Past performance references have become an important evaluation factor for contractor selection, and a poor performance record in contractual or financial areas will negate excellent performance in technical areas, making future awards more difficult. Failure to comply with contractual provisions can result in substantial disallowances of expenditures when the contract is audited. The contractor would then be required to refund the disallowed amounts to the contracting agency.
Other firms or non-profit organizations lack in-house contractual expertise or have financial departments which lack experience in international work. Non-profits in particular may have experience with grants but little with contracts. In other cases, the in-house departments are simply too small or too busy to handle the additional work of a major international proposal effort or of a major international project.
Preparing and negotiating contracts, cooperative agreements and grants
Preparing overseas employment or consulting agreements
Preparing teaming agreements
Preparing local-hire contracts or employment agreements
Developing project or task budgets
Advising on interpretation of and compliance with contractual provisions
Converting subcontractor pricing data into the appropriate format for a proposal
Preparing business proposals for Requests for Proposals or Applications
Preparing budgets for annual workplans
Preparing requests for and negotiating contract modifications
Developing small business subcontracting plan
Advising on financial systems for overseas project offices
Developing financial reporting system tailored to contractual requirements
Developing schedules and tracking for contract deliverables
Training staff in subcontract management
Assisting staff in identifying and selecting host country subcontractors
Assisting host country subcontractors to meet donor requirements
Advising on securing and selecting host country legal assistance, if required
Advising on compliance with donor agency procurement regulations
Advising on purchase of project office equipment and equipment for the beneficiary
Preparing waiver requests for procurement outside the authorized geographic code
Advising on securing irrevocable commercial letters of credit for large procurement
Assisting in selecting a procurement agent
Preparing or advising on required subcontracting plan reports for compliance
Interpreting USAID, World Bank, or other donor agency regulations
Responding to intermittent questions on specific contractual or financial issues
