How USAID/Armenia Works

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is the federal agency that manages U.S. foreign economic and humanitarian assistance programs around the world. Based on active partnerships with local public, private and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), USAID field missions identify needs and establish a strategy for delivering assistance to the host country. In order to define USAID’s strategic objectives in a given country, consideration is given to U.S. foreign policy interests, the level of resources available to the USAID mission (both financial and human), and the role of other donors in the host country. The authorities to design, procure and implement specific activities are largely delegated to field missions, based on USAID/Washington’s approval of the country strategy. USAID's assistance is delivered through a variety of development agencies, including U.S. private businesses, U.S. and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), host governments and public international organizations.

USAID/Armenia operates under an approved five-year Strategy, with well-defined assistance objectives and consideration of the situation and challenges in Armenia. Our programs are carried out through a series of contracts and grants with U.S. private firms and voluntary organizations, focusing on those areas determined by the Mission and its Armenian counterparts to be of highest priority and greatest potential impact. The selection of specific contractors and grantees is usually based on competitive processes, including the use of global/regional mechanisms that have already been competed and awarded in Washington. Contracting actions are initiated through a request for proposals; grants and cooperative agreements are initiated through requests for applications or an annual program statement. Below is a description of three primary types of procurement instruments used by USAID:

Contracts are used when USAID’s principal purpose is to acquire commodities or services, with the expectation that USAID will exercise a substantial degree of day-to-day operational control.
Cooperative agreements are used when the principal purpose of the relationship is the transfer of money, property, services or anything of value to the recipient in order to accomplish the objectives of the USAID program. Under a cooperative agreement, substantial involvement is anticipated between USAID and the recipient during the performance of the proposed activity.
Grants are used when the principal purpose of the relationship is similar to that cited above for cooperative agreements, but USAID’s substantial involvement is not anticipated.

Opportunities for sub-contracts and sub-grants usually exist within each instrument cited above. This is often the most advantageous means for Armenian and/or small/specialized American organizations to become involved in USAID’s activities. Such relationships are established through direct contact with the prime contractor/grantee.

All activities funded by USAID/Armenia are designed to help achieve the objectives of the Mission’s Country Assistance Strategy. Requests for proposals and applications generally are linked from http://www.usaid.gov/business/business_opportunities .

Unsolicited Applications

While USAID/Armenia’s preference is to make awards based on competition, a small portion of our budget may fund unsolicited proposals or applications, which represent unique and innovative initiatives that fit into our strategy, represent strong approaches to reaching those objectives, and are submitted by an organization that is uniquely able to implement the work. The large majority of unsolicited proposals however cannot be funded. This is primarily because the requirements for unfunded applications or proposals are so stringent, in keeping with the policy favoring open processes with fair opportunities to compete.

Feel free to contact us to ask questions and clarify any issues you might have before preparing or submitting a proposal. Discussing your idea with us first, and then perhaps moving on to a concept paper stage is more useful than immediately submitting an unsolicited proposal. To learn more about general guidelines for unsolicited applications, please visit the corresponding page under Doing Business with USAID/Armenia.

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