The purpose of the USAID/colombia community development and licit opportunities activity (cdlo) is to strengthen the capacity of conflict-affected communities to be reliable and effective partners…

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded a single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract (IDC) to Ard, Inc. (doing business as Tetra Tech ARD), a subsidiary of Tetra Tech, Inc. The contract has a potential value of $71,548,083 and is intended to strengthen the capacity of conflict-affected communities in Colombia to partner with state and private sector actors in implementing comprehensive rural social and economic development activities, including the promotion of illegal crops substitution and alternative development. The contract aims to reconstitute social capital, enable communities to map out their development path, involve communities in the implementation of rapid response and local development activities, and build linkages between local communities and their governments through social and economic activities, including efforts to reduce coca production. USAID will provide technical assistance, training, sub-grants, and direct management support to complement local development initiatives prioritized by communities. The period of performance runs through April 10, 2024, with no set-aside designations for the award.

Tetra Tech, Inc. is a global consulting and engineering firm with extensive experience providing environmental consulting and remediation services to federal agencies. Through past awards, Tetra Tech and its subsidiaries have delivered expertise spanning natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, forestry, fisheries, land rights, women's empowerment, water access and infrastructure, and more. Tetra Tech holds several active Indefinite Delivery Vehicles (IDVs) with federal agencies, including a $36.9 million IDIQ for technical assistance on gender equality programming in Colombia, a $95 million IDIQ for regional economic growth initiatives in East Africa, and a $25 million IDIQ for natural resource management and conservation expertise for the Department of the Interior.

The purpose of the USAID/colombia community development and licit opportunities activity (cdlo) is to strengthen the capacity of conflict-affected communities to be reliable and effective partners with state and private sector actors in the implementation of comprehensive rural social and economic development activities, including the promotion of illegal crops substitution and alternative development. This partnership will participate in local-level social and economic development, including land, rural and alternative development, and coca reduction to bridge the divide between state and private actors and the communities they serve. In consultation with the government of colombia (GOC), the cdlo will implement comprehensive rural development activities in targeted conflict-affected regions characterized by low state presence, lack of economic opportunities, and a high presence of illegal crops. Using a do no harm approach, flexible and responsive assistance will be directed towards communities with little previous outside engagement who lack the social capital to plug into any outside economies and whose continued disengagement will exacerbate the coca problem and threaten the viability of the peace process. Cdlo will serve to support and complement local government and GOC efforts and must: i) reconstitute social capital weakened by decades of conflict and isolation by building trust and fostering citizen participation in local affairs; II) enable communities to proactively and positively map out their socio-economic development path by working effectively with state and private sector entities, especially in areas affected by the high presence of illegal crops; III) enable conflict-affected communities to play an active role in the implementation of rapid response activities and the design, supervision, and monitoring of short- and medium-term local development activities associated with peace building, illegal crops substitution and alternative development; and IV) build linkages between local communities and their local and national governments through social and economic activities, including efforts to reduce coca production. To this end, cdlo will provide technical assistance, training, sub-grants and/or direct management to support and complement local development initiatives prioritized by communities. Cdlo will also coordinate with and complement other USAID civil society, governance, environment, social and economic activities. Cdlo will focus, though not exclusively, on rapid response, short- and medium-term interventions. Cdlo will transition its rapid response and shorter term interventions into the longer-term development activities of USAID other activities, as directed.