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Casals successfully concluded USAID/OTI funded project in Uganda

Casals and Associates, Inc. successfully concluded in 2011 the USAID/OTI funded project that assisted the government of Uganda with stabilization efforts in the northern part of the country. It was a $37.2 million task order under the firm’s Support Which Implements Fast Transitions II (SWIFT II) Indefinite Quantity Contract. SWIFT II is a quick-response contracting mechanism of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI).

The three-year task order, designed to leverage the improved security situation in northern Uganda, provided quick action to help shore up forces for peace and recovery using an in-kind small grants mechanism. Its overall goal was to encourage and support the voluntary return of displaced northern Ugandans by increasing their confidence in the government and in the ongoing transition process. To support this goal, the task order focused on two objectives:

  • Enhancing the capacity of the Ugandan media, particularly in northern Uganda, to research, inform and report on issues relevant to peace, recovery and development
  • Increasing the visibility of, and confidence in, all levels of government through the delivery of targeted, strategic interventions

Northern Uganda suffered a two-decade insurgency that killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly two million people. The improved security situation in the region in recent years has encouraged hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons to return to or near their homes, which has focused the Government of Uganda and the international community on post-conflict development.

This project was such a success that USAID awarded to the Casals & Associates, Inc. (Casals) OTI Northern Uganda Transition Initiative (NUTI) field team the prestigious USAID/OTI Field Team Award for 2009. USAID grants this award annually to the single best OTI project in the world.

USAID/OTI 2009 Field Team Award

USAID/OTI 2009 Field Team Award. Click on it to see it bigger.

The USAID/OTI Field Team Award reads: “For a dedicated and effective team, whose superlative performance has built a strong foundation for enduring recovery in Northern Uganda after years of devastation by the Lord’s Resistance Army.”

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