Deadline: 30-Jul-25
Applications are now open for the Countering Biological Weapons Threats Program.
Goals and Objectives
- Biosecurity Engagement Program (BEP) Objectives:
- In alignment with Administration and Department priorities, BEP seeks to prevent U.S. adversaries from developing and/or deploying BW, exploiting partner facilities to acquire BW-applicable materials and data, and utilizing malign influence to gain strategic advantage over the U.S. and threaten U.S. national security. BEP also seeks to protect U.S. biotechnologies by denying our adversaries access to technology that can threaten U.S. national and economic security interests and inhibit our ability to maintain and/or regain U.S. dominance in global markets. While global in scope, BEP partner country engagements include, but are not limited to, engagements with: Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Hungary, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Tajikistan, Thailand, Türkiye, Vietnam, and Yemen.
- BEP’s target audience includes biological and biotechnology laboratories, bio- and data repositories, universities, science and technology organizations or academies, foreign government organizations and entities, biosafety associations or similar professional associations, and private industry. Within these organizations, BEP projects will engage government leadership, laboratory staff, data and IT managers, research scientists, academic researchers and administration, professors, and students.
Funding Information
- Total available funding: $15,000,000 Pending availability of funds
- Award amounts: Awards may range from a minimum of $250,000 to a maximum of $5,000,000 (approximately)
Duration
- Length of performance period: 12-24 months.
Eligible Activities
- Prevent adversarial BW-development and use by performing the following activities:
- Secure pathogens, laboratory equipment, sensitive data, and scientific expertise through engagements with partner biological facilities and subsequent trainings and targeted security upgrades
- Engage biological facilities, including high containment laboratories (HCLs), that may be at risk of deliberate or accidental release of high consequence pathogens by working with partners to establish and implement institutional research oversight measures to strengthen laboratory safety and security.
- Strengthen operations and maintenance (O&M) practices for HCLs and biorepositories to mitigate the threat of pathogen release posed by misused, outdated, or failing bioscience infrastructure and equipment.
- Build partner capacity to identify and response to biological attacks to prevent harm to the U.S. and our troops.
- Protect U.S. biotechnologies and bio- and pharmaceutical supply chains by performing the following activities:
- Train scientific communities, such as those in biotech sectors, working with toxins, conducting synthetic biology, and storing/ housing human genomic data on security best practices.
- Conduct industry and private sector dialogues with manufacturers, distributors, and suppliers of specialized equipment, biological materials, and reagents to strengthen supply chain security.
- Secure research collaborations, including establishing policies and practices for sensitive human genomic data and information sharing.
- Mitigate cybersecurity risks for biological facilities to protect sensitive data, equipment, and IP.
- Promote U.S. leadership by forging industry networks with emerging global market and promoting partner adoption of U.S. standards and norms.
Expected Outcomes
- All proposals will measure partner capacity before and after training and engagement, with the expectation that skills, procedures, and abilities have increased due to ISN/CTR support.
Eligibility Criteria
- The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- U.S. for-profit organizations or businesses;
- U.S.-based non-profit/non-governmental organizations with or without 501(c) (3) status of the U.S. tax code;
- U.S.-based private, public, or state institutions of higher education;
- foreign-based non-profit organizations/non-government organizations (NGO);
- Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs);
- Public International Organizations (PIO);
- Foreign Public Entities (FPE); and
- Foreign-based institutions of higher education.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.