Islands in establishing a National Security Coordinator's Office and National Security Council; and a $40 thousand project grant funding an online e-learning course on democratic security sector governance fundamentals delivered by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF).

Recent grant opportunities show activity centered on specific partner countries. Solicitations posted in mid-2024 targeted Morocco's national space strategy development, with due dates of July 16 and August 2, 2024 (both now closed). A prior cycle in 2023 solicited applications for Marshall Islands security framework strengthening, with an original due date of August 21, 2023 later extended to September 8, 2023. All opportunities restrict eligibility to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and fund Cooperative Agreements. No open opportunities are currently active in the source. The program operates on a discrete-project model tied to identified partner-nation development priorities rather than standing annual competition.