The Government of Fiji’s effort to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and sustainable forest management practices (REDD+) requires a mechanism for responding to complaints, disputes, and grievances arising from the readiness and implementation phases of the Fiji National REDD+ Programme. The Ministry of Fisheries and Forests, with funding from the World Bank, awarded Integra a contract in September 2017 to develop a feedback and grievance redress mechanism (FGRM) for all stakeholders in the National REDD+ Programme.

As of June 2018, Integra concluded its consultancy with the World Bank and the Government of Fiji, the first of the REDD+ Readiness Assessments to be completed. The consultancy ended with the design of a communications strategy and a training of trainers. The communications strategy was designed specifically for the FGRM and supported greater awareness on REDD+. The training was conducted for targeted groups over a two-day period on the FGRM structure, procedures, process, and roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders involved – this also included the use of recommended reporting and recording forms in both English and iTaukei languages.

The FGRM Team then presented their findings and recommended design to the REDD+ Secretariat and Steering Committee for acceptance and approval. For more information on this activity, you can reference the project page located here.

Under USAID Wildlife Asia, Integra has developed a mobile application to assist law enforcement officials and the public in identifying pangolin species and their origin.

The Integra team expresses our deepest condolences for the family and friends of Wayne Lotter, Co-Founder of the PAMS Foundation, and a true champion of wildlife conservation. Wayne was shot and killed last night, August 17th, 2017, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Wayne was deeply respected by his colleagues, and his passion to protect wildlife in the face of adversity will continue to serve as an inspiration to us all.

-Robert Otto

 

Integra recently conducted a midterm performance evaluation of the third phase of the Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE III), USAID’s largest sustainable land management program in Africa, across six countries in the Congo Basin. CARPE III is the U.S. Government’s major contribution to the Congo Basin Forest Partnership, a partnership between member states, donors, international organizations and other stakeholders for coordination on conservation, development and other initiatives in the region.

The purpose of this assignment was to provide evaluation services that focused on: (1) program performance; (2) program design and implementation strategy; (3) program management and coordination; (4) the prospect for sustainability; and (5) lessons learned and practical recommendations for performance improvement. It was designed to help CARPE management, the Government of Norway and CARPE backstops in Africa Bureau (AFR) and USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education and Environment (E3) to review and improve major strategic approaches, management systems and allocation of program resources. The evaluation focused on the program’s performance in climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, sustainable forest management, combating wildlife trafficking and cross-cutting thematic areas like gender, indigenous people, property rights, resource tenure and governance. 

To conduct this evaluation, Integra used a non-experimental observational design involving a mixed-methods approach. Data collection methods included key informant interviews, focus group discussions, direct observation, and a literature review. Over the course of six weeks, Integra conducted in-depth reviews of program documents, previous CARPE evaluations and reporting, and relevant literature on climate change mitigation, conservation and wildlife crime. Interviews were also conducted with USAID CARPE staff, Africa Bureau, E3/GCC, FAB, and CARPE implementing partners in Washington, Kinshasa, Brazzaville and field locations across the eight CARPE landscapes.

Integra hopes the findings and recommendations from this midterm evaluation will assist CARPE III program managers to advance sustainable land management throughout the Congo Basin.

Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and 8(a) HUBZone Woman-Owned Small Business Join Forces to Form Complete Federal Contracting Team.

Washington, DC, December 19, 2016 – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently approved Integra LLC (Integra) and Snowbird Consulting Group (Snowbird) to participate in its new All-Small Mentor Protégé Program (ASMPP). The new program became effective on August 24, 2016, through the implementing provisions of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 and the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013. Applications for the ASMPP started being accepted by SBA this past October, with Integra and Snowbird’s mentor-protégé agreement being among one of the first 20 agreements approved, and possibly one of the first partnering of two small businesses to take advantage of the new program’s expansion. Their application was accepted and approved by SBA on October 18, 2016.

Typically, large businesses serve as the mentor due to their broad experience and capacity to provide technical assistance to the protégé. However, Integra and Snowbird’s collaboration is unique since they are both small businesses, with complementary service offerings along with complementary small business certifications. Together, they hold a complete set of all small business certifications – SDVOSB, 8(a), HUBZone, and WOSB – that are important to federal agencies in meeting their statutory goals for small business procurement.

Integra is a verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). They have over 88 years of combined experience of staff members, managing development projects as a prime contractor in over 60 countries. Robert Otto, Integra’s President, acknowledges that it too was once a protégé. “We gained a lot from our mentor protégé relationship and now it’s time for us to pay it forward. Snowbird has done well in the private sector — if we can help them grow to the next level as a small business in federal contracting, we can together offer government agencies greater value for our services.”

Founded in 2010, Integra was awarded its first prime contract by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to deliver Information Communication Technology (ICT) and rural broadband development services throughout 12 developing countries. Two years later, Integra successfully competed for USAID’s Restoring the Environment Through Prosperity, Livelihoods and Conserving Ecosystems (REPLACE) IDIQ, the agency’s primary vehicle for delivering environment, natural resource management, and climate adaptation technical services to USAID Missions around the world. More recently, Integra has won a series of full and open competitions with the Millennium Challenge Corporation in ICT and agriculture sector development.

Snowbird is a woman-owned small business (WOSB) that also participates in the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program and is headquartered in a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone). “Integra is one of the few small businesses that was able to immediately prime and manage contracts overseas for USAID,” said Melissa Ovard, Snowbird’s CEO. “This is one of the main reasons we approached Integra on being our Mentor—to learn from an experienced business, but also a small business who truly understands the necessary technical assistance we need to become a successful partner to the federal government in delivering solutions overseas.”

Snowbird provides strategic communications, human capital, and environmental services and marks their one year anniversary in the 8(a) Business Development Program this month. They were recently awarded two 8(a) contracts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service conducting an environmental compliance audit, and with USAID providing event planning and logistics services for the agency’s Europe and Eurasia Bureau. In January 2017, Snowbird will begin work on a contract with the Inter-American Development Bank, providing social and safeguard assessment services for environment projects throughout the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Integra and Snowbird kicked off their partnership in early November 2016 with a business development trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, where they jointly participated and supported USAID’s first ever small business conference held outside the continental U.S.

To learn more about SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protégé Program, please visit https://www.sba.gov/navigation-structure/all-small-mentor-protege-program.

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For more information Integra, please visit their website at https://www.integrallc.com/ or contact them via email at info@integrallc.com, or by phone at +1.202.898.4110.

For information for Snowbird, visit their website at https://www.snowbirdconsultinggroup.com, or contact them via email at contact@snowbirdconsultinggroup.com, or by phone at +1.202.817.2860.