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PRGI/MyFedAccess
Contract Activity & Project Profiles: Middle East - Lebanon

1.    Acquisitions & Assistance Training Course for Cognizant Technical Officers (CTOs)
2.    Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund


Contract Activity:    Acquisitions & Assistance Training Course for Cognizant Technical Officers (CTOs)


Background:    The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) routinely enters into contracts with vendors to acquire a variety of goods and services in support of its development projects and initiatives. When requirements that need to be fulfilled are identified, the requesting Program/Project Office submits its Scope of Work (SOW) to a Contract Officer. In turn, the Contract Officer incorporates the SOW into the resultant Request for Proposals/Quotations (RFP/Q).

To help ensure the agency receives responsive Proposals/Quotations, the SOW and RFP must clearly describe the technical requirements, as well as the rules and regulations that must be followed by all vendors. The next critical step in the Acquisitions & Assistance process is evaluating the Proposals/Quotations that are submitted by prospective vendors. Finally, after a contract is awarded, a Cognizant Technical Officer (CTO)--historically known as the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative--oversees the actual delivery of the goods and/or services that were procured.

Certain procurement policies are subject to change, and there is a constant turnover of Contract Officers and CTOs; hence, ongoing training must be provided in all phases of the Acquisition & Assistance/Procurement process to ensure compliance with the prevailing procurement policies.

Project Profile:    Professional Resource Group International, Inc. (PRGI) was contracted to design a curriculum and training manuals, provide Subject Matter Experts, and Professional Facilitators to assist government procurement personnel in delivering the Acquisition & Assistance training course for Contract and Cognizant Technical Officers from Lebanon and other countries throughout Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America (including the Caribbean Basin), and the Middle East. Case studies, audio-visual materials, small group discussions, and other tools were used to enhance the effectiveness of the overall training presentation.

The course included instructions and guidance on how to write a comprehensive Scope of Work and how to evaluate responses to Request For Proposals/Quotations.

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Contract Activity:    Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund (WVF)


Background:    The War Victims Fund supports programs that provide for the improved mobility of people with disabilities by providing accessible, appropriate prosthetic services. With a renewed focus on quality of service, the fund added patient follow-up and monitoring as part of its projects. In Laos a special program that upgrades medical and surgical services for victims of accidental detonations of unexploded ordnance has been successful and is being replicated in other parts of the country.

Historically, war victims and other people living with disabilities face daunting obstacles in gaining access to education, training, and employment opportunities. Appropriate policies and construction codes for barrier-free accessibility for people living with disabilities can help overcome these obstacles. Toward this end, an innovative program of assistance in Vietnam that began with a focus on barrier-free accessibility has resulted in passage of a comprehensive national disabilities law. This legislation was drafted with the assistance of Americans who participated in efforts to pass and implement the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund was Active in 20 Countries

1. Afghanistan	6. El Salvador	11. Laos	16. Philippines
2. Cambodia	7. Ethiopia	12. Lebanon	17. Sri Lanka
3. Colombia	8. Guatemala	13. Nepal	18. Sudan
4. Costa Rica	9. Honduras	14. Nicaragua	19. Uganda
5. Congo*	10. Kenya	15. Panama	20. Vietnam

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*Democratic Republic of the Congo-Kinshasa


Improved economic conditions and the ability to increase earned income are essential to the health and welfare of all individuals, including those living with disabilities. The fund has supported a variety of innovative approaches to increase income-generating opportunities for war victims and their families. Lessons learned from these approaches can be used to develop similar programs in other countries.

Project Title in Lebanon:    Preventing Land Mine Injuries and Managing the Social Burden of Land Mines
    in Lebanon

Cooperating Agencies in Lebanon:    The World Rehabilitation Fund and the Prosthetic and Orthotic
    Worldwide Education and Relief (POWER)

Project Description in Lebanon:    Since 2001, USAID has supported survivors of land mine explosions and victims of war in the district of Jezzine, South Lebanon, from Leahy War Victims Fund (LWVF). This enabled them to become more productive and economically independent. The World Rehabilitation Fund (WRF) has established the Azour Development Cooperative that created and expanded agriculture production income-generating programs and activities. Poultry raising for egg production and for the production of broilers, beekeeping for honey and beeswax production, goat raising for meat and animal feed production, are among other businesses that the Coop does.

More than 276 people received grants, of which approximately 38% have been female beneficiaries. This program has directly benefited over 1,875 people, in addition to the employees, workers, suppliers of products and services, and other community members and all their dependents. Beneficiaries' income has increased by over $300/month for those in the Poultry and Goat Raising Businesses, and over $640/month for those in the Beekeeping Business.

The World Rehabilitation Fund
Preventing and Managing the Social Burden of Land Mines in Lebanon

Expands Economic Opportunities for Land Mine Survivors and Victims of War

POWER empowers disabled people in developing countries and their representative organizations through training in disability rights and awareness, self-awareness, and financial and management techniques. POWER International's work strengthens the capacity of self-help groups that represent disabled people to manage services cost-effectively. The organization's aims are to ensure equality of opportunity, to put into place appropriate legislation where none exists, and to see that existing legislation that protects the disabled community is enforced.

Project Profile:    Professional Resource Group International, Inc. (PRGI) was contracted by USAID to administer these funds and provide Technical, Logistical, and Administrative Support Services for civilian victims of war in more than 20 countries, including Laos. The Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund (WVF) compliments the Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF), both were under the administration of PRGI. Each year, through the efforts of its collaborating partners and the dedicated and professional commitment of their local and international staff, the U.S. Agency for International Development's Patrick J. Leahy War Victims Fund provides assistance to thousands of war victims, their families, and other people living with disabilities.

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