ADVANCING THE AGENDA OF GENDER EQUALITY (ADVANTAGE) IDIQ, 2014–2019

Banyan Global was a prime recipient of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Advancing the Agenda of Gender Equality (ADVANTAGE) indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The ADVANTAGE IDIQ promoted gender equality on a global, regional, and local scale by enabling both females and males to have equal opportunities to benefit from and contribute to economic, social, cultural, and political development; enjoy socially valued resources and rewards; and realize their human rights. The ADVANTAGE IDIQ strengthened USAID’s capacity to integrate gender equality and women’s empowerment systematically across its programs and projects, performance-monitoring and evaluation efforts, and procurements by providing specialized international and local expertise for gender-integration tasks. Activities under the ADVANTAGE IDIQ covered a wide spectrum of topics across multiple sectors. These topics included: gender-based violence (GBV); trafficking in persons; women’s economic empowerment (WEE); women’s leadership; legal rights (including property), inheritance, and access to justice; women’s employment; women’s role in mitigating climate change and environmental stewardship; women and food security; the role of women and girls in conflict mitigation and peace-building; and gender and health (including population and HIV/AIDS), across multiple sectors including but not limited to economic growth, environment and climate change, food security and agriculture, health and nutrition, and democracy, rights, and governance.

Through the ADVANTAGE IDIQ, Banyan Global provided time-sensitive, short- and long-term technical services, including gender trainings; gender audits, analyses, and assessments; integrating gender into monitoring and evaluation systems; assisting in program and project design and planning; communications and outreach; and reports and other deliverables on a range of gender issues with the goal of designing development strategies, projects, and activities that address gender gaps and improve development outcomes.