16 Preparation, Submission, andEvaluation of Proposals
16.3 Evaluation Committee .1 General Considerations
The Evaluation Committee (EC) is a committee of ex-perts appointed by the Borrower to carry out the eval-uation of technical and financial proposals. The EC uses the evaluation criteria and subcriteria set out in the Data Sheet attached to the RFP.
The EC is not authorized to change, amend, or modify the TOR. Consultants prepare their proposals based on the TOR included in the RFP, and proposal 81
responsiveness must be assessed against these TOR.
TOR should not be modified after submission of the proposals; such changes could affect the fairness and transparency of the selection process.
The EC cannot modify the evaluation criteria and subcriteria set out in the Data Sheet. Borrowers, when preparing the Data Sheet, establish evaluation criteria
and subcriteria and assign points to them relating to aspects of the assignment that best fit Borrowers’
objectives and circumstances. For this reason, evalua-tion criteria, subcriteria, and associated points should not be modified.
The authority to award the contract lies with the Borrower and is subject to the Bank’s “no objection,”
82 PREPARATION, SUBMISSION, AND EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS General Considerations
1 6 . 3 . 1
Figure 16.1 Preparation, Submission, and Evaluation of Proposals (QCBS Method)
Evaluation Committee is appointed (shortly before proposals submission).
Opening of the proposals by the appointed official. Provisions are taken for the safekeeping of the financial proposals.
Technical and financial proposals are received.
Evaluation Committee meets to agree on rating system to adopt for evaluating the technical proposals.
Evaluation Committee confirms that all members fully understand the evaluation process and method.
Prebid Conference
Letters of Invitation are issued.
Requests of clarifications
Each member of the Evaluation Committee independently evaluates the technical proposals.
Evaluation Committee meets to discuss and consolidate the evaluation.
Borrower forwards the technical evaluation report to the Bank for “no objection.”
Public opening of the financial proposals by the Evaluation Committee
Evaluation Committee evaluates the financial proposals, determines the combined scores and the recommendation for award, and delivers the final evaluation report to the decision-making authority.
Once the Bank's “no objection” is received, the Borrower notifies the consultants of the date for the opening of the financial proposals.
The decision-making authority reviews the technical evaluation report, decides on possible technical deviations, and approves the procedure.
Technical evaluation report is prepared by the Evaluation Committee and delivered to the designated decision-making authority.
The decision-making authority reviews the final evaluation report, decides on its recommendation for award, and forwards the report to the Bank for its information.
The Borrower invites the first-ranked consultant to negotiations.
The Borrower forwards to the Bank the initialed negotiated contract for its “no objection."
when required. The task of the EC is to evaluate the pro-posals and submit the Evaluation Report and recom-mendations for award to the Borrower. The Borrower may accept or (under special circumstances) reject the recommendation of the EC (for example, if an impor-tant aspect of the evaluation was overlooked). In that instance, the Borrower may (a) ask the EC to revise its evaluation and recommendation or (b) (in extreme cases) even dismiss the EC, appoint a new Committee, and repeat the evaluation.
16.3.2 Recommended Criteria for the Selection of the EC Members
(a) IntroductionConsultants’ technical proposals are an intellec-tual product; their evaluation must be based on the professional judgment of competent and im-partial evaluators. The judgment has to be tech-nically sound and objective, strictly complying with the procedures and evaluation criteria indi-cated in the RFP, and capable of providing an ad-equate explanation for each evaluation and the points assigned to it.
The fulfillment of these conditions ensures consultants a professional and fair evaluation of their proposals and the Borrower a better chance to select the consultant who is best suited for the assignment. It also increases consultants’ confi-dence in the selection process and reduces the likelihood of complaints from consultants.
The experience of EC members in the disci-plines related to the assignment and their famil-iarity with evaluation techniques of consultants’
proposals are both important. The EC should comprise individuals of comparable hierarchical levels and from the institution responsible for the outcome of the project. When appointing the EC, the Borrower should seek the advice of the team who drafted the TOR, who may indicate those qualification requirements of the EC members that best fit the characteristics of the assignment.
Whenever possible, the EC should include one or more members of the team who drafted the TOR (or at least be able to consult with them at any time during the evaluation).
(b) Professional experience
Because the EC will assess the quality of the pro-posed technical approach, methodology, work plan, and competence of the proposed key staff, its members should be familiar with assignments
similar to the one described in the TOR, experi-enced in the main disciplines of the assignment, and possess sound professional judgment.
The following qualifications for EC member-ship are suggested:
•
Ten years of professional experience (very com-plex assignments may require more)•
Three to five years of experience in the specialized field or discipline required by the assignment•
A good command of the language in which the proposals are written(c) Familiarity with selection and evaluation Familiarity of the EC members with selection methods and evaluation procedures for consultant proposals is important to ensure a correct evalua-tion of not only the level of responsiveness of each proposal to the evaluation criteria established in the RFP but also compliance with the RFP instructions.
(d) Impartiality
Evaluators’ impartiality is as important as their professional expertise and mastery of evaluation techniques. Consultants and other stakeholders must be persuaded that the evaluation process is objective, fair, and conducted strictly by the rules and procedures set out by the RFP.
EC members must exhibit the highest standards of integrity, which preclude any questionable affil-iation with the short-listed consultants, including as an employee, consultant, relative, or political or business affiliate. Failure to comply should disqualify the EC candidate. All candidates should disclose in advance any perceived, potential, or actual conflict of interest that can affect their ob-jectivity, even if doing so could lead to exclusion from the EC. All EC members should sign a writ-ten agreement to abide by restrictions on transac-tions with invited consultants to ensure that the credibility of the evaluation process is preserved and confidence in the Borrower is maintained.
Well-designed complaint procedures reinforce confidence in the Borrower institutions and pro-vide disincentives for the EC to engage in any un-fair practices.
(e) Timing
EC members should be appointed shortly before the deadline for submission of proposals to re-duce the risk of questionable contacts with short-listed firms before the submission of proposals.
(f ) Steps in appointing the EC
First, the Borrower decides on the number of members. Three members are adequate when the PREPARATION, SUBMISSION, AND EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS 83
Recommended Criteria for the Selection of the EC Members 1 6 . 3 . 2
RFP requires consultants to submit a Simplified Technical Proposal (STP), while five are recom-mended when a Full Technical Proposal (FTP) is called for. A higher number of members allows for the inclusion of EC members experienced in the most relevant disciplines for the assignment.
Second, the Borrower decides whether to select EC members from its own staff or to employ in-dependent consultants. Whenever possible, the first option should be preferred because it allows the Borrower to better assess (i) the integrity of the candidates, (ii) their professional background and competence, and (iii) their familiarity with proposal evaluation techniques.
16.3.3 Assistance to the Evaluation Committee
If the Borrower cannot form a sufficiently competent and reliable EC, it should appoint an independent consultant to assist the EC in the process of under-standing the selection procedures; defining the grades of the rating system (see chapter 17); and carrying out the evaluation, including drafting of the technical evaluation report. If requested with sufficient lead time, the Bank can assist the Borrower in identifying suitable independent experts.