Last update: March 2, 2007 |
This web site supports the procurement of Information & Communications Technology (ICT) in projects financed by the World Bank. It provides specialized standard bidding documents (SBDs) and related guidance/information. 
The below listed Guidance Notes are currently under review and will be updated accordingly. Guidance Note No. 1: Contracting for IT Maintenance and Technical Support Services (October, 2001) This guidance note discusses long-standing issues related to the procurement of ICT maintenance and technical support services under World Bank financing. It proposes changes to the Standard Bidding Documents (SBDs) to assist Bank Borrowers in addressing those problems.
Guidance Note No. 3: Complex Systems Engineering/Integration -- Contractor Continuation Options (December, 2001) Guidance Note no. 3 discusses the critical phases to maximize chances of success and minimize the possibility that undetected problems escalate out of control. It points out the complex interplay between services inputs and the delivery of systems, the advantages of having contractors continue to work on subsequent implementation stages, and relates these risk minimization concerns to the well known issues of conflict-of-interest. Guidance Note No. 4: Specification of Brand Names in IT Procurements (October, 2001) This note aims to assist both Bank Borrowers and Bank staff in identifying and reviewing requests for exceptions to the guideline on use of brand names. It discusses four broad arguments that may justify approval of exceptions, defines nine tests to establish the validity of those arguments, and illustrates how they apply to the most common exception cases as of the date of the Guidance Note.
The Bank has adopted the CIP (to project sites) Incoterm as the default for the pricing of ICT products supplied from outside a Purchaser's country under Bank-financed contracts. Guidance Note No. 9 discusses the issues related to this Incoterm, and to bid pricing in general as well as to arriving at comparable evaluated bid prices. Guidance Note No. 10: Evaluation of Non-Price Factors in IT Procurement (October, 2004) This note discusses the issues related to using price as the sole evaluation criterion in the competitive procurement of ICT and proposes broad guidelines for the evaluation of non-price factors, consistent with the nature and complexity of the goods and services being procured. While acknowledging that price-based evaluation is easier and less amenable to manipulation, the note argues that procurement packages for ICT often have characteristics where the evaluation of non-price factors can help in arriving at the most economic bid overall. 
Generic Specifications for IT Procurement (status: not current) Guidance Note No. 8: Selecting a Standard Bidding Document for IT Procurement (January 2002) This note has been replaced by the Guidance on Selecting SBDs for ICT Procurement issued in December 2003, available via the link above under "Standard Bidding Documents." Guidance Note No. 8 dealt with the selection of an appropriate SBD, depending on complexity and purpose of the procurement. Progress on IT Procurement Instruments(.pdf) Information Infrastructure for IT Procurement(.pdf) |
