Agency Agriculture Dept

Contractor Aurelia Consulting

SWIFT Contract Number 242858

Project Name Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Grant Technical Assistance

Project Number (if applicable) {Empty}

Summarize purpose of the contract, including why it was necessary: Aurelia Consulting was one of the partners incorporated into the USDA Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program state plan. The USDA required the MDA to do outreach to inform its RFSI state plan. The feedback showed that specialized outreach was needed to help Latino community members apply for the RFSI grant. Aurelia Consulting was identified by MDA staff as an organization with the unique expertise and community trust required to meet the needs of our cooperative agreement with USDA. Aurelia Consulting conducted outreach to Hispanic and Latino communities; provided translation of RFSI program information into Spanish; and helped Hispanic and Latino applicants apply for the RFSI grant program.

Project Duration

Start Date Thu, 02/08/2024 - 00:00

Original end date Sun, 06/30/2024 - 00:00

Actual end date Sun, 06/30/2024 - 00:00

Did project finish on time? Yes

Total billable hours utilized (if applicable) 94.25

Contract Amounts

Original contract: $35750

Amendments $0

Contract total $22618.75

Did project finish within budget? Yes

What was the funding source? Federal ARPA funds from USDA-AMS through the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure grant.

Is this a sole source contract? Yes

If this was a single source contract, explain why the agency determined there was only a single source for the services (if applicable) Our contractor was identified and incorporated into MDA’s federal cooperative agreement proposal to USDA.

Evaluator Name Kaylee Thornley

Evaluator Email Address kaylee.thornley@state.mn.us

Evaluate the contractor's timeliness The contractor's delivery of services was mostly punctual. We were under a very tight external timeline set by USDA for this grant program. We appreciate the contractor's willingness to work with that timeline, and provide what technical assistance and outreach that they could to underserved communities, even though more time would have been ideal. However, after services had been provided, invoices and reports on the technical assistance outcomes were hard to get and sent in very late.

Evaluate the contractor's quality The technical assistance and outreach services provided by the contractor were satisfactory.

Evaluate the contractor's cost The contractor came in under budget/used fewer of the hours we had originally budgeted for their work. Advertising and travel costs were also under budget.

Evaluate the contractor's overall performance Overall, the services provided were acceptable, but the delay in submitting invoices and reports had a ripple effect that impacted our performance reporting to USDA (we were not able to include the TA outcomes in our annual report because the deadline passed) and added extra unnecessary administrative time/stress to managing this contract.

Would you engage the contractor's services again? No

Describe any negative action taken during the duration of this contract (i.e., termination, pursuit of suspension, etc.): {Empty}

Please rate the overall experience with the contractor 3 - neutral