23 September 2010

Draft Guidance Note

Standard Request for Proposals – Individual Consultants

INTRODUCTION

This Guidance Note is intended to be used with the Standard Request for Proposals – Individual
Consultants (SRFP -- IC), issued by the NPTA in [September, 2009] for use in the procurement
of the services of individual consultants. The Procurement Act contains a special method for
procurement of consultants’ services from consulting firms (art. 44 to 51). The SRFP – IC is
based on an adaptation of that method suited to the more simplified procedural context of
procurement of consultative services from individuals.

It is important to note that individual consultants are typically hired for assignments that are less
complex and lower value than assignments for which the engagement of a firm is advisable.
Shortlists for soliciting proposals for consultative services should not include a mixture of
consulting firms and individual consultants. Therefore, as part of the procurement planning
process, the procuring entity should consider carefully whether consultative services that the
procuring entity requires to source externally should be procured from a consulting firm or from
an individual.

Factors that distinguish cases in which procurement of the services of an individual consultant
from cases in which procurement of services from a firm include, as stated in the World Bank
Guidelines for Selection and Employment of Consultants (section 5.1):

(a) teams of personnel are not required,

(b) no additional outside (home office) professional support is required, and
(c) the experience and qualifications of the individual are the paramount requirement.

Also noted by the World Bank Guidelines, economy and efficiency, and accountability
considerations, may dictate the choice of using a consulting firm where multiple individual
consultants would otherwise be required and coordination, administration, or collective
responsibility would become difficult because of the number of individuals.

It should also be noted that in some instances consultative services may be procured from a not
for profit organization (e.g., an intergovernmental organization such as an entity in the United
Nations system, or from a non-governmental organization). Normally, it is not recommended
to mix profit-making and no-for profit entities in the same shortlist (if such a mixed composition
for the shortlist is ever don, selection should be purely on quality basis so as to take the different
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costing structures of the different types of organizations out of the equation in raking the
proposals.

The procurement procedures on which this SRFP – IC is based have the following main features:

(a) Solicitation of expressions of interest from consultants, which may be carried out by way
of publication of a notice;

(b) The solicitation of expressions of interest, to which consultant respond by providing

qualification information (by way of submitting curricula vitae) demonstrating
experience relevant to the assignment, which is described in the Terms of Reference
(TOR) attached to the notice seeking expressions of interest;

(c) Shortlisting of the most qualified consultants for detailed comparison of their
qualifications (in particular of expressions of interest are solicited by publication of a
notice);

(d) Evaluation and scoring of expressions of interest on the basis of evaluation criteria; the
criteria, which relate primarily to the relevant experience and knowledge of consultants,
are disclosed (along with their relative weight), in the notice seeking expressions of
interest;

(e) The highest ranked consultant is invited to provide a financial proposal for performing
the services in accordance with the TOR;

(f) If a contract is not negotiated with the highest-ranked consultant, those negotiations are
terminated and negotiations are commenced with the second-ranked consultant;

For the purposes of understanding the notion of “consultancy services” in order to determine
whether this SRFP applies, procuring entities should refer the definition of the term “consulting
services” in sec. 2(d) of the Procurement Act, 2003 (hereinafter, “the Act”).

The SFRP -- IC is a standard document and should not be modified. Procuring entities should
only fill in the information specific to a particular procurement in the blank spaces indicated in
the document.

How standard procurement documents work

It is important to understand from the outset how the information provided in the request for
proposals document package is arranged when standard procurement documents are being used.
As described below, some parts of the standard procurement documents are always the same
(i.e., always contain the same text), while certain other parts of the standard procurement
documents contain slots where information particular to each procurement.

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This SPD – IC consist of two main parts. Part I contains the notice/letter if invitation seeking
expressions of interest. Part II contains various forms for implementing the proceeding.

1. NOTICE/LETTER OF INVITATION SOLICITING EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Para. 1

Here the procuring inserts a brief description of the services to be provided under the contract.

Para. 2

The blank space is for the purposes of inserting the name of the procuring entity and its location.

Para. 3

Here the procuring entity should fill in the weight that is assigned to each of the evaluation
criteria. The total of the points assigned to each of the criteria should be 100 points.

Para. 8

The commencement date for performing the services should be inserted in the blank space
provided.

Para. 9

This provision should indicate the procuring entity’s estimate as to the amount of time required
to perform the services.

Para. 10

The procuring entity official from whom consultants may obtain additional information should
be indicated, along with the coordinates of that person, including phone, fax and e-mail address.

Para. 13

The purpose of para. 13 is to indicate where the CV’s are to be submitted, and the deadline for
submitting them. Various methods of submitting the CV’s are envisaged, including fax, e-mail,
or physical delivery to the address which should be indicated in the form. Alternative
formulations are provided in para. 10 as to the mode/place of submission, depending upon
whether the fax, e-mail and address referred to in para. 9 (for obtaining additional information
from the procuring entity) are also to be used for submission of the CV’s.

2. SAMPLE FORM OF CURRICULUM VITAE

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This form presents a standard format to be used by each consultant for presenting his/her
curriculum vitae.

3. TERMS OF REFERENCE

This is a particularly critical component of the request for proposals document package because
it is here that the procuring entity provides the participating consultants with the information that
they require to express their interest and convey their relevant experience as effectively as
possible, and, if selected, to provide a reasonable financial proposal. The required main
components of the Terms of Reference (TOR) are listed in Annex No. 2, and the procuring entity
should ensure that all of the items are addressed, including any training if training is part of the
assignment.

4. EVALUATION REPORT

This is the form to be used for recording and summarizing the results of the evaluation of the
qualifications of the shortlisted individual consultants.

5. EVALUATION SHEET FOR SELECTION OF INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT

This is the form to be used for entering the detailed scoring of the evaluation of the CV’s of the
consultants.

6. NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS OF QUALIFICATION SELECTION

This is the form to be used by the procuring entity for notifying the winning consultant of the
results of the evaluation and inviting him/her to submit a financial proposal. Information to be
filled in by the procuring entity, in addition to the identification of the selected consultant,
includes: a description of the assignment; the commencement date of the services, the expected
performance period, the name and coordinates of the procuring entity official from whom the
consultant can obtain additional information, and the place and deadline for submission of the
financial proposal. As in the case of the submission of the CV’s (see Part I, in para.10 of the
Notice/Letter of Invitation), here, in para. 9 of Annex No. 4, various modes of submission of the
financial proposal are envisaged.

7. COST ESTIMATE OF SERVICES AND SCHEDULE OF RATES

This form is presented to the successful consultant with the notification in No. 6 in order to be
used for the preparation and submission of the financial proposal.

8. LUMP-SUM PRICE CONTRACT FOR CONSULTING SERVICES

Preamble

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Information to be filled in includes the starting date of the assignment or, if different, the date of
signature, the names of the procuring entity and the consultant, and their coordinates.

Clause 1

This provision refers to the TOR that should be annexed to the contract signed with the selected
consultant..

Clause 2

The start and the completion dates for provision of the services should be inserted.

Clause 3

In subpara. (a), the ceiling amount for payments should be entered.

In subpara. (b), the applicable amount and currency for the schedule of payment should be
specified.

In subpara. (c) , the currency of payment should be specified.

Clause 4

In subpara. (a), the procuring entity should designate the Coordinator in the blank slot.

Subpara. (b) provides that the reports submitted in accordance with the TOR annexed to the
contract constitute the basis for payments under the contract.