Kyrgyz Republic Transition Initiative

The USAID/OTI Kyrgyz Republic Transition Initiative (KRTI) program is designed to enhance U.S. Government (USG) policy goals and complement other ongoing USG programs in the Kyrgyz Republic by addressing critical drivers of conflict and instability at the national and community levels and enhancing the capacity and capability of the government to meet the needs of its people. USAID/OTI works with disenfranchised communities through small-scale but high-impact community-driven improvement activities that engage youth and other potentially volatile populations and provide technical assistance to the government to help restore their ability to provide core government functions. KRTI responds to an urgent need from the Kyrgyz Republic national and local governments and the people in offering immediate, tangible community improvement projects and grants to create employment, augment social trust, and decrease violent instability. Given the rapidly changing and complex political environment in the Kyrgyz Republic, both the USAID Representative and the U.S. Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic have requested that DCHA/OTI maintains its presence in the country into late 2013 to enable the USG to conduct robust and rapid-response programming to address unexpected turmoil and political change in the Kyrgyz Republic. Neither the Mission nor the U.S. Embassy has the capability to implement the flexible, high-impact programming like USAID/OTI, and neither has the staff, resources, or funding to develop and successfully implement a similar task order before USAID/OTI completes its grant activities in October 2012 prior to the task order's end date in December 2012. Under the Kyrgyz Republic Transition Initiatives Task Order, IRG is required to provide and support an in-country management and implementation team to award, implement, monitor, and evaluate grants under contract; regularly reporting on programmatic as well as financial matters; develop manuals for procurement, staffing, administrative, security, monitoring and evaluation, and grant management; procure and distribute in-kind resources; provide short-term technical assistance; participate in rolling assessments of the political situation, country context, program objectives, implementation and impact, and maintain and use the USAID/OTI Activity Database. IRG is also responsible for meeting program commitments by managing administration, logistics, procurement, and facilities, by providing short-term assistance and direct distribution of goods and services for all activities approved by USAID/OTI. IRG has successful responded to changes in program strategy and approach in response to unforeseen political and programmatic events, and works in close consort with USAID/OTI in Washington and in the field. The request for this follow-on action does not constitute a change in the existing TO scope of work (SOW). International Resources Group will continue to provide all of the services outlined above. Continuing the program through December 2013 will allow for the KRTI program to meet its mandate of addressing emerging sources of instability and drivers of conflict over the next year and supporting efforts to establish transparent and effective local and national governance, while filling a critical gap in USG programming and furthering USG interests in the Kyrgyz Republic. This action does not constitute a change to the ceiling of the original task order, as later modified. The original task order, signed on May 26, 2010, contained a ceiling of $22,767,212 and a May 6, 2011 end date. In January 2012, USAID/OTI received approval to amend the program end date from May 6, 2011 to December 6, 2012, and increase the ceiling from $22,767,212 to $34,762,538. USAID/OTI has obligated $28,026,920 to IRG since the start of the task order to fulfill the duties described above in response to the April 2010 political coup and the June 2010 ethnic violence in the south. After this follow on task order, an additional $6,735,618 will be obligated to continue addressing these critical objectives, fully funding this task order. With this, IRG has sufficient funds remaining in its pipeline to fund the program through December 2013.