Selection of Consultant
Consulting Opportunities in ADB Financed Projects
12 September 2023
Akhilesh Samyal
Associate Project Officer (Procurement)
INRM, ADB
ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Consulting Services Procurement 2018 – 2022
(Amount in $ Million)
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2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2018-22
ADB Operational Consulting
Procurement - in Total
721.83 752.57 741.02 706.65 535.61 3,457.68
By Nationality of Firms
(Indian Firms)
63.87 94.98 53.91 91.97 105.04 409.51
% of ADB Operations 8.8% 12.6% 7.3% 13.0% 19.6% 11.8%
ADB Operational Consulting
Procurement - in India
58.17 73.80 24.99 82.02 78.71
317.28
By Nationality of Firms
(Indian Firms)
45.58 44.55 21.37 63.03 74.95 249.48
% of ADB Operations 78.4% 60.7% 85.5% 76.8% 95.2% 78.6%
ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Country Partnership Strategy
Project Identification
Project Conceptualization
Project Design
Preparation
Feasibility Study, Technical
Assistance, Loan Processing
Approval
Loan negotiation, approval,
signing, effectiveness
Implementation
Detail Design*, construction,
supervision & monitoring
Evaluation
Contract Management Plan
ADB
Project
Cycle
Technical Assistance
Engagement: ADB is
the Employer/ Client
• Engagement
under Loan/Grant:
Borrower is the
Employer/ Client
• Post Loan/Grant
approval (*)
• Consultant
Services (**),
Goods, Works
(*) In some instances, a borrower may undertake initial
stages of a tender (solicitation and evaluation) prior to
loan/grant approval
(**) In some limited circumstances, ADB may support a
borrower in tendering and evaluating consulting services
RFPs
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Consultant Services Needs throughout ADB Project Cycle
ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Consultant Services Needs throughout ADB Project Cycle
Country Partnership Strategy
Project Identification
Project Conceptualization
Project Design
Preparation
Feasibility Study, Technical
Assistance, Loan Processing
Approval
Loan negotiation, approval,
signing, effectiveness
Implementation
Detail Design*, construction,
supervision & monitoring
Evaluation
Contract Management Plan
ADB
Project
Cycle
Individual
Consultants
Individual
Consultants
Consulting Firm
&/or Individual
Consulting Firm &/or
Individual
Consultants,
Suppliers, Contractors
* in some cases DD is done
during preparation stage
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Guiding Principles
• High Quality Services
• Economy and Efficiency
• Equal opportunity to all eligible consultants to
compete
• Transparency
• Promote national consulting industry
• Increased focus on anti-corruption and ethics
Types & Methods
• International and/or National Consultants
• Consulting Firms and/or Individual
• Nongovernmental Organization (NGOs),
Civil Society Organization (CSOs)
• Resource Persons
• Others:
• Research institute, professional organization,
procurement agent, inspection agent, audit
firm, etc.
• Methods: Competitive, Non-competitive
Use of Consulting Services
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Open Competitive Bidding (OCB) = Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS)
• The preferred Method
• Follows a one-stage two-envelope (1S2E) approach
• Uses weighted scoring system: Technical : Financial (70:30 or 80:20 or 90:10)
• Technical score of 750 out of 1000pts is needed to progress to Financial evaluation
General
• All firm and Individual Consulting Services opportunities are advertised on CMS
• Contracts: Time-Based or Lump Sum, single or multiple assignment based on
Framework Agreement
• A Full, Simplified or Bio-data technical proposal (FTP or STP or BTP) may be
requested
• ToR’s may be input-based (conformance) or output-based (performance)
Selection Methods for Consulting Services
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Other Selection Methods for Consulting Services
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Selection Methods for Consulting Services (cont’d)
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Selection Method Technical Proposal Evaluation Financial Proposal Selection procedure
QCBS – Quality and
Cost based selection
>= 750 out of 1000 Competitive
Default Quality-cost ratio is 80:20.
Can be changed to 70:30; 90:10 or
50:50 (audit))
Firm representing the best
combination of quality and price
wins
LCS – Least Cost
Selection
>= 750 out of 1000 Lowest priced Firm with lowest priced responsive
proposal wins
FBS – Fixed Budget
Selection
>= 750 out of 1000
And
Highest Technical Score
<= budget Firm with the best technical
proposal and the financial proposal
within the budget wins
QBS – Quality Based
Selection
>= 750 out of 1000
and
Highest Technical Score
Supporting documents to prove
financial position of the firm,
remuneration of experts, social and
overhead charges
Negotiations are conducted with
the firm that presented the best
technical proposal
CQS – Consultants’
Qualification
Selection
Amplified Expression of Interest
(EOI)
Structured EOI submission
>= 750 out of 1000
Negotiations are conducted with
the firm that presented the best
expression of interest
SSS – Single Source
Selection
>= 750 out of 1000 Supporting documents to prove
financial position of the firm,
remuneration of experts, social and
overhead charges
Negotiations are conducted with
the firm that is selected without
benefit of competition
ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Stages in Consultant Recruitment
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
RFP for Selection of Consultant by ADB
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
RFP for Selection of Consultant by Borrower
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Finding Consulting Opportunities
ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
• Consulting opportunities are visible
through ADB’s Consultant Management
System (CMS) (http://cms.adb.org)
• Firms need to register for alerts to receive
notices of all consulting opportunities
• Advertisement of Consulting opportunities
(both EA and ADB) are through CMS.
• The RFP process for ADB Administered
Contracts is through CMS(*)
(*) EA’s use their own country systems when tendering
for Consulting services; still need to meet ADB
requirements
Consultant Management System (CMS) Website
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Consulting Services Recruitment Notices on CMS
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Consulting Services Recruitment Notices on CMS
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Consulting Services Recruitment Notices on CMS
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Expression of Interest (1/3)
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Expression of Interest (2/3)
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Expression of Interest (3/3)
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Advice on Winning a Consultant
Contract
ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Short-list
• Unknown to the Client
• Lack of information (Ads & EOI) to
allow informed decision
• Not qualified
• Conflict of Interest
• Partner with firms from non-
member countries
Proposal
• Experts: freelance (availability,
qualification, performance)
• Generic, lack of innovation,
unrealistic
• Inconsistent FP vis-à-vis TP
• Mistakes: type (FTP, STP, BTP),
financial information included in TP
(not allowed in QCBS)
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Observe Typical Challenges Faced by Consultant
ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
• Identify Sectors of Interest and where maximum
potential for success is likely
• Know your competition
• Look at past similar projects
• Study CPS and COBP to identify future opportunities
• Review procurement plans (and project documents)
• Check ADB website for opportunities.
Register for alerts*
(*) Alerts for consulting opportunities are available only at http://cms.adb.org
Collect Relevant Information
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Build Your Brand
• Visit ADB Headquarters/Resident missions
• Visit departments responsible for projects
• Business Opportunities Fairs (HQ)
• Business Opportunities Seminars (INRM)
• Visit government executing agencies in
advance of tendering opportunities
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
• Look at Individual as well as Firm opportunities
• Target standalone as well as associate & JV
opportunities.
• Try smaller /low risk assignments (loss leaders) to
build understanding and profile.
• Target area of specific expertise; reach out to ADB
staff/borrower in advance of RFP to develop
understanding of needs.
• If engaged, ensure professionalism, responsiveness
and value-add during engagement.
• Use links developed to build profile.
Build up your Portfolio
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Understand the projects you wish to undertake
• Recognize the broader project objectives
• Establish the operating context and any
constraints it presents
• Get to know the Executing Agency
• Obtain all available information on the
services to be provided
• Field assessment
• Identify local partner(s), if required
• Estimate the local costs of doing business
(e.g. local taxes for EA administered
consulting services)
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
• Follow the instructions in the RFP documents
• Associate or JV with other firms to meet requirements
• Understand the basis on which the proposal will be evaluated
• Study the Terms of Reference (TOR)/Employer’s requirements
• Demonstrate understanding of objectives; detail your methodology
• Provide tailored submission; avoid generic templates
• Ensure staff have relevant experience
• Do not add conditions to your offer
• Where possible, utilize employees from your firm (not freelance
consultants)
Ask Questions; contact ADB if not receiving a response
Prepare a Robust Proposal
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
• Firm or associates/experts not from ADB member countries*
• Proposal received late: lack of time allocated to enter a proposal into
CMS
• Non-compliant proposal (e.g. number of person-months or inclusion of
non-nationals for national expert positions)
• Failure to specifically respond to Client requirements
• Failure to disclose conflicts of interest, e.g. EA’ employees in a
proposal
• Exceeding budget where RFP indicated a Maximum Budget amount
• Inclusion of conditions in proposal
(*) 2017 Procurement Policy: Firms engaged on Borrower Administered
Consultancy services may use team members from non-ADB member countries
Avoid Common Mistakes
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Study Evaluation Criteria in the Standard RFP
Example:
QCBS Full Technical Proposal
on an Output-based ToR and
Lump-sum contract
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
Focus on delivery of strong performance
through:
• High Quality Team
• Building strong relationships with Client
(ADB or Government)
• Achievement of deliverables within stated
timeline
Performance Assessment -Consulting
• ADB conducts Performance Evaluation
Reviews (PER) for each consulting
assignment. A poor performance record
can impact future opportunities.
Post Award – The Real Test
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
• Unsuccessful bidders may request a
debriefing from Executing Agency (EA).
• Bidders can improve their participation in
future tenders from feedback received during
debriefing.
• Bidders may contact ADB if debriefing
request is not fulfilled by the EA.
Debriefing: Lessons Learned for Future Participation
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ADB Business Opportunities Seminar
• Complaints:
Bidders may file complaint with Executing
Agencies (EAs) and copy ADB on
www.adb.org/forms/complaints or file the
complaint directly with ADB
• Anticorruption and Integrity:
Bidders may also report integrity related issues
with supporting information/documents to
www.adb.org/site/integrity/main
Complaints and Integrity Concerns
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THANKS
