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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
FACT SHEET
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-4320FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2003
Overview
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) purchases approximately $2.5 billion in goods and services each year to support U.S. foreign policy goals in over 100 countries. These purchases are made in accordance with both the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), which guide the procurements of all federal agencies, and the AID Acquisition Regulations (AIDAR).
As a matter of policy, USAID uses full and open competition as prescribed in the FAR for nearly all its procurements. Full and open competition provides access to innovative technical solutions and helps to obtain the best price. In select instances, such as natural disasters and complex emergencies or national security, the FAR allows for limited competition. The AIDAR also allows for limited competition in those cases where it is necessary to avoid the impairment of foreign assistance programs. Nonetheless, even in these select instances, USAID still competes its requirements as fully as possible and solicits the greatest number of offers as is practical within the necessary limits.
Iraq Contingency Planning
Given the nature of USAID's Iraq contingency planning - multiple requirements and compressed timeframes for award - USAID was prompted to make use of the limited competition rules. The agency has used the AIDAR rule to limit competition for Iraq contingency contracts to companies that are known to have a combination of demonstrated technical capability, proven accounting mechanisms, ability to field a qualified technical team on short notice, and authority to handle classified national security material. USAID nevertheless made every effort to solicit the greatest number of offers as possible given these limitations.
Award Process
When offers are submitted they are evaluated by two independent panels under the guidance of a qualified procurement official. The findings of the panels are reviewed by the Contracting Officer to determine which offerors should be included in the competitive range, taking into consideration technical and cost factors. A technical panel of subject matter experts reads the technical proposals and scores each one in accordance with the scoring methodology that was published in the RFP. A technical evaluation report is submitted to the Contracting Officer which ranks the offerors. Separately, the cost proposals are evaluated for quality and reasonableness of the proposed costs. Procurement officials also verify the standing of each offeror with respect to audit findings, legal judgments, and past performance for similar work.
The procurement official reviews the recommendations of the technical and cost evaluation panels and determines which offerors are most highly qualified based on technical and cost factors combined. Discussions are then held with each offeror determined to be within the competitive range pointing out any weaknesses and deficiencies in their proposals. Offerors are then provided the opportunity to revise their proposals based upon the discussions and a final ranking of proposals is made by the Contracting Officer. Once the determination is made as to whom the contract shall be awarded, the other offerors are informed that they were not selected. They are also notified that they may receive a debriefing on their proposals if they wish.
Corporations interested in Iraq procurement may visit our web site to register their corporate capabilities at: www.usaid.gov/iraq.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.
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