USAID does business through a variety of available federal mechanisms -- each with their own distinct policies, forms, procedures and associated documents. To assist you in targeting specific types of business opportunities, the various solicitation types are categorized as follows:
Contracts (Acquisitions): Direct contracts are subject to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), the USAID Supplement to the FAR (AIDAR), and applicable portions of the ADS Series 300.
Notices of contract opportunities and corresponding solicitations are publicized at
FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov), the single source for federal procurement opportunities.
Personal Services Contracts (PSCs): are characterized by the employer-employee relationship that exists between the Government and the contractor. The contractor is treated very much like the civil service staff, frequently performing the same or similar work. USAID hires PSCs to work in a variety of fields both in USAID/Washington and in USAID Missions worldwide.
Notices of contract opportunities and corresponding solicitations are publicized at
FedBizOpps (www.fbo.gov), the single source for federal procurement opportunities.
Note: Effective June 18, 2003, new solicitations for
personal services contracts—internationally recruited USPSCs and Washington-based USPSCs-will be publicized at FedBizOpps, and not on the Agency's website. Active solicitations for PSC opportunities posted prior to June 18 will remain available on this website until their respective closing dates.
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Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Assistance): Federal Grants and or Cooperative Agreements are used to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended (FAA) the award mechanisms of Grants and Cooperative Agreements are the largest components of awards made by USAID. Current data for fiscal year 2001 reflects that of $3.1B in awards, 62.3% were for Grants and Cooperative Agreements. The awards support programs of the bureaus of Global Health; Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade; Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance; Regional bureaus and our Missions world-wide.
The Agency may publish an Annual Program Statement (APS) or a Request for Applications (RFA) in order to satisfy the requirement for public notice as well as provide a mechanism for advertising competitive assistance programs:
Annual Program Statements (APS)
The Agency generates competition for implementing activities that are complementary to its strategic objectives through annually published Annual Program Statements. These statements solicit and support creative approaches by the non-governmental community that will accomplish stated objectives and may be multi-country or global in nature. They emanate from Global and Regional bureaus, and Missions.
Requests for Assistance (RFA)
These instruments invite interested parties to submit applications for USAID assistance and explain what the application should contain, how it should be written, and the evaluation criteria to be used. They are issued by Agreement Officers, as required, and are in deference to Annual Program Statements.
Effective May 2003, APSs and RFAs will be publicized at
FedGrants ( www.grants.gov), the government-wide portal for grant opportunities.
Please note: those APS's which were posted to the USAID Business Opportunities site
prior to MAY 2003 will remain available on the USAID website until the period for receipt of applications has expired.
The following business opportunities continue to be publicized on the USAID website:
In addition to those solicitation opportunities above, the general public is also encouraged to review the following guidance in submitting unsolicited proposals, concept papers, and applications:
- Guidelines for Submitting Unsolicited Contract Proposals
- Guide to USAID’s Assistance Application Process and to Submitting Unsolicited Assistance Applications
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