The BRDG IQC contract allows USAID Washington and Missions to access a wide variety of services in the areas of democracy and governance, civil society, private sector development and as well as education, health, infrastructure and security assistance. The assistance can be provided in a broad range of countries from fragile states to those states on the threshold of transformational development. In these countries, BRDG assistance can provide direct support to ministries and executive offices or work with the private sector and non-governmental organizations to implement assistance. The BRDG IQC will promote democratic governance across all sectors including the education, health, infrastructure, private and security sectors. All work under BRDG will promote the principles of accountability, transparency, and responsiveness in the way the services are provided to USAID Washington and Missions.

The BRDG IQC will provide services in three primary areas:

Reinforcing legitimacy of state structure, policies, and functions : Ensuring that the entire society is engaged in building the state in such a way that institutions are rooted in that society and appropriate to it is fundamental to effective governance. Specific reforms may succeed or fail based on whether citizens judge that they are legitimate. Millennium-IP3 Partners can provide services through the BRDG IQC to assist on establishing structures, policies, functions and decision making processes that are perceived as necessary and just by citizens.

Public Management : The BRDG IQC will assist governments to operate more efficiently and effectively and will assist governments and their citizens to incorporate democratic structures and principles into their systems of governance. Millennium-IP3 Partners can provide services to assist with development and implementation of policies and procedures to guide operations, including for ministries and executive offices, improve linkages between and among branches and levels of government, budget formulation, revenue flows, distribution and use of resources, civil service reforms, public-private partnerships, and working with citizens as customers of the government.

Strategic planning, policy and institutional reform: Reforms often entail changed rules, roles, altered incentive structures, and unfamiliar ways of doing business for multiple organizations and a multitude of individuals. Reformers are commonly confronted by powerful interest groups with stakes in the status quo and/or by debilitating but entrenched societal attitudes, and yet they are frequently inexperienced at building coalitions of support as they lack skills in negotiation and advocacy. Millennium-IP3 Partners can provide services to help designated policy planners and implementing managers develop and integrate analytical, technical, and political skill sets to build capacity to strategically manage policy reform processes (policy making, implementation, and enforcement). Services will support the reform of institutions (i.e., systems of rules), of policies, and of organizations. Services under BRDG may improve the processes of decision making and follow through required for effective implementation after laws have been passed or polices established.

See also Links and Publications for a complete copy of the BRDG IQC scope of Work.

After participating in a full and open competition with many large consulting firms, Millennium-IP3 Partners was awarded a BRDG contract together with four large firms. Millennium-IP3 Partners, however, requested in its proposal and was granted the only small business set-aside award under the BRDG IQC by USAID.