Bids due USAID Iraq community action programme

24 April 2003
Bids are due by 28 April for contracts under the Iraq Community Action Programme (CAP) which will involve work worth up to $70 million in an initial 12-month period. The contract is the ninth tendered by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as part of its $1,700 million Iraq relief and rehabilitation programme, and the first to be offered exclusively to the non-profit sector.

'The CAP aims to promote diverse and representative citizen participation in and among impoverished communities throughout Iraq, and will identify and address critical reconstruction and development needs,' says the request for applications (RFA) issued by USAID says. 'The programme will facilitate the rapid dispersal of USAID resources to 250 communities, and engage citizens in processes vital for effective community/local government partnership.' The CAP will reach and directly benefit over 5 million Iraqis.

USAID says that the CAP will last 12 months with the possibility for two one-year extensions. The contracts will be implemented through co-operative agreements issued to about five NGOs or private voluntary organisations. Each will assume responsibility for a specific geographic region. Appointed contractors will help communities to identify priorities, including: possible causes of conflict and sources of tension; facilitating community organisation; providing targeted technical assistance and training; ensuring the technical, economic, and environmental viability of projects; and providing monitoring and oversight.

Plans call for the contracts to be awarded on 19 May and for activities to start on the ground on 16 June. Total funding for the first 12-month program will be $70 million. USAID says that each additional year will be funded at the total level of $70 million, subject to final approval. Only US organisations have been invited to bid. Applicants are being encouraged to form partnerships with Iraqi organisations.

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