On December 6 – 7, CLDP conducted a workshop in coordination with the Dominican General Directorate for Public Contracting (DGCP) on government procurement for disaster preparedness and emergency response in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.  More than 60 representatives of Dominican government institutions responsible for citizen security, including the National Police and the National 911 Emergency and Security System, attended the workshop.  This workshop followed CLDP's June 2017 procurement training for the same citizen security institutions, with an increased focus on disaster relief.

Over the course of the two-day workshop, participants received presentations and engaged in active discussions with two former FEMA contracting officers, a DOC contracts attorney, and an acquisition and assistance technician from USAID/DR. Experts highlighted how the USG maintains procurement transparency and fair pricing during disaster responses by utilizing best practices and specific acquisition mechanisms. Topics included pre-positioned contracts, framework agreements, sole source acquisitions, and pre-deployment kits for contracting officers, among others. Experts also offered recommendations for adapting these policies and procedures to the Dominican context, which will prove useful as the DGCP works to complete its draft reform of the DR’s government procurement law. This workshop is part of CLDP’s two-year project to improve the efficiency of government procurement practices in the Dominican Republic.