99 -- Building Recovery and Reform through Democratic Governance (BRDG)

This modification clarifies the description of work stated in the original notice posted 10/25/04. Three USAID initiatives will be served through this IQC. One initiative is the promotion of democratic governance. The USAID report, “Foreign Assistance in the National Interest” identifies democratic governance as critical to successful development and calls for increased attention to democratic governance in programming across all sectors. The second initiative is the increased emphasis on fragile states. The Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance Bureau has responsibility for developing assistance strategies to generate positive impacts in fragile states. The third initiative that will be served is the newly established Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). The MCA will provide substantial funding to selected countries that meet a variety of development indicators, including governance indicators. Increased focus on governance dimensions, due to MCA-related incentives, may create new opportunities for technical assistance in support of democratic governance. This IQC will provide services in three primary areas A) Reinforcing legitimacy of state structure, policies, and functions B) Public management and C) Strategic planning, policy, and institutional reform.