Policy Guidelines for Managing Unsolicited Proposals in Infrastructure Projects - Volume 1

Main Findings & Recommendations
Published: 2017
Last Updated: 28 Mar 2024

When it comes to infrastructure projects, “unsolicited proposals” (USPs) represent an alternative to the traditional project initiation method where the private sector, rather than the government, takes the leading role in identifying and developing a project. In practice, many public authorities across the world resort to USPs motivated by the perspective of solving the challenges brought by their lack of capacity to identify and develop projects. However, many projects that originate as USPs experience challenges, including diverting public resources away from the strategic plans of the government, providing poor value for money, and leading to patronage and lack of transparency, particularly in developing countries. To ensure governments can mobilize the strengths of the private sector while protecting the public interest, USPs, when accepted, should be managed and used with caution as an exception to the public procurement method.

This initiative includes three documents: Main Findings and Recommendations, that is considered as a summary; Policy Guidelines for Managing Unsolicited Proposals in Infrastructure Projects, which provides key policy decisions and considerations for the USP policy; and Review of Experiences with USPs, an in-depth review of global best practices with USP policies and projects, the findings of which informed the development of considerations and recommendations in the Guidelines. 

This initiative includes three documents:

Document TypeTools & guidelines
LanguageEnglish
File TypePDF
TopicsUnsolicited Proposals
ContributorsPPIAF, World Bank Group (WBG)
RegionsGlobal

Translations