U.S. Agency for International Development, M/OP/B/LA, Room 1545, SA- 14, Washington, D.C. 20523-1430

B -- ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE ISSUANCE OF BROADENING ACCESS AND STRENGTHENING INPUT MARKET SYSTEM, (BASIS) RFP SOL M/OP-96-075 POC Contact Point: Margaret Kline, (703) 875-1133 or e-mail at mkline@usaid.gov, Contracting Officer, Ronald Stanley, (703) 875-1038. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contemplates issuing on or about the week of July 21, 1997, a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a five-year, multiple award, indefinite quantity Time and Materials contract with an estimated ceiling of $12 million dollars for Broadening Access and Strengthening Input Market Systems (BASIS). This contract is the implementation mechanism for results and data obtained from the BASIS Cooperative Agreement CRSP (Collaborative Research Support Program) which was competitively awarded to the University of Wisconsin, a Title XII University. The contract's scope of work is a consolidation of work on land, labor and capital markets and focuses on three theme areas 1) Securing access to Land and Water Resources and Developing Markets for their Exchange, 2) Improving the Coordination of Labor Demand and Supply, and Increasing Worker Productivity and Welfare, 3) Reducing Transaction costs and Broadening Access to final Markets. The contract also focuses on two cross cutting themes, 1) Linkages among Land, Labor and financial Markets, Implications for Productivity, Equity and Sustainability and 2) Household Decision-Making and Gender Differences in Access to Resources. The preferred method of distribution of USAID procurement information is via the Internet or by request of a solicitation of a 3.5" floppy disk (WordPerfect 5.1/5.2 format). The CBD notice can be viewed and downloaded using the Agency Web Site. The RFP, once issued, can be downloaded from the Agency web site. the Worldwide Web address is http://www.info.usaid.gov. Select "USAID Procurement and Business Opportunities" from the homepage menu, select "USAID Procurement Opportunities". On the following screen select "Download Available USAID Solicitations". The RFP can also be downloaded via Anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP) (net address: FTP address is FTP.INFO.USAID.GOV). Logon using the user identification of "anonymous" and the password is your email address. Look under the following directory for the RFP: pub/OP/RFP/MOP96075/mop96075.rfp. Telephone inquiries will NOT be accepted. (0189)

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