Unlock Aid’s recently released “Glassdoor for Prime” report reveals that USAID prime contractors, (grant & cooperative agreement) recipients and UN grantees need to strengthen the quality of their relationships with local subcontractors and subawardees. Local partners are essential to development and humanitarian activities, yet these firms, organizations and enterprises often do not receive copies of final proposals or budgets, are not kept engaged during implementation, and do not receive full or timely funding.
Unlock Aid sent surveys through networks of local organizations to subrecipients and subcontractors of the top USAID implementers. Respondents rated their primes on a five-point scale (1-5) on three aspects of their business relationship and the likelihood they would recommend working with the prime. The respondents were also able to provide comments. The scores were aggregated to 26 firms serving as primes and then ranked. Here are a few take-aways from the results:
- Transparency and open communication – Average score is 3.22. Those scoring well shared final proposals, promptly updated subs on changes, and explained why information, especially intellectual property, was requested.
- Fairness, genuine collaboration, and respect – Average score is 2.93. Positive rating are associated with not requiring exclusivity agreements, providing sufficient time to prepare proposal inputs, and collaborating on budgets while not insisting on cuts.
- Trustworthiness and commitment to accessibility – Average score is 2.95. Higher scoring primes provide full and timely disbursements, maintain direct lines of communication between subs and project leadership, and are responsive to concerns raised by the subs.
The question on likelihood of recommending working with the prime, the average score was also middling at 3.29. Although the report is based on only 80 respondents, the average results should not be surprising. The comments listed in an annex to the report would also be recognized as complaints heard over the years from subs about their primes.
While the mediocre ratings across the board are not surprising, they are concerning given the importance of local partners to development and humanitarian activities. The results would likely be similar if U.S. small and disadvantaged businesses and non-profits were surveyed as well. The point of these subcontracts and subawards is successful development and humanitarian work. The results of the Unlock Aid report do not reflect the trust, respect, and fairness needed in these relationships to optimize impact. The report shines a light on this gap with the hope for change if are going to see more successful localization efforts.
Read the Unlock Aid report here.
