Acquisition & Assistance Ombudsman
Frequently-Asked Questions
Question: How would a firm do
business with USAID?
Answer: USAID advertises its procurement opportunities on the USAID
Business & Procurement Internet site at:
www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/solicitation. This includes solicitations for our IQC awards. Task Orders competed
under a multiple award IQC, are competed only among those firms who hold one of the IQCs. For a
listing USAID IQCs awards, please visit our web-site at:
http://www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/iqc.htm.
For disaster specific situations, USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Response, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (BHR/OFDA) maintains a very current
web-site of disaster response initiatives. http://www.usaid.gov/hum_response/ofda/situation.html .
On this site, the names of organizations who are working for USAID are provided.
These organizations may have need for supplies such as the ones your firm
offers.
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Question: How would
a small business work with USAID? Are there special considerations for small
businesses?
Answer: Yes, there is a special
office within USAID that helps small businesses. USAID is actively seeking
participation from small and small and disadvantaged business firms. If you are
a small business, you are encouraged to register with our Office of Small and
Disadvantaged Business Utilization/Minority Resource Center (OSDBU/MRC) –
however, there is no requirement to do so. Their website is:
http://www.usaid.gov/business/osdbu/.
Registration with OSDBU/MRC does not mean that you are automatically mailed
USAID solicitations or considered for USAID requirements. You must actively
pursue and respond to any solicitation for which you would like to be
considered. There are also subcontracting opportunities for small businesses
with large contractors.
OSDBU/MRC is the Agency's advocate for U.S. small businesses, small
disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small businesses, HUBZone small businesses
and service-disabled Veteran-owned small businesses (referred to as U.S. small
businesses). OSDBU/MRC ensures that their U.S. small businesses receive
consideration and access to USAID-financed procurement of goods and services.
OSDBU/MRC is the initial point of contact for these U.S. small businesses and
offers in-depth information about Agency issues. The Office coordinates and
manages programs, which are designed to ensure increased competitiveness and
access to Agency procurement opportunities.
There is no registration requirement for either small or large business firms
who would like to bid on USAID solicitations. You can find USAID solicitations
posted on the USAID Business & Procurement web-site:
http://www.usaid.gov/procurement_bus_opp/procurement/solicitation/.
You should follow the specific instructions in the solicitation document
regarding how and where to submit your proposal.
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Question: Does USAID have a listing
or database, worldwide, of the contractors and recipients with which the Agency does
business?
Answer: We do not currently have a complete database of
worldwide USAID awards (e.g., contracts, grants, etc). We used to have this
information and it was published annually in something called the "Yellow Book".
The last versions of the searchable Yellow Book available on-line was for FY95
and 96 and is available at
http://gemini.info.usaid.gov/yellowbook/. We
currently have available for downloading a listing of awards as of FY99. An
electronic version of the information is in PDF and MS Excel. We hope to have
the searchable version posted to this web page sometime in the summer of 2001.
Nevertheless, a listing of awards issued by the USAID can be requested via the
Freedom of Information office at
http://www.usaid.gov/about/foia/
Additionally, there are other places where some of this data can be
found:
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Question: Does the
Agency for International Development buy any goods and services from non - U.S.
vendors/suppliers?
Answer: USAID does buy from non-US vendors. The
regulations governing when and under what circumstances can be found in 22 CFR
228
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/22cfr228_01.html. Additionally, Agency level
policy regarding source, origin and
nationality can be found on the USAID Web-site in our Automated Directives
System (ADS) Chapter 310 (http://www.usaid.gov/pubs/ads/300/).
What you will find is that each USAID solicitation contains an "authorized
geographic code" which determines what firms are eligible to bid on the
solicitation and what from which country(ies) any goods/services acquired
thereunder must come.
The listing of authorized geographic codes. The designated authorized geographic code
for a given solicitation is based upon a number of things (type of funds,
congressional appropriation language, the country in which the work is to be
accomplished, the type of goods/services being acquired, etc). ADS Chapter 310
explains this in more detail.
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Question: Does USAID offer scholarship assistance?
Answer: The U.S. Agency for International
Development does not have a scholarship program in the usual sense. Ours is a
bilateral assistance program for the sole purpose of development. Any program
funded in whole or in part by USAID must meet a specific USAID strategic
objective.
Unfortunately, a number of internationally distributed publications list
USAID as a source of individual scholarship assistance, and this has caused a
great deal of confusion and misunderstanding.
Another source of information and assistance would be the through the United
States Information Agency U.S. website at:
http://www.usia.gov
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Question: What are USAID’s salary policies for contractors and
recipient personnel?
Answer: If you are hired by an organization who has a
contract with USAID, the personnel policies and procedures of that
organization will determine the rate at which they hire you (see the
Standard Provision below which is found in most USAID contracts).
That said, there are a variety of possible terms in their
contract with USAID which may influence the salary they offer you. For example,
most USAID contracts contain a salary ceiling equivalent to the government
"ES-6" rate. This changes each January and is posted in one of the first USAID
Contract Information Bulletins (CIBs) of the year. While organizations may certainly
pay you as much as they like, they will be unable to get reimbursed under the contract
for any amount in excess of the ES-6 rate --without a waiver. Waivers are possible but rare ---
the theory being that most of the types of services for which they government
contracts, ought to be able to be obtained at or below the ES-6 level.
Another item in their contract which may influence their offer to you is a
"fixed daily rate". If their contract contains fixed daily rates for certain
labor categories, that is the rate at which the contractor will be reimbursed.
Any amount they decide to pay you over that fixed rate, will not be reimbursed
under the contract. (By the way, the contractors themselves propose the fixed
daily rates as part of the proposal process.)
Finally, some contracts require that contractors submit biodata sheets for
all employees they plan to hire under the contract and USAID retains approval
rights for salaries to be reimbursed by the contract (using the salary history
on the biodata). In that instance, USAID would likely be looking at rates of pay
you have earned in the past for similar or same work plus a percentage for cost
of living increases, etc.
If you are hired by an organization that has grant or cooperative
agreement (CA), the personnel policies and procedures of the organization
will still determine what you are paid. However, there is not the ES-6 ceiling
restriction in grants or CAs, there are not fixed daily rates under grants or
CAs, and biodata forms and salary approvals by USAID personnel are not permitted
under grants or CAs. Basically, USAID ensures that the grantee has sound
policies and procedures and then we negotiate a reasonable price for the
grant/CA and the administration is a more hands-off type of approach. This is
due to the nature of a grant/CA versus a contract -- not to mention that the
regulations governing contracts are completely distinct from those governing
grants/CAs. Please also refer to CIB 01-02
Standard Provision: taken from USAID's AID Acquisition Regulations (AIDAR) - 752.7007
PERSONNEL COMPENSATION (July 1996)
(a) Direct compensation of the Contractor’s personnel will be in accordance
with the Contractor’s established policies, procedures, and practices, and the
cost principles applicable to this contract.
(b) Compensation (i.e., the employee’s base annual salary plus overseas
recruitment incentive, if any) which exceeds the maximum payable annual or daily
rate for an Executive Service level ES-6, as published in the Federal Register,
will be reimbursed only with the approval of the Contracting Officer, as
prescribed in 731.205-6(d) or 731.371(b), as applicable.
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For all other questions or suggestions regarding this Forecast, we can be reached
at the following Internet address: AandAOmbudsman@USAID.GOV
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