The U.S. Agency for International Development is pushing ahead with plans to reduce its reliance on large contracts and to deliver more aid money through country systems and local organizations, according to documents that provide a detailed look at the ongoing reform of the agency’s procurement practices.
The changes are in step with the Obama administration’s promise of changing the way U.S. delivers foreign aid and, in the process, reduce its reliance on large-scale, indefinite quantity contracts.
“If you think of country systems, they are like muscles and they only get stronger when they’re used,” said Porter McConnell, Oxfam America’s policy advisory for aid effectiveness, referring to U.S. plans to partner more with local organizations in the developing world. “So the best way the U.S. can strengthen these systems so that they can deliver services to citizens is to actually use those systems.”