What is TASC?

The Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Technical Assistance and Support Contract

TASC is a mechanism that enables USAID missions and bureaus to easily access high-quality technical assistance and support for maternal, child, and reproductive health; logistics; disaster relief; and nutrition programs. TASC can implement multi-year long-term projects or provide short-term technical assistance.

TASC is an Indefinite Quantity Contract (IQC), awarded to John Snow, Inc. (JSI) and seven other companies by USAID/Washington (HRN-I-00-98-00032-00). Unlike most centrally funded USAID projects, TASC can work in a wide range of technical areas, and is able to carry out integrated programs. The TASC mechanism can be used to bridge centrally funded and bilateral projects. It can also be used as an alternative to developing and bidding on bilateral projects.

TASC is designed to be—

• highly responsive
• inexpensive
• flexible
• quick
• non-bureaucratic

A description of TASC can be found in USAID/Washington’s Users’ Guide to Population, Health, and Nutrition Programs.