The goal of the Science Centers Program is prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) scientific/technical knowledge to rogue states and terrorist groups by providing grants for peaceful research to former Soviet weapons scientists in Russia and other independent states of the former Soviet Union. The program was developed in response to WMD proliferation threats created by the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which left an estimated 30,000 to 75,000 weapons scientists without support. Managed by the Department of State’s Bureau of Nonproliferation, the program is implemented through two multilateral organizations, the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) in Moscow the Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU).
Since 1994, funding countries, including the United States, European Union, Japan, Canada, Korea and Norway have funded more than 2,000 civilian research projects, totaling more than $480 million. These projects have involved scientists in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. These projects have provided employment to more than 50,000 scientists, of whom more than half are categorized as former WMD or WMD delivery system scientists. In addition to direct funding by governments, the centers have received more than $80 million from almost 200 commercial and government organizations through Partner programs.