Tufts University tapped to strengthen drought resilience in Horn of Africa

The U.S. Agency for International Development has contracted Tufts University to develop and manage the Resilience Learning Project for East Africa. Tufts, a research university and liberal arts college with campuses in the United States and France, is given five years to implement the $20 million single-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. The project aims to strengthen drought resilience in the Horn of Africa, mainly through knowledge management and learning activities, and catalyze economic growth in the dry lands at the community, national and regional levels. To deliver the project’s goals, Tufts needs to facilitate collaboration across projects, liaise between and among stakeholders, and share knowledge and learning to identify best practices and technologies, innovations and implementation models that are proven to boost resilience and spur growth. Tufts is expected to integrate a technical approach in its collaborative process. This approach needs to have five components: technologies and innovations; humanitarian and development assistance models; collaboration, learning and adaptation approach; institutional development; and gender. These components serve as Tufts’ minimum deliverables for the project. Tufts should have established an office in Nairobi, Kenya, within 30 days of receiving the award. The office should be staffed with key personnel, including the chief of party, a learning and knowledge management coordinator, a collaborative learning and adaptation trainer, and a finance and administration manager. Founded in the 1840s in Boston, Tufts now has more than 3,070 staffers and 10,819 students. Its Office of Institutional Research & Evaluation serves as its research arm and resource center, which provides data, topical research and analytical support to the university. In addition, Tufts accepts external data requests as well as consultation on research design, survey construction, outcomes assessment and evaluation for the university and institutional research community. Tufts has been involved in a number of USAID-funded service projects. It was hired to monitor and evaluate a USAID-Respond project on emerging infectious diseases and has been tapped yet again to do M&E on another USAID-Respond endeavor, this time on a family planning project implemented by EngenderHealth. Check out more practical business and development advice online, and subscribe to Money Matters to receive the latest contract award and shortlist announcements, and procurement and fundraising news.