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59-625: The firm provides services to federal, state and local government clients, as well as to international multilateral institutions and to commercial industry. As of September 2011, Louis Berger ranked as the third largest USAID private-sector partner, and was ranked #25 in 2015 among U.S. design firms in terms of total firm revenue by Engineering News-Record . The company has suffered setbacks in recent years with settlement of fraud charges for contracts in Afghanistan ; admission of criminal responsibility to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in

118-409: A large scale is provided through USAID's Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance . Rather than having a permanent presence in country missions, this office has supplies pre-positioned in strategic locations to respond quickly to disasters when and where they occur. WSP Global WSP Group plc WSP Global Inc. is a Canadian consulting firm working mostly in the built environment . It

177-514: A number of countries that had achieved a substantial level of prosperity, including South Korea, Turkey, and Costa Rica . USAID also closes missions when requested by host countries for political reasons. In September 2012, the U.S. closed USAID/Russia at that country's request. Its mission in Moscow had been in operation for two decades. On May 1, 2013, the president of Bolivia , Evo Morales , asked USAID to close its mission, which had worked in

236-539: A one-year debarment on firm for engaging in "corrupt practices" in February 2015. USAID The United States Agency for International Development ( USAID ) is an independent agency of the United States government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance . With a budget of over $ 50 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in

295-634: A remedial plan to address it. Louis Berger was founded in 1953 by Louis Berger in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Born in 1914 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Dr. Berger graduated from Tufts College in 1936 with a degree in civil engineering, and earned a master’s in soils and geology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1940. In 1942, Dr. Berger joined the United States Coast Guard where he designed waterfront facilities along

354-801: A settlement with the US Department of Justice for bribery of governments in Asia; and a debarment by the World Bank for corrupt practices. In 2019, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that Louis Berger's inadequate peer review of the design contributed to the Florida International University pedestrian bridge collapse . They were also criticized for failure to identify the significance of structural cracking and not preparing

413-485: A specialized "Agriculture" office), development of microfinance industries, streamlining of Customs administrations (to accelerate the growth of exporting industries), and modernization of government regulatory frameworks for the industry in various sectors (telecommunications, agriculture, and so forth). In USAID's early years and some larger programs, Economic Growth offices have financed economic infrastructure like roads and electrical power plants. Economic Growth assistance

472-474: A sustainable basis for USAID's socioeconomic development objective in the long term. USAID (United States Agency for International Development) has recently initiated the HEARTH (Health, Ecosystems and Agriculture for Resilient, Thriving Societies) program, which operates in 10 countries with 15 activities aimed at promoting conservation of threatened landscapes and enhancing community well-being by partnering with

531-619: A takeover bid for Opus International Consultants . In July 2018, WSP announced its intention to buy Berger Group Holdings Inc., parent of the group of companies operating under the name of Louis Berger Group , a Morristown, N.J.-based international professional-services firm, for $ 400 million. In February 2020, WSP acquired US-based environmental consulting firm LT Environmental (LTE). On December 3, 2020, WSP acquired Canadian-based geotechnical, earth-science, and environmental consulting firm Golder for $ 1.14 billion. On June 1, 2022, WSP announced an agreement of sale with Wood Group plc for

590-549: Is contracted or procured by USAID and provided in-kind to recipients. For technical advisory services, USAID draws on experts from the private sector, mainly from the assisted country's own pool of expertise, as well as from specialized U.S. government agencies. Many host-government leaders have drawn on USAID's technical assistance for the development of IT systems and computer hardware procurement to strengthen their institutions. To build indigenous expertise and leadership, USAID finances scholarships to U.S. universities and assists in

649-719: Is headed by an administrator . The current administrator, Samantha Power, was sworn in on May 3, 2021. Under the Biden administration, the administrator became a regular attendee of the National Security Council. USAID/Washington helps define overall federal civilian foreign assistance policy and budgets, working with the State Department, Congress, and other U.S. government agencies. It is organized into "Bureaus" covering geographical areas, development subject areas, and administrative functions. Each bureau

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708-447: Is headed by an assistant administrator appointed by the president. (Some tasks similar to those of USAID's Bureaus are performed by what are termed "Independent Offices".) Independent oversight of USAID activities is provided by its Office of Inspector General, U.S. Agency for International Development , which conducts criminal and civil investigations, financial and performance audits, reviews, and inspections of USAID activities around

767-438: Is instructed: "To the maximum extent feasible, [to] provide [ESF] assistance ... consistent with the policy directions, purposes, and programs of [development assistance]." Also, when U.S. troops are in the field, USAID can supplement the " Civil Affairs " programs that the U.S. military conducts to win the friendship of local populations. In these circumstances, USAID may be directed by specially appointed diplomatic officials of

826-744: Is now provided in the form of non-reimbursable grants. In recent years, the United States has increased its emphasis on financial rather than technical assistance. In 2004, the Bush Administration created the Millennium Challenge Corporation as a new foreign aid agency that is mainly restricted to providing financial assistance. In 2009, the Obama administration initiated a major realignment of USAID's own programs to emphasize financial assistance, referring to it as "government-to-government" or "G2G" assistance. USAID

885-466: Is organized around country development programs managed by resident USAID offices in developing countries ("USAID missions"), supported by USAID's global headquarters in Washington, DC. USAID plans its work in each country around an individual country development program managed by a resident office called a "mission". The USAID mission and its U.S. staff are guests in the country, with a status that

944-504: Is required. ) In 2008, USAID launched the "Development Leadership Initiative" to reverse the decline in USAID's Foreign service officer staffing, which had fallen to a total of about 1,200 worldwide. Although USAID's goal was to double the number of Foreign service officers to about 2,400 in 2012, actual recruitment net of attrition reached only 820 by the end of 2012. USAID's 2016 total of 1,850 Foreign service officers compared with 13,000 in

1003-439: Is the lead federal coordinator for international disaster assistance. After 1945, many newly independent countries needed assistance to relieve the chronic deprivation afflicting their low-income populations. USAID and its predecessor agencies have continuously provided poverty relief in many forms, including assistance to public health and education services targeted at the poorest. USAID has also helped manage food aid provided by

1062-527: Is thus quite diverse in terms of the range of sectors where it may work. It corresponds to USAID's socioeconomic development objective and is the source of sustainable poverty reduction. Economic Growth offices also occasionally manage assistance to poverty relief projects, such as to government programs that provide "cash transfer" payments to low-income families. Some USAID missions have specialized technical offices for areas like counter-narcotics assistance or assistance in conflict zones. Disaster assistance on

1121-997: Is usually defined by a "framework bilateral agreement" between the government of the United States and the host government. Framework bilaterals give the mission and its U.S. staff privileges similar to (but not necessarily the same as) those accorded to the U.S. embassy and diplomats by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. USAID missions work in over fifty countries, consulting with their governments and non-governmental organizations to identify programs that will receive USAID's assistance. As part of this process, USAID missions conduct socio-economic analysis, discuss projects with host-country leaders, design assistance to those projects, award contracts and grants, administer assistance (including evaluation and reporting), and manage flows of funds. As countries develop and need less assistance, USAID shrinks and ultimately closes its resident missions. USAID has closed missions in

1180-640: The Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency . USAID's special ability to administer programs in low-income countries supports these and other U.S. government agencies' international work on global concerns. Among these global interests, environmental issues attract high attention. USAID assists projects that conserve and protect threatened land, water, forests, and wildlife. USAID also assists projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to build resilience to

1239-644: The Commission for Relief in Belgium headed by Herbert Hoover prevented starvation in Belgium after the German invasion. After 1945, the European Recovery Program championed by Secretary of State George Marshall (the " Marshall Plan ") helped rebuild war-torn Western Europe. USAID manages relief efforts after wars and natural disasters through its Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, which

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1298-749: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act . A settlement agreement between the company with the US Department of Justice was announced in July 2015, in which the company admitted criminal responsibility and agreed to pay a penalty of $ 17.1 million. The inquiry into the company's activities in Vietnam uncovered corrupt payments to government officials in the Third Rural Transport and Da Nang Priority Infrastructure Investment Projects, both World Bank funded projects. The World Bank imposed

1357-712: The National Security Council . USAID has missions in over 100 countries, primarily in Africa , Asia , Latin America , the Middle East , and Eastern Europe . USAID's decentralized network of resident field missions is drawn on to manage U.S. government programs in low-income countries for a range of purposes. Some of the U.S. government's earliest foreign aid programs provided relief in crises created by war. In 1915, U.S. government assistance through

1416-670: The Taliban , funding a "Taliban-led terrorist insurgency" that killed or wounded thousands of Americans in Afghanistan. In 2009, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the "protection money" was "one of the major sources of funding for the Taliban." Between 1998 and 2010, executives at the company paid bribes amounting to $ 3.9 million to government officials in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Kuwait to win business in violation of

1475-475: The U.S. Department of Agriculture . Also, USAID provides funding to NGOs to supplement private donations in relieving chronic poverty. Technical cooperation between nations is essential for addressing a range of cross-border concerns like communicable diseases, environmental issues, trade and investment cooperation, safety standards for traded products, money laundering, and so forth. The United States has specialized federal agencies dealing with such areas, such as

1534-829: The 4,935 local staff of USAID's field missions. Host-country staff normally work under one-year contracts that are renewed annually. Formerly, host-country staff could be recruited as "direct hires" in career positions and at present many host-country staff continue working with USAID missions for full careers on a series of one-year contracts. In USAID's management approach, local staff may fill highly responsible, professional roles in program design and management. U.S. citizens can apply to become USAID Foreign service officers by competing for specific job openings based on academic qualifications and experience in development programs. Within five years of recruitment, most Foreign service officers receive tenure for an additional 20+ years of employment before mandatory retirement. Some are promoted to

1593-519: The Environment & Infrastructure group (E&I) part of its business. The £1.6 bn acquisition was concluded in September 2022. In August 2022, WSP made an unsuccessful takeover offer to purchase RPS Group for £591 million. In September 2022, RPS received a counter takeover offer from Tetra Tech for £636 million with WSP opting not to increase its bid. RPS' shareholders voted to accept

1652-556: The False Claims Act. The case, filed by a whistleblower, alleged that the company billed the government for internal costs unrelated to its rebuilding contracts in Afghanistan. According to the lawsuit, filed in December 2019 in the D.C. District Court on behalf of Gold Star families , some U.S. contractors involved in Afghanistan's reconstruction projects, including Louis Berger Group, made illegal "protection payments" to

1711-648: The Herat-Islam Qala Highway in Afghanistan in 1965. Louis Berger began its first international project in 1959 when the firm was selected by USAID and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf District to design a 435-mile highway between Yangon and Mandalay in Myanmar. The project was initially rejected by the Burmese government as proposed by the Corps of Engineers, but Louis Berger was able to design

1770-629: The Mississippi River and commanded a Coast Guard base in Greenland. Upon returning from active duty, he earned his PhD in soil mechanics from Northwestern University and joined the teaching faculty at the Pennsylvania State University . In 1952, Dr. Berger left his position at Pennsylvania State University to form the engineering consulting firm that would later become Louis Berger. Fredric S. Berger, son of

1829-620: The Senior Foreign Service with extended tenure, subject to the Foreign Service's mandatory retirement age of 65. (This recruitment system differs from the State Department's use of the "Foreign Service Officer Test" to identify potential U.S. diplomats. Individuals who pass the test become candidates for the State Department's selection process, which emphasizes personal qualities in thirteen dimensions such as "Composure" and "Resourcefulness". No specific education level

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1888-750: The South Sudanese capital to the town of Nimule on the Ugandan border. Louis Berger consists of three operating companies which include a United States unit (formerly known as Louis Berger Group), an international unit, and a services unit that provides base logistics and operations support, global operations and maintenance, turnkey power solutions and fueling and facility services. Headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, Louis Berger manages its regional operations out of offices in Washington D.C., France, United Arab Emirates, India and Panama. The company

1947-598: The State Department, as has been done in Afghanistan and Pakistan during operations against al-Qaeda. U.S. commercial interests are served by U.S. law's requirement that most goods and services financed by USAID must be sourced from U.S. vendors. To help low-income nations achieve self-sustaining socioeconomic development, USAID assists them in improving the management of their own resources. USAID's assistance for socioeconomic development mainly provides technical advice, training, scholarships, commodities, and financial assistance. Through grants and contracts, USAID mobilizes

2006-431: The State Department. While USAID can have as little presence in a country as a single person assigned to the U.S. Embassy, a full USAID mission in a larger country may have twenty or more USAID Foreign service officers and a hundred or more professional and administrative employees from the country itself. The USAID mission's staff is divided into specialized offices in three groups: (1) assistance management offices; (2)

2065-771: The U.S., while assistance to the country's universities and professional education institutions may be provided by Economic Growth and Health offices. The Education office's emphasis on school access for the poor majority of the population corresponds to USAID's poverty relief objective, as well as to the socioeconomic development objective in the long term. Examples of projects assisted by environmental offices are projects for tropical forest conservation, protection of indigenous people's lands, regulation of marine fishing industries, pollution control, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and helping communities adapt to climate change. Environment assistance corresponds to USAID's objective of technical cooperation on global issues, as well as laying

2124-493: The basis for socio-economic development. USAID's Education offices mainly assist the national school system, emphasizing broadening the coverage of quality basic education to reach the entire population. Examples of projects often assisted by Education offices are projects for curriculum development, teacher training, and provision of improved textbooks and materials. Larger programs have included school construction. Education offices often manage scholarship programs for training in

2183-435: The common brand of WSP. In October 2014, WSP completed the purchase of New York-headquartered professional services firm Parsons Brinckerhoff from Balfour Beatty for US$ 1.24 billion. The company has a network of approximately 170 offices and nearly 13,500 employees on five continents and became a wholly owned independent subsidiary. Together, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff is one of the largest professional services firms in

2242-625: The company's founder, Dr. Louis Berger, was involved with the company since 1972 and served as chairman of Louis Berger Group from 2007 until his passing in April 2015. Mr. Berger held a bachelor's in economics from Tufts University and a master of science degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Mr. Berger was a founding member of the American University of Afghanistan and served on

2301-448: The country for 49 years. The closure was completed on September 20, 2013. USAID missions are led by mission directors and are staffed both by USAID Foreign Service officers and by development professionals from the country itself, with the host-country professionals forming the majority of the staff. The length of a Foreign service officer's "tour" in most countries is four years, to provide enough time to develop in-depth knowledge about

2360-434: The country. (Shorter tours of one or two years are usual in countries of exceptional hardship or danger.) The mission director is a member of the U.S. Embassy's "Country Team" under the direction of the U.S. ambassador. As a USAID mission works in an unclassified environment with relative frequent public interaction, most missions were initially located in independent offices in the business districts of capital cities. Since

2419-454: The eradication of communicable diseases, strengthening of public health systems focusing on maternal-child health including family planning services, HIV-AIDS monitoring, delivery of medical supplies including contraceptives and HIV vaccines, and coordination of Demographic and Health Surveys. This assistance is primarily targeted to the poor majority of the population and corresponds to USAID's poverty relief objective, as well as strengthening

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2478-501: The first U.S. foreign assistance organization whose primary focus was long-term socioeconomic development. USAID's programs are authorized by Congress in the Foreign Assistance Act , which Congress supplements through directions in annual funding appropriation acts and other legislation. As an official component of U.S. foreign policy, USAID operates subject to the guidance of the president , secretary of state , and

2537-567: The judicial sector and civil society organizations that monitor government performance. Democracy assistance received its greatest impetus at the time of the creation of the successor states to the USSR starting in about 1990, corresponding both to USAID's objective of supporting U.S. bilateral interests and to USAID's socioeconomic development objective. Examples of projects often assisted by Economic Growth offices are projects for improvements in agricultural techniques and marketing (the mission may have

2596-603: The mission director's and the Program office; and (3) the contracting, financial management, and facilities offices. Called "technical" offices by USAID staff, these offices design and manage the technical and financial assistance that USAID provides to their local counterparts' projects. The technical offices that are frequently found in USAID missions include Health and Family Planning, Education, Environment, Democracy, and Economic Growth. Examples of projects assisted by missions' Health and Family Planning offices are projects for

2655-586: The passage of the Foreign Affairs Agencies Consolidation Act in 1998 and the bombings of U.S. Embassy chanceries in east Africa in the same year, missions have gradually been moved into U.S. Embassy chancery compounds. The country programs are supported by USAID's headquarters in Washington, D.C., "USAID/Washington", where about half of USAID's Foreign Service officers work on rotation from foreign assignments, alongside USAID's Civil Service staff and top leadership. USAID

2714-507: The private sector to align business goals with development objectives. Through HEARTH, USAID implements One Health principles to achieve sustainable benefits for both people and the environment through projects focused on livelihoods, well-being, conservation, biodiversity, and governance. Examples of projects assisted by Democracy offices are projects for the country's political institutions, including elections, political parties, legislatures, and human rights organizations. Counterparts include

2773-902: The project using more economical alternatives. In December 2010, the Discovery Science Channel production team filmed thirty hours of footage of the works for the construction of a new bridge over the Sava River in Belgrade, Serbia. In 2012, Louis Berger completed work on the Juba-Nimule Road in South Sudan under the Sudan Infrastructure Services Project. The road was the first paved highway in South Sudan and links

2832-413: The risks associated with global climate change . U.S. environmental regulation laws require that programs sponsored by USAID should be both economically and environmentally sustainable . To support U.S. geopolitical interests, Congress appropriates exceptional financial assistance to allies, largely in the form of "Economic Support Funds" (ESF). USAID is called on to administer the bulk (90%) of ESF and

2891-672: The strengthening of developing countries' own universities. Local universities' programs in developmentally important sectors are assisted directly and through USAID support for forming partnerships with U.S. universities. The various forms of technical assistance are frequently coordinated as capacity-building packages for the development of local institutions. Financial assistance supplies cash to developing country organizations to supplement their budgets. USAID also provides financial assistance to local and international NGOs who in turn give technical assistance in developing countries. Although USAID formerly provided loans, all financial assistance

2950-682: The technical resources of the private sector, other U.S. government agencies, universities, and NGOs to participate in this assistance. Programs of the various types above frequently reinforce one another. For example, the Foreign Assistance Act requires USAID to use funds appropriated for geopolitical purposes ("Economic Support Funds") to support socioeconomic development to the maximum extent possible. USAID delivers both technical assistance and financial assistance. Technical assistance includes technical advice, training, scholarships, construction, and commodities. Technical assistance

3009-476: The university's board from 2004 to 2015. In 2013, Mr. Berger was appointed to advisory boards for the U.S. Institute of Peace and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency . The firm’s first major projects included design on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the first turnpike in the U.S., and on I-80 between Denville and Netcong, the first interstate road in the state of New Jersey The firm also designed

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3068-517: The world and accounts for more than half of all U.S. foreign assistance—the highest in the world in absolute dollar terms. Congress passed the Foreign Assistance Act on September 4, 1961, which reorganized U.S. foreign assistance programs and mandated the creation of an agency to administer economic aid. USAID was subsequently established by the executive order of President John F. Kennedy , who sought to unite several existing foreign assistance organizations and programs under one agency. USAID became

3127-465: The world with approximately 32,000 employees in 500 offices serving 39 countries. In early 2015, WSP announced plans to expand to 45,000 employees by 2020. In October 2016, WSP purchased Mouchel Consulting from the Kier Group for approximately £75 million. In January 2017, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff announced that it would assume the name "WSP", effective from May 2017. In August 2017, WSP made

3186-537: The world. USAID's staffing reported to Congress in June 2016 totaled 10,235, including both field missions "overseas" (7,176) and the Washington DC headquarters (3,059). Of this total, 1,850 were USAID Foreign service officers who spend their careers mostly residing overseas (1,586 overseas in June 2016) and partly on rotation in Washington DC (264). The Foreign service officers stationed overseas worked alongside

3245-497: Was acquired by the Canada-based WSP Global in 2018 for $ 400 million. Louis Berger was ranked #25 among U.S. design firms in 2015 based on total firm revenue by Engineering News-Record and #10 among Program Management firms The firm also ranked #37 among Environmental firms in 2014. In November 2010, Louis Berger agreed to pay a record $ 69.3 million to settle charges of fraud against the government brought under

3304-406: Was backed by WSP's board of directors as well as investors holding 37% of the company's shares, and the takeover was completed on 1 August 2012. This merger created a professional-services firm with approximately 15,000 employees, working in over 300 offices worldwide. The company reorganised its corporate structure on 1 January 2014, to create a parent company named WSP Global Inc. and adopted

3363-574: Was created in 2012, following Montreal-based Genivar 's takeover of British firm WSP Group plc. It is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange . After the purchase of New York-headquartered professional services firm Parsons Brinckerhoff in October 2014, WSP effectively became one of the largest professional services firms in the world, with approximately 73,300 employees in 500 offices serving in 40 countries. Williams Sale Partnership

3422-859: Was established in 1969 in England by Chris Cole, Geoffrey Williams, John Sale, and Geoffrey Middleton. In 1976, it was a founding member of the Building Services Research and Information Association ( BSRIA ). It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1987. In the 1990s, the company expanded both domestically and internationally, forming WSP Asia in 1995, incorporating Graham Group and T P O'Sullivan and Partners in 1997, acquiring US practices Cantor Seinuk and Flack + Kurtz in 2000, as well as buying Jacobson & Widmark (J&W) in Sweden in 2001 (J&W

3481-726: Was founded in 1938), LT Consultants Oyj and EMP Projects Oyj in Finland in 2003 and PHB Group in the UAE in 2005. After acquiring three firms and expanding geographically in 1993, the name of the Canadian firm GBGM was changed to Genivar Inc. In August 2011, Genivar Inc. and Montreal-based architectural firm ARCOP announced an alliance. On 7 June 2012, Genivar made a friendly takeover cash offer of £ 278 million ( C$ 442 million) for WSP Group plc, headquartered in London . The offer

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