Who were USAID’s top contractors in 2022?

We recently concluded a series of analyses of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s assistance funding. We have now turned our attention to its acquisition mechanism — which covers contract funding — to see how much the agency spent and who got the most money. Based on USASpending data, USAID obligated $5.9 billion on contracts in the fiscal year that ended in September 2022 — 16.6% of the $36.4 billion USAID obligated in FY 2021-22. The amount obligated is around the same, in real terms, as in the previous fiscal year. However overall USAID spending has been increasing, largely as a result of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. This means the percentage of USAID funding obligated through contracts, as a proportion of the total, has been falling in recent years. The proportion obligated through cooperative agreements has also been dipping, while obligation through grants has been increasing. Contracts accounted for 32.1% of the total amount obligated in FY 2018-19. This went down to 29% in the following fiscal year, then dipped further to 20.7% in FY 2020-21. Top contractors in FY 2021-22 The top 10 contractors’ total amount obligation amounted to $2.9 billion. As in the previous fiscal year, the top 10 recipients still accounted for half of the total amount. Eight organizations were also part of the previous list. NTT DATA Federal Services and Creative Associates International replaced Management Systems International and Management Sciences for Health. Among the top contractors, only RTI International is a nonprofit organization. The rest are private consulting and development firms. Meanwhile, $225 million for over 1,800 activities was awarded to undisclosed contractors. The rest was divided among nearly 1,700 organizations. 1. Chemonics Founded: 1975 Location: Washington, D.C., U.S. Obligated amount in FY 2021-22: $1.5 billion Rank in FY 2020-21: 1 Chemonics maintained its rank as the overall top contractor, with $1.5 billion — $139.9 million less than the previous fiscal year. The bulk of this, worth nearly $1.1 billion, went to activities under the Global Health Supply Chain Program — USAID’s suite of programs for efficient health supply chains. The rest of the money, worth $446 million, went to other activities ranging from the establishment of a famine early warning systems network, supporting malaria control, to implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation projects. 2. DAI Global Founded: 1970 Location: Maryland, U.S. Obligated amount in FY 2021-22: $421 million Rank in FY 2020-21: 2 DAI’s total contract awards increased by $94.7 million from the previous fiscal year, maintaining its rank in the top 10. It was awarded $100.9 million to support activities under the Prosper Africa Trade and Investment program, or ATI, in Kenya and South Africa. ATI is a five-year trade and investment project in sub-Saharan Africa. 3. Abt Associates Founded: 1965 Location: Massachusetts, U.S. Obligated amount in FY 2021-22: $199 million Rank in FY 2020-21: 3 Abt Associates’ total contract amount went down by $19.2 million from the previous fiscal year. It received $89.1 million to support the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative VectorLink Project in Tanzania — part of USAID’s five-year malaria control initiative in 24 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. Abt Associates’ office in Maryland received a further $83.1 million. 4. Associates for Rural Development Founded: 1977 Location: Vermont, U.S. Obligated amount in FY 2021-22: $168.4 million Rank in F.Y. 2020-21: 4 ARD, a subsidiary of Tetra Tech, was awarded $36 million more than the previous fiscal year. Of its total contract awards, $31.4 million went to support land restitution efforts in conflict-affected households in Colombia. ARD’s office in California received a further $7.7 million. 5. Palladium International Founded: 1965 Location: Washington, D.C., U.S. Obligated amount in FY 2021-22: $140.7 million Rank in FY 2020-21: 6 Up $32.2 million from the previous fiscal year, Palladium went up a notch in the list. More than a third of its total award, worth $50.3 million, came from a $250 million contract awarded in 2019 for the management of a $2 billion blended finance program for low- and middle-income countries over an eight-year period. 6. Deloitte Consulting, LLP Founded: N/A Location: Virginia, U.S. Obligated amount in FY 2021-22: $116.7 million Rank in FY 2020-21: 7 Deloitte moved up a rank, with an $8.8 million increase from the previous fiscal year. It received $20.9 million for activities under Power Africa’s Nigeria Power Sector Program. Power Africa is USAID’s initiative to increase access to energy in sub-Saharan Africa. 7. NTT Data Federal Services Founded: 1988 Location: Virginia, U.S. Obligated amount in FY 2021-22: $109.2 million Rank in FY 2020-21: 13 NTT DATA Federal Services — NTT Data’s public sector arm — jumped six notches from the previous list, with $40.8 million more funding. The entire $109.2 million is part of a $218 million contract awarded in 2019 for operations and maintenance support services to USAID. The total contract value has since increased and is currently worth $335.6 million. 8. Macfadden Founded: 1988 Location: Maryland, U.S. Obligated amount in FY 2021-22: $101.5 million Rank in FY 2020-21: 8 Macfadden is part of Amentum — a company specializing in engineering, project management, and solutions integration. Of the total, $99 million was for administrative and operational support to USAID’s Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. The rest went to other logistics and administrative services. Its total contract increased by $8.3 million from the previous fiscal year. 9. Research Triangle Institute Founded: 1958 Location: North Carolina, U.S. Obligated amount in FY 2021-22: $88.7 million Rank in FY 2020-21: 5 RTI International went down in the list, with $27.1 million less in contracts compared to the previous fiscal year. Its biggest contract, worth $12 million, was for activities under the Feed the Future initiative in Senegal. In August 2022, RTI International was chosen to implement activities addressing malnutrition and poverty in the country. 10. Creative Associates International Founded: 1977 Location: Maryland, U.S. Obligated amount in FY 2021-22: $86.8 million Rank in FY 2020-21: 14 Creative Associates International’s total contract amount increased by $20.5 million from the previous fiscal year. Nearly a quarter of this, worth $20.9 million, was for the Feed the Future initiative in Nigeria. 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