PPIAF/WB Toolkit on the use of Advisors

In hiring consultants, governments usually face the dilemma of needing a consultant to hire the consultants. Even drafting the Terms of Reference may be a daunting task for a government authority that has no experience of this task. In such cases, it is often best to seek help from some multi-lateral lending institution such as the World Bank.

A Toolkit on the Procurement of Advisory Services for PPP has been developed by the PPIAF and provides useful and practical material on this matter.

Therefore the PPIAF and WB produced a 3 volume toolkit for assisting countries in hiring and managing advisors. This source and its contents are described immediately below.

Toolkit on hiring and managing advisors for Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI); PPIAF/WB 2001.

Volume 1 describes what PPI is and how advisors help in the process. It contains:

• Background information on PPI, outlining the different stages of the procSess;WS
• Areas in which advisors can be used productively;
• How a technical assistance project should be scoped; and
• Issues related to the use and selection of advisors when PPI is being introduced on a small scale at the community or municipal level.

Volume 2 describes the main multilateral and bilateral lending agencies and presents some detailed information about their lending policies and the sources of funds available for technical assistance. It also provides addresses where further information can be found. It provides a guide to where a procurement officer could turn for funding advisors for PPP project preparation and implementation. It is aimed at procurement officers and project developers unfamiliar with the donor agencies and their lending and granting practices.

Volume 3 presents the competitive bidding process for advisors and describes the alternative approaches to selecting advisors. It describes the steps that need to be taken in order to implement an effective process, including how to advertise, to evaluate proposals and finalize contracts. It also describes the circumstances when other approaches may be appropriate.