Officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development are promising to support organizations from marginalized communities in winning contracts, after finding that current practices act as a barrier to their inclusion.
In research conducted last year, USAID found that its current acquisition and assistance mechanisms were acting as a barrier to partners from underserved communities, said Luis Rivera, the acting director of the Office of Acquisition and Assistance at the agency’s Bureau for Management, during the agency’s quarterly business forecast call Tuesday.
“One procurement-related finding reported that potential partners from marginalized communities find the agency’s conventional proposal submission and evaluation practices to be cost-prohibitive, diminishing their ability to contend for our acquisition and assistance opportunities,” he said.