As noted in our prior The State of Aid blog post, there are many bellwethers on the future of foreign aid and potential opportunities for contractors in the international development space. One key development that has seemingly slipped through the cracks of the media, but not Bradley’s Government Contracts team, is the cancellation of the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) $4.1 billion Integrated Procurement Service Agent (PSA) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) within the Next Generation Global Health Supply Chain Suite of Programs (NextGen). The NextGen suite was called by some the “largest-ever commitment to an aid program” in USAID history, which would “form the backbone of global health initiatives.” The cancellation of the PSA IDIQ signifies a seismic shift in how the current presidential administration will handle global health foreign aid in the future.
The PSA IDIQ sought proposals “to provide procurement and delivery services for commodities for malaria; infectious disease response; family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH); maternal and child health and nutrition (MCHN); and other health elements for USAID’s Bureau for Global Health (GH).” The solicitation contemplated that “immediately after awarding the IDIQ contract, two Task Orders will be awarded – one for malaria and infectious disease outbreak commodities that is a Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF) contract and one for FP/RH, MCHN health commodities that is a Cost Plus Award Fee (CPAF) contract.” USAID’s industry day presentation showed just how significant and interconnected the PSA IDIQ was to NextGen overall.
While NextGen will most certainly not proceed in its as-planned form, the question is what is in store for the next-next generation of international development in the global health space? If you are a potential or current government contractor interested in pursuing contracting opportunities in the international development space, Nathaniel Greeson, Eugene Benick, and Aron Beezley are available to help Bradley partner with you to navigate that future.