Arlington, VA – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency announced a five-year expansion of its partnership with Brazil’s Ministry of Economy to support high-quality public infrastructure across Brazil under USTDA’s Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value (GPI). USTDA also announced funding for three new technical assistance activities under the GPI that will enhance public procurement best practices in partnership with the Ministry and other Brazilian government entities.
“We are expanding our commitment to Brazil at a very important moment,” said Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally, USTDA’s Acting Director. “The country’s recently enacted public procurement law emphasizes many of the GPI’s key principles, including value-based procurement, total cost of ownership and high-quality public investment. Our partnership with the Ministry includes assistance to help all levels of government meet the goals of this legislation, which will ultimately result in more modern, sustainable and resilient infrastructure for the people of Brazil.”
“We are promoting digital transformation and modernization of public procurement and this agreement with USTDA is important for the Brazilian government to be aligned with international best practices in the area. Public Procurement is the basis for better public services”, highlights the Special Secretary for De-bureaucratization, Management and Digital Government of the Ministry of the Economy, Caio Mario Paes de Andrade.
USTDA’s three technical assistance grants will support Brazil’s efforts to integrate and assess value-for-money in public procurement. A grant to the Ministry of Economy will help implement policies and processes in accordance with the new public procurement law. A grant to the Instituto Rui Barbosa (Rui Barbosa Institute) will support the implementation of performance-based auditing, and a grant to the Associação Brasileira de Entidades Estaduais e Públicas de Tecnologia da Informação e Comunicação (Brazilian Association of State and Public Information Communication Technology Companies, ABEP-TIC) will help establish transparent, competitive, and high-quality procurement mechanisms for procurements in the information and communications technology sector.
U.S. businesses interested in submitting proposals for these USTDA-funded technical assistance opportunities should visit www.ustda.gov/work/bid-on-an-overseas-project.
“USTDA’s assistance will support the implementation of performance-based auditing in all Brazilian Courts of Accounts, which is important to improving the Brazilian external government audit procedures as well as to enhancing transparency, strengthening accountability, improving policymaking, and facilitating the use of best practices by Brazilian government agencies,” said Ivan Lelis Bonilha, President of the Instituto Rui Barbosa. “This is particularly critical with the passage of Brazil’s new public procurement law and we look forward to increased integrity, efficiency, and value as a result of this grant.”
President-Director of ABEP-TIC, Leandro Victorino de Moura, commented, “ICT procurements are increasingly innovative and complex, and must be done thoughtfully and in a forward-thinking manner to achieve high-quality outcomes. This technical assistance will assist our 27 member entities make sound, competitive investments across the sector.”
Since 2013, USTDA’s Global Procurement Initiative has assisted public officials in partner countries to better understand the total cost of ownership of goods and services for infrastructure projects. GPI now includes 15 partner countries.
###
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.
MEDIA INQUIRIES: Paul Marin | (703) 875-4357