Under Contract

The U.S. Agency for International Development awarded a $117.5 million contract to Creative Associates International Inc. to assist the agency with its USAID/Nigeria Northern Education Initiative Plus (NEI+) Project in Nigeria. USAID is aiming to increase the quality of, and access to, education in northern Nigeria. Among other complicating factors, the extremist group Boko Haram is especially active in the northern part of the country. “The NEI+ activity is not experimental; USAID is not seeking to fund trial and error in improving either access or reading,” the agency said in documents soliciting contractor bids. “USAID intends for the activity to apply and gradually scale-up evidence-based practices and approaches that have been proven effective in contexts like that of Northern Nigeria.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded a $45,000 contract to veterinarian Gregg Levine to help sea turtles that become stranded in the Hawaiian Islands. According to the solicitation document, 150 to 200 live green and hawksbill turtles, which are protected by the Endangered Species Act, are stranded every year. “These live turtle strandings require veterinarian diagnosis, prognosis of survival, and euthanasia,” the document says. “Contractor will assist with treatment, surgery, and rehabilitation of stranded turtles for cases with high probability of survivorship and deemed appropriate by NOAA TRP staff and in consultation with the contractor.” The work will mostly take place in Oahu. 

The National Park Service is spending $18,000 on an oil painting on canvas measuring 36 inches by 48 inches unframed. The painting is a scene from the Civil War Battle of Pea Ridge titled “Van Dorn’s New Headquarters.” There are no details about where the painting will be displayed. The Maze Creek Studio in Carthage, Mo. won the contract. 

Contract information compiled from General Services Administration data and government press releases. Send announcements about government contracts to mwilson@digital-staging.thehill.com.