WASHINGTON, DC | December 1, 2005
EDC has been selected by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as a lead organization to implement the Assistance to Basic Education (ABE/BE) initiative, USAID’s new Indefinite Quantity Contract mechanism to support quality basic education around the world. EDC is joined by two partners, the Academy for Educational Development and RTI International plus a cadre of resource institutions consisting of Aurora Associates International, Inc., Amideast, L.T. Associates, Inc., Mississippi Consortium for International Development, and MSI (Management Systems International). Together these partners form a powerful team with a broad range of experience and expertise in the field of international basic education.
USAID is an independent agency which directs the federal government’s humanitarian assistance program in many sectors, extending aid to countries recovering from disaster, working to reduce poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms. ABE/BE is designed to support USAID’s offices worldwide by offering cost-effective access to technical expertise and implementation support for basic education programs. Through the ABE/BE agreement, EDC and its partners are eligible to provide technical assistance and services with a cumulative value up to $1 billion to support USAID’s basic education Strategic Objectives over the next five years.
“ABE/BE offers USAID countries wonderful opportunities to strengthen basic education,” said Michael Laflin, Vice President and Director of EDC’s International Education Systems Division. “EDC will be ready to provide the same creative, affordable, practical strategies that have worked so successfully over the last four decades of our assistance to developing countries.”
