The Key Verification Assets Fund (V Fund), managed by the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance (AVC), was established by Congress in 1999 to support the Department of State’s preservation of critical verification assets and promote the development of new technologies to enhance verification of existing and future arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements or commitments and related compliance requirements.
Specifically, the V Fund:
- Supports “retaining, researching, developing, or acquiring technologies, or programs related to the verification of arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements or commitments” (Section 1111 of P.L. 106-113).
- Seeks to influence the direction and focus of relevant activities in and outside the government to support verification requirements.
- Funds projects that enable the Department, through AVC, to encourage organizations, researchers, scientists, and other experts to:
- develop new technologies and analytical products to support operational requirements, facilitate dialogues, explore arms control policy issues, or
- adapt existing projects to the needs of arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament verification, detection, or monitoring.
- Supports research and development (R&D) through special studies, analyses, and workshops or urgent activities to support arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament verification-related negotiations, inspections, or compliance assessments.
- Other than sole-source procurements, the Bureau annually solicits proposals via open-and-full competition for projects ranging from basic science to assistance in creating a fully developed capability. Proposals must meet the requirements identified in the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) published on the System for Award Management (SAM) webpage.
The AVC Bureau accomplishes its verification procurement goals by means of interagency agreements with other U.S. Government agencies and by contracts with private vendors and academia.