USAID needs new training, visa tracker

The U.S. Agency for International Development is looking to replace an outdated data collection system that tracks the training it provides to foreign nationals.

USAID’s Bureau of Economic Growth, Education and the Environment trains nearly 3 million people each year, either in their home countries, third countries or the United States. The data management system needs to connect with other parts of USAID, other agencies, partners and training providers worldwide.

There are currently two systems – TraiNet and VCS – which are about 20 years old and obsolete, USAID said in a sources sought notice. The agency wants to combine them into a single system.

The kind of data collected on the individuals varies by country with U.S. training requiring the most documentation. People coming to the United States for training generally use a J-1 visa. So the USAID system must connect with the Homeland Security Department’s Student and Exchange Visitor System.

Meeting security requirements of the visa system is one of the goals of the new contract.

USAID also wants to streamline the data entry process and get better data collection and reporting. It also wants improved monitoring and evaluation tools.

More than 700 USAID partner organizations and 2,700 individual access the current systems.

The training the USAID bureau provides has several goals including improving democracy and governance, economic growth and trade, agriculture, environmental protection, health and nutrition and assistance and disaster relief.

USAID is trying to determine if any 8(a) small businesses are able to build and maintain the data collection system. The agency hasn’t determined yet whether this will be a small business set aside contract or if it will be an open competition.

Responses to the sources sought notice are due Dec. 2.