Inactive

This document is a class justification and approval (J&A) for other than full and open competition for awards of personal services contracts (PSCs) with cooperating country nationals (CCNs), issued un... This document is a class justification and approval (J&A) for other than full and open competition for awards of personal services contracts (PSCs) with cooperating country nationals (CCNs), issued under the authority of section 113 of title 40, United States Code (U.S.C.), as applied by USAID pursuant to section 706.302-70 of title 48 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Chapter 7, the USAID Acquisition Regulation (AIDAR). Under the authority of 40 U.S.C. 113(e)(2), AIDAR 706.302-70(a)(2) states that 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)(1) authorizes the use of this authority for an award under section 636(a)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as amended, involving a personal services contractor serving abroad. USAID’s ability to recruit and retain the best talent in partner countries depends on the Agency supporting and investing in its local workforce. CCNPSCs are critical to USAID’s global mission for many reasons, including their local leadership, technical expertise, and country-specific knowledge and insights that inform and enable the Agency’s ability to solve complex development challenges. Through these exceptions to competition, USAID will be able to provide intangible benefits for its CCNPSCs beyond what each post LCP provides, in the form of improved career growth, professional advancement, and job security. If USAID is unable to provide these intangible benefits, it is at greater risk of losing highly qualified and experienced staff to other entities that compete for talent in the foreign assistance sector, and who are able to offer higher salaries. Without use of the authority for other than full and open competition as described in this class J&A, the Agency would be impaired in its ability to recruit and retain the CCNPSCs necessary to carry out foreign aid programs in the host countries where it operates. During the course of the performance of their contracts, CCNPSCs gain critical knowledge of USAID programming and processes. This class justification preserves USAID’s ability to meet its obligations as a foreign affairs agency by retaining its critical CCNPSC workforce and removing impediments to their ability to continue successfully performing. The Agency has a longstanding practice of limiting competition for CCNPSC awards to the local marketplace. Through a series of class J&As since the 1990s, the Agency has relieved COs of the administrative burden of preparing separate justifications to limit competition to the CCN community for local national PSC staffing opportunities. USAID issued a class J&A for CCNPSCs in its Contractor Information Bulletin (CIB) 92-5, preceding the publication of AIDAR Appendix J in 1993. Subsequently, CIB 97-16 was issued on July 10,1997 to supersede the CIB 92-5 class J&A. Use of the authority to limit competition for CCNPSCs was renewed on December 20, 2016 by a class J&A that was incorporated into Agency policy (Automated Directives System (ADS), Chapter 309 and Mandatory Reference 309mad). This revised class J&A conforms to the requirements in FAR 6.303-2. It supersedes the last above-referenced class J&A and provides for expanded application of the 40 U.S.C. 113 authority beyond what was previously authorized.