PPA -2007, Chapter 4, clause 31

31. Soliciting Proposals:

(1) After a short list has been prepared pursuant to Section 30, the Public Entity shall request for proposals from intending proponents, by giving a period of at least thirty days, sending the documents relating to proposal, as prescribed to the intending proponents who are short listed.

(2) The documents relating to proposal under in Sub-section (1) shall contain the following matters:-

(a) The name and address of the Public Entity,

(b) The nature of the services to be procured, the time and place when and where the services are to be provided, the terms of reference of the services, the task to be completed and expected outputs,

(c) Instructions to proponent to prepare proposal,

(d) Matters that the technical and the financial proposals have to be sealed in separate envelopes, each of which has to clearly indicate the type of proposal outside it and that both envelopes have then to be sealed in a separate envelope and that the required services have to be mentioned thereon,

(e) Technical and financial evaluation weightage,

(f) The criteria and weightage marks for the evaluation and comparison of proposal,

(g) Conditions of the procurement contract,

(h) The place, date and time for the submission of proposals,

(i) Method for the selection of proposals,

(j) Statement that proposals shall not be processed in the event of conflict of interest and information relating to legal action if fraud or corruption is committed,

(k) Provision that a proponent may make an application for review, against any error or decision made by the Public Entity in carrying out proposal proceedings, and

(l) Other matters as prescribed.

(3) In setting forth in the documents relating to proposals under Subsection (1), the criteria for the evaluation of proposal pursuant to clause (f) of Sub-section (2), any or all of the following criteria shall be set forth as required for the evaluation of technical proposal:-

(a) Experience of consultants in the task to be performed by consultants,

(b) The quality of proposed methodology for the performance of task by the consultants,

(c) The qualification of the proposed key human resource,

(d) Provision of knowledge and technology transfer,

(e) In the case of international level proposals, the details of key Nepalese human resource proposed for the performance of task.

(4) In setting forth in the documents relating to proposals under Sub-section (1), the method for the selection of proposal pursuant to clause (i) of Sub-section (2), there shall be set forth which of the following methods shall be used for the selection of proposals:-

(a) Quality and cost method,

(b) Quality method,

(c) Fixed Budget method, or

(d) Least cost method.

(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in Sub-section (4), where the nature of the consultancy services to be procured is exceptionally complex or such services are likely to have considerable impact on future projects or national economy, the selection of proposals may be made exclusively on the basis of the quality method, as prescribed.

PPR -2007, Chapter 6 clause 71

71. Invitation to Proposal:

(1) After a short list has been prepared pursuant to Rule 70, the Public Entity shall have to invite request for proposals by sending the documents relating to proposal by post, courier or individual to the person included in such list by providing thirty days period. No cost shall be charged for sending the documents relating to proposal.

(2) In the documents relating to proposal, the Public Entity shall have to state the following matters in addition to the matters referred to in Section 31 of the Act:-

• Request for proposal,
  
  
• Statement that key personnel offered by the proponent must have certified that his/her current curriculum vita is true and complete,
  
  
• Statement that financial proposal shall be opened only after the technical proposal has been evaluated,
  
  
• Pass marks to be secured by the proponent in the technical proposal,
  
  
• Whether the proponent can offer his/her separate work plan and manpower for the concerned assignment or not,
  
  
• Whether the proponent can make a comment on the terms of reference or not; and
  
  
• Source of funding required for carrying out the proposed work.
  
  

(3) The Public Entity shall have to state the weightage marks for evaluation of proposal in the documents relating to proposal,

(4) The weightage marks under Sub-rule (3) shall be mentioned as follows:-

• If the proposal is to be selected by adopting the quality and cost based selection method, weighted marks shall be so determined according to the nature and complexity of the assignment that the total weighted marks of the technical and financial proposal is one hundred and out of such total weighted marks, the total weight- marks of technical proposal are in the range of seventy to ninety and the weight- marks of the financial proposal are in the range of ten to thirty,
  
  
• If the selection of proposals is to be carried out by adopting quality based selection method, fixed budget selection method and the least cost selection method, the weighted marks of the technical proposal shall be so determined as to be one hundred.
  
  

(5) While inviting proposals to select consultants by fixed budget selection method, the available budget shall be required to be mentioned in the proposal.

(6) While providing the weights for selection of consultant in the documents relating to proposals, the Public Entity shall have to provide an appropriate marks, according to the nature of assignment, not exceeding the following marks:-

(a) Proponent's experience of specific assignment,	Up to ten percent of the total marks
(b) Method of performance and responsiveness to the. terms of reference	Twenty to fifty percent of the total marks
(c) Qualifications and experience of the key personnel	Thirty to sixty percent of the total marks.
(d) Technology transfer or training	Up to ten percent of the total marks
(e) Participation of domestic manpower	Up to ten percent of the total marks

(7) The weightage marks as stated in clause (e) of Sub-rule (6) shall not be applicable to the national level proposal.

(8) All criteria of evaluation set forth in Sub-rule (6) shall be divided into three sub-criteria and the marks therefor shall also be determined.

(9) In stating weight- marks pursuant to Sub-rule (3), the pass marks shall also be stated.

PWD Part II, Procedural Directives, Volume A 15.3, Step 5

Step 5. Request for Proposal (RFP)

The RFP shall require the technical proposal and financial proposal in separately sealed envelopes. HMG/N has adopted a standard form of RFP which is contained in Part III Standard Bidding Documents. The RFP shall include:
1. Letter of Invitation
2. Information to Consultants
3. Terms of Reference
4. Evaluation Criteria and Scoring
5. Form of Contract
The RFP should provide sufficient information to the consultants to enable them to prepare responsive technical and competitive financial proposals and to ensure as much transparency as possible in the selection procedure.

Step 5.1 Letter of Invitation
The Letter of Invitation shall be addressed only to shortlisted consultants, if applicable, and normally contains information on the client, project, applicable guidelines for selection, contact point in the project management office, address and deadline for proposal submission, a list of the shortlisted consultants and a list of attached documents.

Step 5.2 Information to Consultants
The information to consultants section shall provide the instructions and relevant information:
1. Introduction
2. Clarification and Amendment of RFP Documents
3. Preparation of Proposal

• Technical Proposal
  
  
• Financial Proposal
  
  

4. Submission, Receipt and Opening of Proposals
5. Proposal Evaluation

• Method of Selection Whether CSB, QCBS or QBS
  
  
• Technical Proposal
  
  
• Financial Proposal
  
  
• Public Opening
  
  

6. Negotiations

7. Award of Contract
8. Confidentiality
9. Data Sheet

Step 5.3 Preparation of Technical Proposal

The RFP should specify the information the consultants must provide in their Technical
Proposals, which includes:

• Brief description of the consultant’s organisation and recent experience on similar assignments, and include a description of each assignment in the format provided in the RFP.
  
  
• Comments or suggestions on the TOR, services and facilities to be provided.
  
  
• Methodology and work plan in the form of a bar chart schedule and (optional) CPM diagram.
  
  
• A description of the project team organisation, a list of proposed personnel by specialty and their assigned tasks.
  
  
• CVs recently signed in blue indelible ink by proposed professional personnel.
  
  
• Estimates of total professional and support personnel input needed to carry out the assignment supported by a manning schedule showing the field and office time proposed for each team member.
  
  
• Description of equipment, computer software and other technical resources, which the consultant will apply in the assignment.
  
  
• Methodology and work plan for providing training or transfer of knowledge if applicable.
  
  
• No financial information should be disclosed but the RFP may indicate the required time of key professionals estimated by the implementing agency. However, consultants shall be encouraged to prepare their own estimates of personnel time to carry out the assignment. Use of freelance experts should be allowed.
  
  
• The proposal shall be described as simple and limited to a specific number of pages, copies of materials/literature published by other organizations and any propaganda materials should be discouraged.
  
  

Step 5.4 Preparation of Financial Proposal

The RFP should specify the information the consultants must provide in their Financial
Proposals which includes:

• Remuneration for staff (domestic and foreign, in the field and home office)
  
  
• Reimbursable expenses (transport, mobilisation, per diems, equipment purchase or rental, office equipment furniture and supplies, telecommunications, vehicles, printing, etc)
  
  
• Reimbursable services (surveys, training, testing, etc)
  
  
• Estimates of taxes, duties and fees as separate amounts
  
  
• Validity period for their proposals (normally 60-90 days).
  
  
• In the case of QCBS, the methodology and weight of the technical and financial scores shall be given.
  
  
• The weight for costs in QCBS shall take account of the complexity of the assignment and the relative importance of quality required by the TOR. It shall normally be in the range of 10 to 15% and shall not exceed 20%, unless FAR provides otherwise.
  
  
• The single currency to be used for financial comparison and the rates of conversion shall also be specified.
  
  
• The RFP shall specify the source of exchange rate to be used, and the date of that exchange rate, provided that the date shall not be earlier than 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.
  
  
  

Step 5.5 Proposal Evaluation Criteria and Scoring

The evaluation criteria shall not be too detailed to ensure that the evaluation is a professional assessment of the proposals instead of a purely mathematic exercise.

The following list recommends list a range of weightings to be used for evaluation:

Consultant’s specific experience 5-10%
Methodology and work plan 20-50%
Key personnel 30-60%
Technical qualifications 5-10%
Transfer of knowledge 5-10%

The client may divide the criteria into sub-criteria as appropriate for example, methodology may be divided into innovation and level of detail.

The weights on key personnel shall be divided into general qualifications (general education and training, length of experience, position held, time with the consulting consultant experience in developing countries), appropriateness for the assignment (education, training, and experience relevant to the particular assignment) and experience in the region (knowledge of the local language, culture, administrative systems, government organization).

For complex assignments, such as multi-disciplinary feasibility and management studies, more weight shall be given to the methodology and key personnel.

Step 5.6 Data Sheet

A data sheet containing a summary of important details may be attached. Table 15.3 contains the items typically included:

1	Name of client
2	Information on pre-proposal conference if applicable (location, date, time)
3	Information on contact in client office (position, location, phone, fax, email)
4	Information available in client office (reports, drawings, etc)
5	Clauses relating to fraud and corruption
6	Deadline for questions for clarification
7	Language of Proposal
8	Currency of Financial Proposal
9	Period of validity of Proposal
10	Number of copies of Proposal to be submitted in addition to the original
11	Proposal submission address
12	Proposal submission date and time deadline
13	Description of labels on outer envelope
14	Method of selection, whether CBS, QCBS or QBS
15	Evaluation criteria and maximum points
16	Weights given to Technical and Financial Proposals in QCBS
17	Date of commencement of assignment
18	Names of consultant consultants invited

 

Request for Proposal/ BIMP Example

Time based lumpsum

 

BMS II