17.PMWRA.CWD.AF.RFI | PM PMWRA 17 041

Opportunity Information: Apply for PM PMWRA 17 041

The grant opportunity titled 17.PMWRA.CWD.AF.RFI (Funding Opportunity Number: PM PMWRA 17 041) comes from the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement (PM/WRA). It is a discretionary grant opportunity under CFDA 19.800 and is framed as a request for concept notes rather than a fully structured proposal call. In practical terms, PM/WRA is asking potential implementers to submit a short, strategic concept note along with a notional (high-level, estimated) budget that outlines how they would carry out conventional weapons destruction (CWD) programming in the African Great Lakes region.

Geographically, the scope is clearly defined: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The activities contemplated fall under the broad umbrella of CWD, which generally includes efforts to reduce risks posed by conventional weapons and ammunition, improve physical security and stockpile management, strengthen destruction and demilitarization capacities, and address the destabilizing effects of illicit weapons circulation. The central emphasis in this notice is on small arms and light weapons (SA/LW) threat reduction. PM/WRA states explicitly that it will prioritize SA/LW-focused threat reduction programs over humanitarian mine action projects, meaning proposals centered on firearms, ammunition, and related stockpile or diversion risks are more aligned with the stated priority than demining or unexploded ordnance clearance concepts (unless those mine action elements are clearly secondary or directly tied to the stated SA/LW threat-reduction focus).

The notice is open to a wide range of applicant types. Eligible applicants include U.S.-based and foreign nongovernmental organizations, public international organizations, and commercial contractors. The eligibility list also includes public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status, for-profit organizations other than small businesses, and other unspecified entities. Importantly, the description highlights that foreign public entities, including public international organizations, are included, which signals that PM/WRA is open to receiving ideas from international actors that may have strong regional access, host-government relationships, or specialized technical capacity in weapons and ammunition management.

This opportunity is structured around early-stage planning inputs: a concept note and a notional budget. That typically means PM/WRA is seeking to understand what approaches are feasible, what partners could execute effectively, what results could be achieved, and what rough cost ranges might look like before moving forward with any subsequent funding decision or more formal solicitation. Because this is an RFI-style invitation for concepts, applicants would normally focus on presenting a clear theory of change, the specific threat or gap being addressed, the target beneficiaries and security stakeholders (for example, national police or defense stockpile custodians, border/security agencies, or community-level violence prevention partners where relevant), proposed activities and deliverables, an outline of monitoring and evaluation, and a realistic budget estimate that matches the scale of the proposed work.

Several administrative details are notable. The original closing date listed is July 14, 2017, and the creation date is June 14, 2017, indicating this was time-bound and published as a 2017 call for input. The award ceiling is shown as 0 and expected awards are not specified, which often appears in listings that are collecting concepts without committing to a specific funding level or number of awards at the notice stage. The agency is listed as the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs - WRA, consistent with PM/WRA’s role in managing U.S. government assistance related to reducing threats from conventional weapons, improving stockpile safety and security, and limiting the destabilizing impacts of weapons proliferation.

In short, this opportunity is a PM/WRA request for implementable ideas and rough budgets for CWD programming in five Great Lakes countries, with a clear preference for initiatives that reduce SA/LW threats. The intended respondents are organizations with the technical, operational, and regional capacity to design and execute practical weapons-risk reduction activities, and the submission is expected to be a concise concept-driven package rather than a full-length grant application.

• The Bureau of Political-Military Affairs - WRA in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "17.PMWRA.CWD.AF.RFI" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.800.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-06-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-07-14. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Others.

Apply for PM PMWRA 17 041

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