Sarah R. Acio

Sarah Acio serves as an Acquisition and Assistance (A&A) Specialist at USAID/Uganda, where she plays a pivotal role in designing and managing technical assistance contracts and cooperative agreements that advance sustainable development outcomes in health, governance, and ecosystem management. Her work directly supports USAID’s mission of building local institutional capacity through evidence-based programming and localized service delivery. Acio specializes in non-construction professional services, particularly those requiring high levels of technical expertise and adaptive management, ensuring acquisitions align with U.S. government procurement regulations and USAID’s development objectives. She routinely handles complex, performance-based acquisitions involving monitoring and evaluation, policy advisory services, and systems strengthening initiatives. Acio collaborates with a diverse array of international and local consulting firms, research institutions, and technical service providers, many of which bring deep domain expertise in public health systems, governance reform, and environmental resilience. While no single contractor dominates her portfolio, she consistently engages firms with proven track records in implementing USAID-funded programs across sub-Saharan Africa. Her working relationships emphasize performance accountability, local partner capacity building, and compliance with U.S. foreign assistance compliance frameworks. Acio’s contracting patterns reflect a strong preference for open competition, with 91.7% of her awards issued without set-aside designation. The remaining 8.3% are competed under the 8(a) Business Development Program, indicating a measured but intentional commitment to small business participation, particularly for firms with specialized technical capabilities in development consulting. She prioritizes merit-based selection while ensuring socioeconomic programs are leveraged where appropriate to expand access for qualified disadvantaged businesses. Her primary procurement focus lies in NAICS 541990 (All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services), complemented by significant activity in 541611 (Management Consulting) and 541690 (Other Scientific and Technical Consulting). She procures services related to health systems strengthening under PEPFAR, institutional capacity assessments, data-driven decision support systems, and adaptive program design—reflecting deep expertise in development consultancy and performance-based contracting.