9 The Selection Process and Selection Methods
9.2 Main Considerations about Selection Procedures
Bank policy requires that consultants be selected fol-lowing competitive processes based on evaluation and comparison of technical and financial proposals, or (in some cases) only of technical proposals, submitted by shortlisted consultants (see para. 13.1). The selection methods described in the Consultant Guidelines have been devised to achieve the objectives of quality, effi-ciency and economy, fairness, and transparency and to foster the participation of national consultants.
9.2.1 Quality, Efficiency, and Economy
The quality of consulting services, comprising techni-cal quality and impartiality, is the main objective of any selection process under Bank policy. Quality of services is driven by the need to provide for the best possible use of Borrowers’ resources and Bank funds.37
38THE SELECTION PROCESS AND SELECTION METHODS Quality, Efficiency, and Economy9.2.1
Figure 9.1 The Steps of the Selection Process
Prepare RFP
Send RFP Define Eval. Criteria &
Min. Qualif. Mark Prepare Shortlist
Prepare & Submit Tech.
& Finan. Proposals
Evaluate Technical Proposals
Public Opening of Finan. Proposals if Score of Tech.
Proposals > MTS Perform Combined Eval. Define Eval. Criteria &
Min. Qualif. Mark Prepare Shortlist
Prepare & Submit Tech.
& Finan. Proposals Proposal & Negotiate
Prepare Shortlist
Send RFP Define Eval. Criteria &
Min. Qualif. Mark
Prepare & Submit Tech.
& Finan. Proposals
Evaluate Technical Proposals
Prepare Shortlist
Send RFP to the Selected Consultant
Call for Expressions of Interest
Prepare & Submit Tech.
& Finan. Proposals
Bank’s No-Objection Bank’s No-Objection
Bank’s No-Objection
FBS SSS LCS CQS
9.3.1 9.3.2
9.3.3 9.3.6 9.3.4 9.3.5
13.2 13.2
13.3 13.3 13.3 13.3
12 12 12
16.2 16.2 16.2 16.2 16.2
< USD 200,000
< USD 100,000
Public Opening of Finan.
Proposals; Calculate Finan. Proposals if Score of Tech. Proposals > MTS Calcuate Corrected
Price
16.6
Bank’s No-Objection
Consultants provide Borrowers with the best possible advice, by translating creativity and knowledge ad-vances into innovative, efficient, and cost-effective services. Consultants must select from their available professional staff those best suited for the success of their assignment and adopt efficient team organiza-tion and work plans to balance the quality and the cost of their services.
9.2.2 Fair Competition
Once the Borrower and the Bank have agreed on a se-lection method and on the specific provisions of the procedures to be included in the RFP—such as evalu-ation subcriteria and related weights, scoring method-ology, and weighting of technical versus price scores—
the evaluation must be carried out strictly in accor-dance with them.
For each selection method, the procedure set out in the RFP should be fair; that is, it should not
•
provide unfair advantages to any particular con-sultants or•
make onerous demands on consultants, such as deny-ing sufficient time to prepare proposals or requestdeny-ing unduly large proposals and drawn out proposal va-lidity periods.Competition should take place for any assignment whenever it can add value to the outcome of the selec-tion process, and all eligible consultants should be al-lowed to have their EOIs considered. If this is not the case, as it may be under particular circumstances, the Borrower will proceed to hire the consultant already identified, whose qualifications for the assignment can-not demonstrably be matched.
9.2.3 Transparency
How the result of the process is perceived to have been reached is as important as the result itself. A transpar-ent selection process increases the quality of competi-tion by creating an environment of trust between the parties involved, reducing perceived and actual busi-ness risks for consultants, and minimizing the occur-rence of complaints and claims. Transparency dispels the suspicion of unfairness in the selection process.
RFP documents should be clear so that invited consultants understand them correctly. During the preparation of their proposals, consultants may ask the Borrower in writing to clarify any of the information
and instructions contained in the RFP. Borrowers should distribute the questions received, along with their written responses, to all shortlisted consultants without disclosing the source of the questions. Expe-rience shows that often consultants do not review the RFP in sufficient detail, particularly the Instructions to Consultants and the proposed Form of Contract.
Although this may lead to misinterpretations and mis-takes, consultants tend not to ask for clarifications be-cause they fear that they may disclose significant aspects of their proposal, even if the Borrower circulates ques-tions and answers anonymously. For these reasons, it is good practice for the Borrower, for complex assign-ments, to hold a preproposal conference where con-sultants are encouraged to ask for clarifications on the RFP. Minutes of the meeting are then sent to all short-listed consultants. If, because of the conference, the RFP needs to be amended, the Borrower should send the amendments to all shortlisted consultants and ex-tend the submission deadline, if necessary.
A credible selection process must also be confi-dential. Its integrity would become questionable if consultants or unauthorized others were given access to confidential information related to the selection process itself. Except as otherwise permitted under the Consultant Guidelines, no information relating to the evaluation of proposals and recommendation of award should be disclosed to the consultants or other persons not officially involved in the process until the success-ful consultant is informed of the award of contract.
However, once the winning firm is notified of the award of contract, any other firm participating in the selection process may ask for, and shall receive from the Borrower, an explanation as to why its proposal was not ranked first.
9.2.4 Participation of National Consultants
Experience shows that the participation of national consultants is very valuable and increasingly needed because more and more Bank-funded projects require thorough and in-depth knowledge of the local condi-tions to be successful. The Bank encourages the par-ticipation of national consultants from borrowing countries by requiring that the short list comprise at least one firm from a developing country (unless qual-ified firms from developing countries are not identi-fied) and by including a specific selection criterion for the participation of national consultants from the THE SELECTION PROCESS AND SELECTION METHODS 39
Participation of National Consultants 9 . 2 . 4
Borrower’s country in the RFP. In certain circum-stances, Borrowers may further encourage the use of national consultants by preparing short lists entirely or mainly comprising national consultants (also see para. 12.9 of the Manual).