Utah State Lends World Water Expertise and gets a Piece of $2 Billion Contract

A joint venture partnership between Utah State University and several university and private sector partners was recently awarded a contract for work with the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Integrated Water and Coastal Resources Management Program.

 

The contract, called an indefinite quantity contract, is in place for five years and has a $2 billion ceiling. Utah State will lend technical expertise and training in various areas of water management in developing countries around the world.

 

“This contract solidifies Utah State’s position as one of the elite academic programs in international water resources management issues,” said Chris Fawson, vice provost for international affairs at Utah State. “Our primary joint-venture partners in this endeavor, International Resources Grou (IRG) and Tetra Tech, selected Utah State as one of their academic partners because of our recognized expertise in international water issues, water management and irrigation.”

 

While most of the partnership activity delegated to Utah State will be in the core engineering disciplines related to water resources, Utah State expects to involve faculty from other disciplines who have an interest in water issues, including on-farm water management, rural development, political science, economics and sociology.

 

The contract gives Utah State students and faculty additional opportunities in the international arena and will build upon the institutions recognized reputation for excellence in learning, discovery and engagement. It will also give the university more exposure in the global marketplace, Fawson said.

 

“There was extremely strong competition for this award and I know that Utah State’s participation in the proposal process contributed to our success,” said Asif M. Shaikh, president and CEO of IRG. “We look forward to continued success working as a team over the next five years.”

 

Utah State will begin responding to USAID mission task orders related to the project as early as this spring.

 

For more information, contact Fawson at (435) 797-1840.