MyFedAccess

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PRGI/MyFedAccess
Contract Activity & Project Profiles: Africa - Malawi

1.    Acquisitions & Assistance Training Course for Cognizant Technical Officers (CTOs)
2.    Displaced Children & Orphans Fund
3.    Africa Global Information Infrastructure Gateway Project -- The Leland Initiative


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 in Malawi 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:    Displaced Children & Orphans Fund


Background:    An estimated 135 million children living in developing countries lack the support and protection of parents or suitable guardians. These most vulnerable children are usually innocent victims of dire social and economic distress, disease, or conflict. The number includes perhaps more than 400,000 unaccompanied refugee or internally displaced children, 200,000 child combatants, more than 100 million street children and 34 million children who have lost one or both parents to disease or other causes.

With support and encouragement from Congress, the U. S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) began to address the needs of orphans in 1989. Its mission is to strengthen the capacity of families and communities to provide care, support, and protection for orphans, unaccompanied minors, and war-affected children. The fund works through nongovernmental organizations (NGO) in developing countries to develop models and implement programs that provide direct service to children and support local organizations so that work can be sustained beyond the length of the grant.

Displaced Children and Orphans Fund was Active in 25 Countries

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*Democratic Republic of the Congo-Kinshasa


Support programs for displaced children and orphans fall into the following categories:

• Children Affected by War - With no fewer than 25 civil conflicts being waged at the present time, more than 500,000 children are thought to be unaccompanied or separated from their families. Some 300,000 are thought to actually be fighting in these conflicts.
  
  

• Children Orphaned by AIDS - In just the 23 countries included in USAID's study, Children on the Brink, the number of children orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS epidemic will increase from under 25 million in 1990 to over 41 million in the year 2010.
  
  

• Street Children - An estimated 100 million children work or live on the streets of the developed and developing worlds. They are the innocent victims of family financial distress, and social, economic and political upheaval. Over the past decade, the problem has worsened, leaving a tremendous loss of human potential and a detrimental impact on economic and social development.
  
  

• Children with Disabilities - Stigmatized by cultural values and religious beliefs, they are hidden in back rooms or placed in government institutions, displaced from communities and society. DCOF is supporting community-based approaches to provide care and training in life skills.
  
  

Project Title in Malawi:    Community-Based Options for Protections and Empowerment (COPE)

Cooperating Agency in Malawi:    Save the Children Federation/US (SCF)

Background:    Malawi's estimated adult HIV prevalence rate is 14 percent, one of the highest in the world. More than 1 million of Malawi's 11 million people are currently HIV positive. It is predicted that by the year 2000, more than 450,000 Malawians will have died from AIDS and approximately 1.2 million children-27 percent of the child population-will have lost one or both parents.

The increasing numbers of sick and dying adults and orphaned children have placed an enormous burden on Malawian families and communities, most of which are already impoverished. For Malawian families, the psychosocial distress of watching a loved one's well-being slowly deteriorate is compounded by economic stress as household resources are exhausted.

Project Description in Malawi:    Project focus is to strengthen community capacities to mitigate the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on children and families in the 30 catchment areas of 6 districts in Malawi; identify, assist, and protect orphans and vulnerable children; increase the economic opportunities and resources available to especially vulnerable households; strengthen the capacity of government and community-based organizations to lead and sustain effective community responses to the needs of HIV/AIDS-affected children and families; and advocate at the national, district, and local levels for policy change that benefits children and families affected by HIV/AIDS.

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 displaced children and orphans in more than 20 countries, including Malawi. Since 1989, DCOF has contributed more than $74,000,000 to programs in these countries. Funds were used to expand support of activities in four new countries while the DCOF was being administered by PRGI.

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Contract Activity:    Africa Global Information Infrastructure Project -- The Leland Initiative


Background:    The Africa Global Information Infrastructure (GII) Gateway Project, also known as the Leland Initiative, was a five-year $15 million project designed to provide or extend full Internet connectivity to up to 21 African nations. The project facilitated and encouraged Internet use by Africans and their development partners to meet the challenges of achieving Sustainable Development. Approved by the U.S. Congress in 1995, the initiative was named in honor of the late U.S. Congressman, Mickey Leland, who was killed in a plane accident in Ethiopia, in 1989. Mr. Leland had worked extensively on African affairs and was a strong advocate of U.S. support to African nations.

Leland Initiative Partner Countries

1. Benin	8. Guinea Bissau	15. Rwanda
2. Botswana	9. Kenya	16. Senegal
3. Cote d'Ivoire	10. Madagascar	17. South Africa
4. Eritrea	11. Malawi	18. Tanzania
5. Ethiopia	12. Mali	19. Uganda
6. Ghana	13. Mozambique	20. Zambia
7. Guinea	14. Namibia	21. Zimbabwe

The Leland Initiative was an inter-agency effort coordinated by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), but also included the U.S. Departments of State and Defense (Navy). Project activities were governed by three Strategic Objectives:

• Strategic Objective 1: Create an enabling policy environment in project countries to facilitate electronic networking and access to Global Information Infrastructure technologies.
  
  

• Strategic Objective 2: Strengthen the local telecommunications infrastructure to facilitate Internet access and support a local Internet Service Provider (ISP) industry to ensure the local availability of reliable, accessible, and cost-effective Internet access.
  
  

• Strategic Objective 3: Achieve broad-based utilization of Global Information Infrastructure technologies by USAID and its development partners, including host country governments, to promote Sustainable Development strategies.
  
  

Africa Global Information Infrastructure Gateway Project

(The Leland Initiative)

Bringing Information Affluence to 21 African Countries

In each country where the Leland Initiative was active, the three (3) Strategic Objectives (SO3) began with a series of country assessments that addressed 1) the national and regional policies and regulations concerning telecommunications and information access and use; 2) the condition of the national telecommunications infrastructure; and 3) the potential demand for Internet access in the public and private sectors. Data gathered from these assessments formed the foundation for individualized country reports and action plans for SO3 activities. Critical to the success of the project was the negotiation of Memorandums of Understanding among the stakeholders (the U.S. government, host country government, and primary local telecommunications provider) and technical training of local engineers to continue operating the Internet Gateway after it was installed. The details of how these Strategic Objectives were accomplished are provided below.


Project Profile:    Professional Resource Group International, Inc. (PRGI) was contracted to provide Technical, Logistical, Managerial, and Administrative Support Services in support of accomplishing the Strategic Objectives of the Leland Initiative by: a) providing policy and technical assistance; and b) teaching the USAID Mission staff and host country government personnel how to use the Internet to effectuate Sustainable Development strategies. Before technical assistance was provided, PRGI conducted initial field assessments in each participating country to examine the current telecommunications policy and regulatory environment, as well as the existing telecommunications infrastructure.

Having an open and competitive market for potential Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the private sector was viewed as key to the success of the Leland Initiative, and a major condition of the resultant Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) that was signed by the U.S. government, the host country government, and the local telecommunications providers/operators. Hence, the initial field assessments were also designed to gauge the interest of local entrepreneurs to become ISPs. After the data gathered during the initial field assessments were submitted and analyzed, PRGI personnel returned to each country and negotiated the Memorandums of Understanding. Once the conditions of the MOU were successfully negotiated and signed, financial and technical assistance was given to the host country governments to obtain and install equipment that provided them with a gateway to the Internet; hence, paving the way for the development of ISPs in the private sector.

Anatomy of the Africa Global Information Infrastructure Gateway Project

(The Leland Initiative)

1) Meeting w/Stakeholders; 2) Signing the MOU; and 3) Promoting the Internet Inauguration
Bringing Information Affluence to the Continent of Africa

Technical assistance to the host country government and local telecommunications providers also consisted of broad dissemination of information concerning Leland Initiative activities. This included drafting speeches and press releases, developing brochures, and making direct contact with groups interested in the Leland Initiative activities (i.e., gaining access to the Internet). A heavy promotional campaign (television and radio interviews & ribbon cutting ceremonies) was conducted to build wide user awareness. In addition to highlighting that (affordable) access to the Internet was available, the campaign was complemented with training for the USAID Mission staff and their partner organizations.

To provide Technical, Logistical, Managerial, and Administrative Support Services throughout Africa, PRGI established partners and Leland Liaison Offices in key regions of the continent (Morocco--North Africa, Guinea--West Africa, and Madagascar--Southeast Africa). The Leland Liaison Offices were staffed by PRGI personnel and tasked with providing short-term support to help the USAID Missions, their partner institutions, and new ISPs develop promotional and training materials for their respective organizations. New ISPs were also provided assistance with obtaining financing, establishing operational procedures, and setting their rates.

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