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6. SELECTION OF CONSULTANCY FIRMS IN
CONVENTIONAL CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM
6.1. QUALITY BASED SELECTION (QBS)
In this method , the Client selects the Consultancy Firm
on the basis of professional competence, managerial ability, availability
of resources, professional independence, fairness of fee structure, professional
integrity and quality management systems(Ref.4). The Client prepares for
itself the Terms of Reference (Item 6.1.3.b) together with the price estimate
and the budget of the project. Further procedures to be followed are explained
in the following sections.
6.1.1. Announcement and Pre-Qualification (Long-List)
Making a list of Consultancy Firms which appear to be qualified for the
project is often referred to as the pre-qualification or the Long-List.
If the consulting services will be assigned to National Consulting Firms,
the Client normally advertises (announces) the contract in a national newspaper(s)
calling for Expressions of Interest or prepares a Long-List using various
resources, depending on the country’s relevant legislation. The client
may contact professional organisations (such as FIDIC Member Associations),
persons or organisations that have employed consultants for similar projects,
to prepare a Long-List .
If on the other hand , the consultancy services shall be internationally
obtained, the client should advertise the job in international newspapers
and/or web-sites and/or technical magazines, seeking "Expressions
of Interest".
The following information shall be included in the announcement (advertisement)
to invite the Consultants to submit their Expressions of Interest.
- information about the Client and contact person
- source of finance and the estimated budget
- name, location and the size of the project
- whether the services will be procured nationally or internationally
- areas of expertise
- type and scope of services required (brief summary)
- estimated time schedule for the project
- information requested from the Consulting Firms (general and similar
experience, staff, resources, partnerships, brochures etc.)
- method of Consultant selection
- deadline for the submission of Expression of Interest
The information requested should be the minimum required to make a judgement
on the firms’ suitability and not be so complex as to discourage consultants
from expressing interest. Sufficient time (not less than 30 ?? days)
should be provided for responses, before preparation of the Short-List.
6.1.2.Short-List
If an open announcement has been made to call for Expressions
of Interest, the Client (or its private consultant) shall examine the submitted
documents of those consultants which expressed interest and shall prepare
a Short-List out of them. Consideration of firms other than the ones which
expressed interest is not recommended.
If the long list has been prepared by other means , the
Client shall consider the long list at hand and prepare the Short-List
accordingly.
Short-Lists should comprise three to six (?) firms and for
internationally financed projects, depending on the source of the finance,
they should provide a good geographic spread .
The Client should bear in mind the following factors
during short-listing :
- general and relevant experience
- capacity to complete the work
- access to support resources
- past performance on client contracts
- locations of the firm’s office in relation to the work
- meaningful partnerships/associations with National Consultancy Firms
- quality management system established in the firm
- integrity management system (???)
- political, social and environment sensitivity
- security level required
6.1.3.Request for Proposal (RFP)
(The client may at this stage invite the most suitable Consultancy
Firm from among the Short Listed ones, to negotiate an Agreement on a mutually
agreed upon project scope, fee and agreement terms.)
The Client more formally writes a letter to each of the
firms on the Short-List and invites proposals (RFP). The Client, if so
requested by them, also informs the other firms which expressed interest,
about the result.
The RFP should contain the following:
- Letter of Invitation
- Terms of Reference (TOR)
- Information to Consultants (ITC)
- Proposed Agreement
a. Letter of Invitation
The Letter of Invitation shall state the intention of the Client to enter
into an Agreement for the provision of consulting services, the source
of funds, the date-time-address for the submission of proposal.
b. Terms of Reference (TOR)
The Client is responsible for drafting the TOR for the selection, which
should include an assessment of the physical magnitude and resource requirements
of the project . TOR shall be prepared by the Client itself or by an
independent consultant(s), specialised in the area of the assignment.
The scope of the services described in the TOR shall be compatible
with the available budget. TOR shall define clearly the objectives, goals
and scope of the assignment and provide background information (including
a list of existing studies and basic data) to facilitate the Consultants’
preparation of their proposals. If transfer of know-how or technical
training will be an objective, it should be specifically outlined along
with details of number of staff to be trained, and so forth, to enable
the consultants to estimate the required resources. TOR shall list the
services and surveys necessary to carry out the assignment and the expected
outputs (reports, data, maps, surveys etc.).
However, TOR should not be too detailed and inflexible, so that competing
consultants may propose their own methodology and staffing. The Client’s
and the Consultant’s responsibilities should be clearly defined
in the TOR. The firms should be encouraged to comment on the TOR in their
proposals.
In summary, the minimum information required in the TOR is given below:
- scope of services compatible with available budget
- objectives, goals of the project
- background information (listing of existing studies , data etc.)
- transfer of know-how terms (if applicable)
- training requirements (if applicable)
- list of services, surveys necessary
- expected outputs (report, data, map etc.)
- a time schedule
- regional factors such as geographic location, language, logistics
,allowances, duration of commission
- respective responsibilities of the Client and the Consultant Firm
c. Information to Consultants (ITC)
The ITC shall contain all necessary information that would help the Consultancy
Firms prepare responsive proposals and shall include adequate information
on the following aspects of the assignment :
- a short statement of the assignment
- the contact person(s) of the Client whom the consultants should apply
to, when and if necessary
- the list of invited firms together with a clarification about whether
or not the Short- Listed firms could associate among each other to submit
a proposal
- necessary information about proposal submission method
- details of the evaluation and selection procedure to be followed
including a listing of the technical evaluation criteria and weights
given to each criterion
- the minimum passing score (threshold) for quality (if applicable)
- the details of the opening method of the proposals
- the "expected" input of key professional staff (staff time)
required of the Consulting Firm with indications of minimum experience,
academic degree, and so forth (consultants shall be left free to prepare
their own staff time necessary to carry out the assignment).
- information required from the Consultancy Firm (might include such
issues as: past experience with projects of a similar nature, details
of organisation, project control, financial control, size and responsibilities
of staff, type of organisation and managerial method proposed for executing
the work, quality management system, integrity management system(?),
knowledge of local conditions, project methodology, availability of
resources, the alternatives to be considered (invitation for innovation),
approach and commitment to transfer of know-how if applicable, participation
and roles of National Consulting Firms, target cost estimates for the
project, compliance with the desired time schedule and so forth.)
- standard sample formats for the proposals (joint venture agreement,
past experience, CV format etc.)
- the total budget ( if a given figure should not be exceeded)
- details and status of any external financing information on negotiation
of the Agreement (financial and other evidence that shall be required
of the selected firm)
- currency(ies) in which the costs of services shall be paid
- whether fee escalation shall be applied or not, and the relevant
conditions
- reference to any laws of the Client’s country that may be particularly
relevant to the proposed Agreement
- a statement that the firm and any of its affiliates shall be disqualified
from providing goods, works etc that might fall into Conflict of Interest
with the subject of the Agreement
- conditions of Professional Liability Insurance required (or guarantee
bonds) at the time of Agreement
- a request for the receipt of the RFP and notification of the Client
whether or not the Short-Listed (invited) firm will be submitting a
proposal
- the period for which the consultants’ proposals shall be held
valid (normally 60-90 days) and during which the consultants shall undertake
to maintain, without change, the proposed key staff; in case of extension
of the proposal, validity period, the right of the consultants not to
maintain their proposal
- for Consultancy Services to be procured internationally, a statement
indicating whether or not the Consultant’s Agreement and personnel
shall be tax free; if not ,what the likely tax burden will be or where
this information can be obtained
- any conditions for subcontracting part of the assignment
- the expected date of commencement of the assignment
- if not included in the TOR or in the draft contract, details of
the services, facilities, equipment and staff to be provided by the
Client;
- phasing of the assignment, if appropriate; and likelihood of follow-up
assignments, possible downstream work
- the procedure to handle clarifications about the information given
in the RFP and any conditions for subcontracting part of the assignment.
- a statement of encouragement to visit the site and meet the Client
, in order to better evaluate the scope of work
- request for comments on the TOR
- the deadline for the submission of proposals
d. The Proposed Agreement
The FIDIC Client-Consultant Model Services Agreement (White
Book) (Ref.1), is highly recommended as an instrument to reach a fair
and sound agreement between the Client and the Consulting Firm, with
properly and carefully filled appendices.
6.1.4.Receipt of Proposals
The Client shall allow enough time for the firms to prepare
their proposals. The time allowed shall depend on the assignment, but normally
shall not be less than four weeks or more than three months. During this
interval, the firms may request orally or in writing, clarifications about
the information provided in the RFP. The Client shall provide these clarifications
in writing and copy them to all firms on the Short-List.
If necessary, the Client may extend the deadline for submission
of proposals. No amendments shall be given and/or accepted after the deadline.
The submitted proposal files shall be registered by the officer in charge
at the time they are submitted. Any proposal received after the announced
closing time shall be returned unopened.
6.1.5.Evaluation of Proposals
Once the proposals are received, the client shall systematically
evaluate and rank each proposal against the basis for selection outlined
in the RFP. This process helps to maintain the integrity of the selection
process and can involve:
- formation of a selection committee
- a weighting or score for each criteria
- independent evaluation of firms by each member of the selection committee
- individual score sheets being collated and a documented record or the
selection process retained
Clients may be assisted in this evaluation process by an
independent Individual Consultant or a Consultancy Firm.
If the project size and complexity warrants it, the client
can include in the evaluations ; interviews of key consultant team members,
visit to consultant’s premises, discussions with consultant’s
past clients and project end users and inspections of past projects. These
activities can be carried out by teams of experts including client representatives
and individual consultants.
Following steps shall be taken during technical evaluation
:
- The Client (or its selection committee) shall evaluate each technical
proposal tak¹ng into account several criteria: (a) the Consultancy
Firm’s relevant experience for the assignment, (b) the quality of
the methodology proposed, (c) the qualifications of the key staff proposed,
(d) training or transfer of know-how provisions (if applicable) and (e)
the extent and quality of participation by National Consulting Firms in
the assignment(in internationally financed projects). Each criterion shall
be marked on a scale of 1 to 100. Then the marks shall be weighted to
become scores. The following weights are indicative, and may be adjusted
for different circumstances. The proposed weights shall be disclosed in
the RFP.
- Consultant’s similar experience 5 to 10 points
- Methodology 20 to 50 points
- Key personnel 30-60 points
- Transfer of know-how /training 0 to 10 points
- Participation by National Consultancy Firms 0 to 10 points
- Total 100 points
- These criteria are normally divided into subcriteria. For example,
subcriteria under methodology might be innovation and level
of detail. However, the number of subcriteria should be kept to the
essential. The use of exceedingly detailed lists of subcriteria may render
the evaluation a mechanical exercise more than a professional assessment
of the proposals. The weight given to experience can be relatively modest,
since this criterion has already been taken into account when short-listing
the Consultantancy Firm. More weight shall be given to the methodology
in the case of more complex assignments.
- Evaluation of only the key personnel is recommended. Since key personnel
ultimetaly determine the quality of performance, more weight shall be
assigned to this criterion if the proposed assignment is complex. The
Client shall review the qualifications and experience of proposed key
personnel in their curricula vitae, which must be accurate, complete,
and signed by an authorized official of the Consultancy Firm and the individual
proposed. When the assignment depends critically on the performance of
key staff, such as a Project Manager in a large team of specified individuals,
it may be desirable to conduct interviews. The individuals shall be rated
in the following three subcriteria, as relevant to the task:
- general qualifications (general education and training, length of
experience, positions held, time with the consulting firm as staff, experience
in developing countries, and so forth)
- adequacy for the assignment (education, training, and experience in
the specific sector, field, subject, and so forth, relevant to the particular
assingment, and
- experience in the region (if applicable)( knowledge of the local language,
culture, administrative system, government organization, and so forth.)
- The Client shall evaluate each proposal on the basis of its responsiveness
to the TOR. A proposal shall be considered unsuitable and shall be rejected
at this stage if it does not respond to important aspects of the TOR or
if it fails to achieve a minimum technical score (treshold) specified
in the RFP.
- At the end of the process, the Client shall prepare an evaluation report
of the "quality" of the proposals. The report shall substantiate
the results of the evaluation and describe the relative strengths and
weaknesses of the proposals. All records relating to evaluation, such
as individual mark sheets, shall be retained until completion of the project
and its audit.
6.1.6.Selection of the Consultancy Firm and Negotiation
The top ranked firm (the firm with the highest score)is
invited to negotiate a fee structure on a mutually agreed upon scope of
services which takes into consideration contractual and legal requirements,
time schedules, payment terms and appropriate risk allocations between
the parties.
If agreement cannot be reached with the top ranked firm,
the Negotiations are terminated and begun with the second ranked firm,
and so on down the list until agreement is reached. Fee negotiations should
be conducted in an atmosphere of cooperation, should strengthen and build
the confidence and trust which are absolutely essential to a healthy Client-Consultant
relationship. Once a firm has been rejected, it should not be recalled
for further negotiations.
6.1.7.Agreement
The Agreement is recommended to be the FIDIC Client-Consultant
Model Agreement (the White Book)(Ref.1), with appendices filled as appropriate
in parallel with the scope of the work. The final TOR and the agreed upon
methodology shall be incorporated in the Scope of Work part of the Agreement.
The selected firm should not be allowed to change the key staff or any
major items included in its proposal , unless both parties agree that undue
delay in the selection deems it necessary.
When the Agreement has been signed, all those firms which
have submitted proposals should be informed that they were not successful
.
6.1.8. Debriefing
If after notification of award, a Consultancy Firm wishes
to ascertain the grounds on which its proposal was not selected, it should
address its request to the Client and the Client should normally invite
the firm to discuss the issues. In this discussion, only the Consultancy
Firm’s proposal should be discussed and not the proposals of competitors.
6.1.9.Publication of the Results
In order to maintain transparency, the Client should provide
the interested parties with all the evaluation results by publishing them
in national-international newspapers, technical magazines and/or on its
web site, as appropriate.
6.2. SELECTION WHERE COST IS AN ELEMENT (QUALITY AND COST
BASED SELECTION) (QCBS)
QCBS uses a competitive process among short-listed firms
that takes into account the quality of the proposal and the cost of the
services in the selection of the successful firm. Cost as a factor of selection,
is used judiciously. The relative weight to be given to quality and cost
should be determined for each case depending on the nature of the assignment.
FIDIC recommends that, if cost would be an element in the selection process,
it should be kept between zero and ten percent ; twenty percent being the
maximum weight in some special cases.
6.2.1. The Cost-Weighted Method
The most commonly used method of Quality and Cost Based
Consultant Selection is the Cost-Weighted Method in which the selection
is based both on the quality of the proposal and on the cost of the Consultancy
Services to be provided.
The steps of the selection process is explained under the
following Guidelines items.
6.2.1.1. Preparation of Terms of Reference (TOR)
(See Guidelines Item 6.1.3.b)
6.2.1.2. Cost Estimate (Budget)
The cost estimate shall be based on the Client’s assessment
of the resources needed to carry out the consultancy assignment ; staff
time, logistical support and physical inputs such as vehicles, laboratory
equipment and similar. Costs shall be divided into two broad categories
:
- consultancy fee
- reimbursables
This cost estimation shall be confidential and kept for
the Client’s use only.
6.2.1.3. Announcement and Pre-Qualification (Long-List)
(See Guidelines Item 6.1.1)
6.2.1.4. Short-List
(See Guidelines Item 6.1.2)
6.2.1.5. Request for Proposal (RFP)
The Client shall write a letter to each of the firms on
the Short-List and invite proposals (RFP). The Client, if so requested
by them, also informs the other firms which expressed interest, about
the result of the short listing.
The RFP should contain the following:
- Letter of Invitation
- Terms of Reference (TOR)
- Information to Consultants (ITC)
- Proposed Agreement
a. Letter of Invitation
(Please see Section 6.1.3.a)
b. Terms of Reference (TOR)
(Please see Section 6.1.3.b)
c. Information to Consultants
(ITC)
The ITC shall contain all necessary information that would help
the Consultancy Firms prepare responsive proposals and shall include adequate
information on the following aspects of the assignment :
- a short statement of the assignment
- standard formats for the technical and financial proposals (the cost
of staff time shall be estimated on a realistic basis for both National
and Foreign Consultancy Firms, separately for each)
- the contact person(s) of the Client whom the consultants should apply
to, when and if necessary
- the list of invited firms together with a clarification about whether
or not the Short- Listed firms could associate among each other to submit
a proposal
- necessary information about proposal submission method , including
the requirement that the technical proposals and financial proposals
be sealed and submitted separately in a manner that shall ensure that
the technical evaluation will not be influenced by price
- details of the evaluation and selection procedure to be followed including
the two-stage process, a listing of the technical evaluation criteria
and weights given to each criterion, the details of the financial evaluation,
the relative weights for quality and cost
- the minimum passing score (threshold) for quality (if applicable)
- the details of the public opening of the financial proposals
- the "expected" input of key professional staff (staff time)
required of the Consulting Firm with indications of minimum experience,
academic degree, and so forth (consultants shall be left free to prepare
their own staff time necessary to carry out the assignment).
- information required from the Consultancy Firm (might include such
issues as: past experience with projects of a similar nature, details
of organisation, project control, financial situation, size and responsibilities
of staff, type of organisation and managerial method proposed for executing
the work, quality management system, integrity management system(?),
knowledge of local conditions, project methodology, availability of resources,
the alternatives to be considered (invitation for innovation), approach
and commitment to transfer of know-how if applicable, participation and
roles of National Consulting Firms, target cost estimates for the project,
compliance with the desired time schedule and so forth.)
- details and status of any external financing
- information on negotiation of the Agreement (financial and other evidence
that shall be required of the selected firm)
- currency(ies) in which the costs of services shall be expressed, compared
and paid
- whether fee escalation shall be applied or not, and the relevant conditions
- reference to any laws of the Client’s country that may be particularly
relevant to the proposed Agreement
- a statement that the firm and any of its affiliates shall be disqualified
from providing goods, works etc that might fall into Conflict of Interest
with the subject of the Agreement
- conditions of Professional Liability Insurance required (or guarantee
bonds) at the time of Agreement
- a request for the receipt of the RFP and notification of the Client
whether or not the Short-Listed (invited) firm will be submitting a proposal
- the period for which the consultants’ proposals shall be held
valid (normally 60-90 days) and during which the consultants shall undertake
to maintain, without change, the proposed key staff and shall hold to
both the rates and total price proposed ; in case of extension of the
proposal, validity period, the right of the consultants not to maintain
their proposal
- the expected date of commencement of the assignment
- if not included in the TOR or in the draft contract, details of the
services, facilities, equipment and staff to be provided by the Client;
- phasing of the assignment, if appropriate; and likelihood of follow-up
assignments, possible downstream work
- the procedure to handle clarifications about the information given
in the RFP and any conditions for subcontracting part of the assignment.
- a statement of encouragement to visit the site and meet the Client
, in order to better evaluate the scope of work
- request for comments on the TOR
- the deadline for the submission of proposals
- The ITC shall not indicate the budget, since cost shall be a selection
criterion.
d. The Proposed Agreement
The FIDIC Client-Consultant Model Services Agreement ( White Book) (Ref.1),
is highly recommended as an instrument to reach a fair and sound agreement
between the Client and the Consulting Firm, with properly and carefully
filled appendices.
6.2.1.6.Receipt of Proposals
The Client shall allow enough time for the firms to prepare
their proposals. The time allowed shall depend on the assignment, but
normally shall not be less than four weeks or more than three months.
During this interval, the firms may request orally or in writing, clarifications
about the information provided in the RFP. The Client shall provide these
clarifications in writing and copy them to all firms on the Short-List.
If necessary, the Client may extend the deadline for submission of proposals.
The technical and financial proposals shall be submitted
at the same time. To safeguard the integrity of the process, the technical
and financial proposals shall be submitted in separate sealed envelopes.
The technical proposals shall be opened right after the closing time for
submission, by a committee of officials of the Client and shall be registered.
The financial proposals shall remain sealed and shall be deposited with
a reputable public auditor or independent authority until they will be
opened publicly.
No amendments to the technical or financial proposal shall
be given and/or accepted after the deadline. The submitted proposal files
(technical and financial proposals in separate envelopes) shall be registered
by the officer in charge at the time they are submitted. Any proposal
received after the announced closing time shall be returned unopened.
6.2.1.7. Evaluation of Proposals
The evaluation of the proposals shall be carried out in
two stages :
- evaluation of the technical proposals (quality)
- evaluation of the financial proposals (cost)
Evaluators of technical proposals shall not have access
to the financial proposals until the technical evaluation, including any
Client reviews and/or approvals required be accomplished. Financial proposals
shall only be opened publicly, thereafter. The evaluation shall be carried
out in full conformity with the provisions of the RFP.
a. Evaluation of the Technical
Proposals
Once the proposals are received, the client shall systematically
evaluate and rank each proposal against the basis for selection outlined
in the request for proposal. This process helps to maintain the integrity
of the selection process and can involve:
- formation of a selection committee
- a weighting or score for each criteria
- independent evaluation of firms by each member of the selection committee
- individual score sheets being collated and a documented record or
the selection process retained
Clients may be assisted in this evaluation process by an
independent Individual Consultant or a Consultancy Firm.
If the project size and complexity warrants it, the client
can include in the evaluations ; interviews of key consultant team members,
visit to consultant’s premises, discussions with consultant’s
past clients and project end users and inspections of past projects. These
activities can be carried out by teams of experts including client representatives
and consultants.
Following steps shall be taken during technical evaluation :
- The Client (or its selection committee) shall evaluate each technical
proposal tak¹ng into account several criteria: (a) the Consultancy
Firm’s relevant experience for the assignment, (b) the quality of
the methodology proposed, (c) the qualifications of the key staff proposed,
(d) training or transfer of know-how provisions (if applicable) and (e)
the extent and quality of participation by National Consulting Firms
in the assignment(in internationally financed projects). Each criterion
shall be marked on a scale of 1 to 100. Then the marks shall be weighted
to become scores. The following weights are indicative, and may be adjusted
for different circumstances. The proposed weights shall be disclosed
in the RFP.
- Consultant’s similar experience: 5 to 10 points
- Methodology: 20 to 50 points
- Key personnel: 30-60 points
- Transfer of know-how /training: 0 to 10 points
- Participation by National Consultancy Firms: 0 to 10 points
- Total: 100 points
- These criteria are normally divided into subcriteria. For example,
subcriteria under methodology might be innovation and level
of detail. However, the number of subcriteria should be kept to the
essential. The use of exceedingly detailed lists of subcriteria may render
the evaluation a mechanical exercise more than a professional assessment
of the proposals. The weight given to experience can be relatively modest,
since this criterion has already been taken into account when short-listing
the Consultantancy Firm. More weight shall be given to the methodology
in the case of more complex assignments.
- Evaluation of only the key personnel is recommended. Since key personnel
ultimetaly determine the quality of performance, more weight shall be
assigned to this criterion if the proposed assignment is complex. The
Client shall review the qualifications and experience of proposed key
personnel in their curricula vitae, which must be accurate, complete,
and signed by an authorized official of the Consultancy Firm and the
individual proposed. When the assignment depends critically on the performance
of key staff, such as a Project Manager in a large team of specified
individuals, it may be desirable to conduct interviews. The individuals
shall be rated in the following three subcriteria, as relevant to the
task:
- general qualifications (general education and training, length of
experience, positions held, time with the consulting firm as staff,
experience in developing countries, and so forth)
- adequacy for the assignment (education, training, and experience
in the specific sector, field, subject, and so forth, relevant to the
particular assingment, and
- experience in the region (if applicable)( knowledge of the local
language, culture, administrative system, government organization, and
so forth.)
- The Client shall evaluate each proposal on the basis of its responsiveness
to the TOR. A proposal shall be considered unsuitable and shall be rejected
at this stage if it does not respond to important aspects of the TOR
or if it fails to achieve a minimum technical score (treshold) specified
in the RFP.
- At the end of the process, the Client shall prepare an evaluation
report of the "quality" of the proposals. The report shall
substantiate the results of the evaluation and describe the relative
strengths and weaknesses of the proposals. All records relating to evaluation,
such as individual mark sheets, shall be retained until completion of
the project and its audit.
b. Evaluation of the Financial Proposals
- After the evaluation of technical proposal is completed, the Client
shall notify those consultants whose proposals did not meet the minimum
passing score or were considered nonresponsive to the RFP and TOR, indicating
that their financial proposals will be returned unopened after the completion
of the selection process. The Borrower shall simultaneously notify the
consultants that have secured the minimum passing score , and indicate
the date and time set, for opening the financial proposals. The opening
date shall not be sooner than two weeks after the notification date.
The financial proposals shall be opened publicly in the presence of repsentatives
of the Consultancy Firms which choose to attend. The names of the Consultancy
Firms (or the Joint Venture Partnerships), their technical scores and
the proposed prices shall be read aloud and recorded when the financial
proposals are opened.
- The Client shall then review the financial proposals. If there are
any arithmetical errors, they shall be corrected. For the purpose of
comparing proposals, the costs shall be converted to a single currency
selected by the Client (local currency or fully convertible foreing currency)
as stated in the RFP. The RFP shall specify the source of the exchange
rate to be used, and the date of that exchange rate, provided that the
date shall not be earlier then four weeks prior to the deadline for submission
of proposals, nor later than the original date of expiration of the period
of validity of the proposal.
- For the purpose of evaluation, "cost" shall exclude local
taxes, but shall include other reimbursable expenses, such as travel,
traslation, report printing or secretarial expenses. The proposal with
the lowest cost may be given a financial score of 100 and the other proposals
given financial scores that are inversely proportional to their prices.
Alternatively, a directly proportional or other methodology may be used
in allocating the marks for the cost. The methodology to be used shall
be described in the RFP.
Combined Technical and Financial Evaluation
The total score shall be obtained by weighting the technical
and financial scores and adding them. The weight for the "cost" shall
be chosen, taking into account the complexity of the assignment and relative
importance of quality. As has been explained under Section 3, the weight
for price shall normally be in the range of 5 to 10 points, but in no
case shall exceed 20 points out of a total score of 100 points. The proposed
weightings for quality and cost shall be specified in the RFP.
6.2.1.8.Selection of the Consultancy Firm and Negotiation
The Consultancy Firm which obtains the highest total score
(technical + financial score) shall be invited for negotiations. Negotiations
shall include discussions of the TOR, the methodology, staffing, Client’s
inputs and any special conditions of the Agreement and only minor changes
shall be made , if necessary .Financial negotiations shall include clarification
of the Consultancy Firm’s (or each partner firm’s) tax liability
in the country of the investment, and how this tax liability has been
or would be reflected in the Agreement. Proposed unit rates for staff
time and reimbursables shall not be negotiated, since these have already
been a factor of selection in the cost of the proposal.
If the negotiations fail to result in an acceptable Agreement
, the Client shall terminate the negotiations and invite the Consultancy
Firm with the next highest total score. The first invited firm shall be
informed of the reasons for this termination and the Client shall not
reopen negotiations with the same firm. Negotiations should be conducted
in an atmosphere of cooperation, should strengthen and build the confidence
and trust which are absolutely essential to a healthy Client-Consultant
relationship.
6.2.1.9. Agreement
The Agreement is recommended to be the FIDIC Client-Consultant
Model Agreement (the White Book)(Ref.1), with appendices filled as appropriate
in parallel with the scope of the work. The final TOR and the agreed upon
methodology shall be incorporated in the Scope of Work part of the Agreement.
The selected firm should not be allowed to change the key staff or any
major items included in its proposal , unless both parties agree that
undue delay in the selection deems it necessary.
When the Agreement has been signed, all those firms which
have submitted proposals should be informed that they were not successful.
6.2.1.10. Debriefing
If after notification of award, a Consultancy Firm wishes
to ascertain the grounds on which its proposal was not selected, it should
address its request to the Client and the Client should normally invite
the firm to discuss the issues. In this discussion, only the Consultancy
Firm’s proposal should be discussed and not the proposals of competitors.
6.2.1.11.Publication of the Results
In order to maintain transparency, the Client should provide
the interested parties with all the evaluation results by publishing them
in national-international newspapers, technical magazines and/or on its
web site, as appropriate.
6.2.2. The Two-Envelope System
This method of selection is similar to QBS except that consultants
are requested to submit a priced proposal in two separate sealed envolopes.
The first envelope contains the technical proposal exclusive of price;
the second contains the proposed prices for the services. Normally these
consist of daily or montly rates for various personnel levels.
The client or an advisory board will analyse the proposals
and establish the order of merit as described under Guidelines Item 6.1.
Contract negotiations will begin with the firm presenting the best proposal.
The financial proposals of all the firms shall be kept sealed until the
negotiations on technical proposal are f¹n¹shed with the first
ranked firm.The second envelope of this firm is then opened in the presence
of the firm and the price information will then form the basis for the
price part of the Agreement negotiations.
All second envelopes of the other short-listed firms should
remain sealed and if an agreement is reached with the first ranked firm,
the envelopes should be returned unopened to their respective firms.
If an agreement is not reached with the first firm it should
be notifed in writing, and negotiations are undertaken with the second
firm and so on until a satisfactory agreement is reached. Once a firm has
been eliminated it should not be recalled for further negotiation.
6.2.3.The Budget Method
The client supplies a budget figure to short-listed firms
accompanied by terms of reference outlining the consultant services required.
These terms of reference need to be flexible enough to enable consultants
to meet the requirements of the client in an optimum way and they should
clearly state what the client expects the consultant’s proposal to
contain.
Selection is then made on the basis of the Quality Based
Selection (See Guidelines Item 6.1). The method allows the client to budget
for the cost of professional services, but it puts more responsibility
on the clients to define the terms of reference precisely.
6.2.4. Design Competition
On some very large and important projects; clients may feel
that, to obtain the best benefit from the available technology, a design
competition should take place between a small group of short listed (See
Guidelines Item 6.1.2) Consultancy Firms. The firms are sometimes requested
to submit their fee proposals and/or estimates of construction cost with
the design. The preliminary design services of all competing consultants
are usually paid for, at cost. If this is not done, design competitions
have the effect of putting up overall prices.
The client has the advantages of having a clear idea of
the Consultant Firm’s proposed solution and its costs, as the quality
and scope of work is more clearly defined. It has the disadvantage of being
an expensive approach to selection and can mean that too much emphasis
is put on technical rather than managerial ability.
6.2.5. Price Negotiation
A small group of Consultancy Firms are short listed on quality
(See Guidelines Item 6.1.2) and then invited to negotiate fees. The method
often degenerates into an auction on which the prices quoted are dropped
successively until all but one consultant drop out. It is unlikely that
reputable firms will agree to these kind of negotiations and even if they
do, they will be unable to provide a service which bears any resemblance
to the quality that they are accustomed to giving or which the client should
be seeking.
6.3. COST BASED SELECTION (CBS)
The Client directly calls for submission of proposals,
usually through advertisement in newspapers etc., and in addition to fee
quotations , asks for submission of documents such as registration to the
relevant chambers, various certificates and similar, without really stressing
on quality. The firms are given a deadline to submit their price proposals
together with the required documents. All the envelopes are opened at a
pre-determined time in front of the competitors and the firm with the least
priced proposal is invited to sign an Agreement with the Client. In this
method, there is no short listing and therefore no limitation on the number
of firms which will submit proposals .The method contributes tremendously
to weakening of the consultancy industry of the country in the long run.
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