The bilateral U.S. and German Outreach Programs Directorate (OPD) is the premier outreach activity of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. Located in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, it has been in continuous operation since 1993, conducting 199 conferences and seminars, involving over 13,000 participants from 60 European, Eurasian and North American countries. It is a key DoD / German multinational education program and the largest outreach program of the five U.S. Regional Centers.

The Outreach Programs Directorate (OPD) provides international discussion promoting specific U.S., German and international security cooperation interests, support to allies and partners and information sharing. The Conference Center supports U.S. and German Security Cooperation Guidance and Theater Security Cooperation Strategies of U.S. Combatant Commanders.

The Outreach Programs Directorate (OPD) has five strategic level areas of concentration: combating terrorism, national security planning, crisis management, civil-military relations and organized crime. Conferences are conducted in single nation, regional and multinational formats, in multiple languages, both in Germany and international Eurasian locations. Much more than a military to military program, the target audience includes: military / civilian defense practitioners, academia and parliamentarians with military oversight responsibilities. Conference invitations are coordinated through respective U.S. and German Embassies.

Responding to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the war against terrorism remains a top area of effort with numerous conferences on this topic. Conferences addressing terrorism discuss the entire spectrum of threats, multinational approaches and common vulnerabilities. Conference objectives focus on problem solving and future initiatives.

The Outreach Programs Directorate (OPD) maintains an extensive Internet based knowledge portal. The fiscal year 2007 schedule, conference overviews, past reports and related information can be easily viewed and downloaded.

Requests for conferences are reviewed continuously. Planning time for most conferences is six to nine months. As a minimum, conference proposals must include the conference objective, target audience, conference deliverable(s) and level of host country interest. Assistance in developing conference proposals and funding support can be obtained by contacting the Outreach Programs Directorate (OPD).