Justification and Approval of a Ceiling Increase of the “Global Book Alliance in Action” Task Order under the Advancing Basic Education-All Children Reading Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity Contract (ABE-ACR IDIQ)

This J&A package processes a ceiling increase in the amount of $4,800,000.00; thereby, increasing the total estimated cost of the task order from “$4,830,929.97” to “$9,630,929.97”, inclusive of the fixed fee. The ceiling increase will enable the GBAIA Contractor to respond quickly and effectively to buy-in requests from the USAID Missions in Nigeria, the Philippines, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Malawi that have emerged as a result of the impact of ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic and lack of other active USAID mechanisms in Washington or the field. The Missions requesting the buy-ins cannot meet their foreign assistance objectives for their current education programming without them. Each Mission is currently in the middle of executing programming that has been significantly negatively impacted by COVID-19. In all four Missions’ contexts, intended beneficiary populations have been deprived of timely delivery of learning materials, which is significantly decreasing the efficacy of U.S investments and the achievement of foreign assistance targets in basic education. Additional information regarding the cascading negative effects on the programming in progress in all four Missions along with the technical needs requested are detailed in the ceiling increase package, consisting of the D&F and J&A. 

The J&A is in accordance with AIDAR 706.302-70(a)(2) which states “Full and open competition need not be obtained when it would impair or otherwise have an adverse effect on programs conducted for the purposes of foreign aid, relief, and
rehabilitation.” AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(3)(i) states that the authority may be used for, “an award for which the Assistant Administrator responsible for the project or program makes a formal written determination, with supporting findings, that compliance with full and open competition procedures would impair foreign assistance objectives and would be inconsistent with the fulfillment of the foreign assistance program.”

Awarded contract AID-OAA-I-14-00053 to unknown vendor for unknown amount on 2019-07-05.