USAID Procurement

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is the federal government's lead agency for foreign development and humanitarian assistance, working through missions in many countries to deliver programs in health, governance, economic growth, education, and disaster response. To run those programs, USAID buys professional and technical services and makes assistance awards, often in challenging overseas environments where requirements are demanding and delivery is hard. For contractors and implementing organizations, USAID is one of the more distinctive federal buyers because it uses both acquisition (contracts) and assistance (grants and cooperative agreements) to accomplish its mission.

Overview

USAID accomplishes its mission through two parallel instruments. The first is acquisition, where the agency awards contracts to firms that deliver a defined service or product the agency needs, governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and USAID's own agency supplement, the AIDAR (the agency-specific acquisition regulation that adds rules on top of the FAR for USAID's particular needs). The second is assistance, where the agency funds grants and cooperative agreements to support a program the recipient carries out in the public interest. The practical effect for organizations is that the right competitive path depends on which instrument a given opportunity uses, so reading each notice carefully to see whether it is a contract solicitation or an assistance opportunity is the first step. The kinds of organizations USAID works with range from large international development firms and consultancies to specialized contractors, nonprofits, and local partners on the ground.

Where opportunities are posted

The starting point for USAID acquisition opportunities is the same central portal as the rest of the federal government: SAM.gov, where every federal solicitation above the simplified-acquisition threshold is posted (effectively everything above $25K). You search SAM.gov by NAICS code, PSC code, set-aside type, and agency, then review the listing for the requirement and the instructions. For USAID specifically, the solicitation notice usually appears on SAM.gov but the full document package is distributed through FedConnect, the multi-agency document distribution system, so you typically have to register on FedConnect to download the complete RFP package and submit through it. Assistance opportunities (grants and cooperative agreements) flow through a different channel: USAID is among the agencies whose grant opportunities are published on Grants.gov, where the full application packages live even when a notice also appears on SAM.gov. If you are new to the central portal mechanics, our guide to SAM.gov covers registration, search, and notifications in detail, and because federal buyers route work very differently across open competition, vehicles, and assistance, our overview of federal agency buying patterns is worth reading before you commit to any one agency.

What they buy

USAID's purchasing centers on the services and expertise needed to design, deliver, and evaluate development and humanitarian programs. On the acquisition side, that means a heavy professional services layer: management and program consulting, monitoring and evaluation, technical advisory work across sectors such as health, governance, and economic growth, training and capacity building, logistics, and program support. Those professional services map to NAICS codes in the 5411 and 5416 management, scientific, and technical consulting families, many of which are bought through OASIS+, the governmentwide vehicle that has become the primary instrument for federal professional services. The agency also buys information technology, logistics, and other operational support for a globally distributed footprint. On the assistance side, USAID funds grants and cooperative agreements that put implementing partners in charge of carrying out programs on the ground. Organizations should identify the NAICS and PSC codes that match their offering, decide whether they are positioned for contracts, assistance, or both, and track USAID activity under those codes and instruments specifically.

Set-asides and small business

For its acquisition work, USAID participates in the standardized federal small business framework, so the same set-aside categories apply here as across the government: total small business set-asides, the 8(a) Business Development Program for disadvantaged small businesses, HUBZone for firms in economically distressed areas, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB). On larger, overseas-heavy development programs, prime contracts often go to firms with the scale, international footprint, and past performance to operate across multiple countries, which means subcontracting is frequently the realistic entry path for smaller companies. Watch the set-aside flag on each SAM.gov listing, and where a requirement is unrestricted, study the prime contractors and their small business subcontracting goals as a route in. Note that the small business set-aside framework applies to contracts, not to assistance awards, which follow eligibility rules defined in each grant notice rather than the FAR set-aside categories.

How to win

1. Decide early whether each opportunity is a contract or an assistance award, because acquisition (FAR and AIDAR rules, competed on SAM.gov and FedConnect) and assistance (grants and cooperative agreements on Grants.gov) demand different proposals, compliance, and team structures.
2. Set up SAM.gov saved searches and notifications mapped to your NAICS and PSC codes, and register on FedConnect so you can pull the full USAID solicitation package the day it posts rather than discovering it late.
3. Get onto the contract vehicles USAID and its peer agencies use. If you sell professional services, pursuing OASIS+ positions you for a large share of federal professional services task-order work, including development and advisory requirements.
4. Build past performance that proves you can deliver overseas. USAID weighs the ability to operate in difficult international conditions heavily, so document any work in remote, multi-country, or post-conflict environments and quantify the outcomes you produced.
5. Use subcontracting and partnering deliberately. Identify the incumbent primes and established implementing partners on large USAID programs, understand their subcontracting and local-partner commitments, and approach them with a specific, well-scoped capability rather than a generic introduction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does USAID post its contract opportunities?

USAID posts acquisition notices on SAM.gov, the central federal portal where every solicitation above roughly $25K appears, and you can filter by agency, NAICS code, PSC code, and set-aside type. For USAID specifically, the full solicitation document package is usually distributed through FedConnect, so you typically have to register there to download the complete RFP and submit. Assistance opportunities follow a separate path through Grants.gov.

What is the difference between USAID contracts and grants?

USAID uses two instruments. Contracts are acquisition awards where a firm delivers a defined service or product the agency needs, governed by the FAR and USAID's AIDAR supplement and competed on SAM.gov and FedConnect. Grants and cooperative agreements are assistance awards that fund a recipient to carry out a program in the public interest, and those opportunities are published on Grants.gov. The right competitive approach depends entirely on which instrument the opportunity uses.

What does USAID buy most?

USAID's largest acquisition lines are professional and technical services that support development and humanitarian programs: management and program consulting, monitoring and evaluation, sector technical advisory work, training, logistics, and program support, mapping heavily to the 5411 and 5416 NAICS families and often bought through OASIS+. On the assistance side, it funds grants and cooperative agreements for implementing partners. Identifying the specific NAICS and PSC codes for your offering, and whether you pursue contracts or assistance, is the first step to tracking the right opportunities.

Can small businesses win USAID contracts?

Yes, for acquisition work USAID uses the standardized federal set-aside categories, including total small business, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, and WOSB. On larger overseas development programs, prime awards frequently go to firms with international scale and past performance, so subcontracting to those primes is often the most realistic entry path for smaller companies. Note that the set-aside framework applies to contracts, while assistance awards follow eligibility rules set in each grant notice.

How does USAID relate to the Department of State?

USAID and the Department of State both operate internationally and have moved closer organizationally, but they are distinct buyers with different missions: State runs diplomacy and consular operations while USAID has historically led foreign development and humanitarian assistance. Their requirements can overlap in logistics, security, and professional services, so contractors targeting one should review the other. Because both rely on overseas delivery capability, past performance in international environments carries weight at each agency.