With lending and grant commitments topping US$24 billion a year, the World Bank Group generates a vast array of commercial opportunities for local and international firms and organizations in developing countries for the preparation and implementation of borrowers' projects. Also, in the course of its own work, the Bank uses a variety of consulting services from both individuals and consulting firms. Consulting work is available either at Bank headquarters in Washington, DC, or in country offices.

Please see Procurement Policies and Procedures for a complete listing of the policies and procedures, guidelines and manuals that govern procurement in World Bank-financed projects and the selection of consultants for the Bank's operational work.

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Opportunities for Consultants

…With the World Bank Group

• Consulting Opportunities in World Bank Operations
  Lists current calls for expressions of interest and bids from consultants to provide the goods and services that the Bank uses in its worldwide development work-in its lending and non-lending operations. Examples include project identification, preparation, appraisal, supervision, evaluation, analytical and advisory activities, policy and program work, research, training, and activities associated with various partnership programs. Consulting opportunities in the Bank-funded projects can also be found on the dgMarket, UN Development Business and the Bank's eConsult websites.
  
  
• Consulting Opportunities for the World Bank Group's Administrative Requirements
  Find current opportunities, notices and announcements here for consulting contracts related to the Bank Group's own administrative requirement, such as financial and accounting services; training; software development; and systems analysis. Also, bidding requirements for corporate procurement are obtainable on these pages.

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…On Bank-Financed Projects

• Consulting Opportunities in Bank-Financed Projects
  Early on, companies can identify, track and prepare for consulting opportunities in Bank-financed projects. Use this webpage to learn where to obtain bank reports and documents, and borrower governments' procurement notices and requests for expressions of interest pertaining to projects-from the pre-planning stage, through the pipeline, to project implementation.
  
  
• UN Development Business
  Register online at UN Development Business and learn about consulting opportunities generated not only by the World Bank Group, but also by other development banks, governments and the United Nations. This site, available to companies on a subscription basis, provides four categories of information: Operational Summaries, New Project Approvals, Procurement Notices and Contract Awards.
  
  
• dgMarket: a Worldwide Tender and Procurement Marketplace
  Donors and governments place tenders and procurement opportunities in 17 different categories-from agriculture and food, to mining and tourism, to environment and education-on this worldwide database. Subscribe by setting up a detailed profile and receive automated e-mail alerts whenever a tender notice is published that meets your criteria.

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Register as a Consultant

• DACON
  DACON (Data on Consulting Firms), a database maintained by the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), registers consulting firms comprised of at least 5 professionals. The Bank, IADB and borrower countries view consultants' profiles, qualifications and past projects on the database. However, there is no prequalification or registration requirement in order to bid on projects financed by the World Bank.
  
  
• IFC Trust Funds Consultant Database
  Register your contact information with the Bank Group's private sector development arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Trust Funds unit. This database is used by IFC task managers who are selecting and hiring consultants for short-term, one-time technical assistance projects carried out by external consultants. Visit IFC's Technical Assistance and Advisory Services and Trust Funds Department, for more information about the donor-supported technical assistance programs. For consulting firms of 5 or more people, register on the DACON website.
  
  
• Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF)
  A multi-donor technical assistance facility, PPIAF's purpose is to help developing countries improve the quality of their infrastructure through private sector involvement. It was developed as a joint initiative of the governments of Japan and the United Kingdom, working closely with the World Bank. PPIAF task managers, who implement approved activities, make extensive use of consultants in delivering particular assignments. Consultants already registered in the DACON system will automatically be registered with the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF).

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Consultant Selection Guidelines

• General Terms and Conditions
  General terms and conditions that apply to the Bank's purchase of consulting services can be found here.
  
  
• Selection and Employment of Consultants by Borrowers
  These guidelines prescribe how borrowers should employ consultants on Bank-supported projects. The guidelines are designed to ensure that the process is as open, competitive, transparent and efficient as possible.
  
  
• Standard Consultant Documents
  Find and download templates of the forms that borrowers use—when they prepare for and administer their projects—in the Document Index on this webpage.

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Tips for Consultants

• Guide to International Business Opportunities
  Most aspects of doing business with the World Bank-from background on how projects are identified and financed to tips on getting contracts-are explained in detail in this guide.

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Project and Contract Databases

Use these databases to research trends in successful bidding by country, region, sector, procurement method, procurement type and company.

• Project Database
  The Project database contains the World Bank's lending projects from 1947, when the Bank began operations, to the present. It was created to help make the Bank's lending more transparent to the public and its partners and to encourage broad participation in the projects the Bank finances.
  
  
• Contract Awards Search
  A database of contractors, suppliers and consultants that have submitted winning bids/proposals and been awarded contracts since July 2000.
  
  
• Monthly Operational Summary
  A summary of the current status of projects in the Bank's lending pipelines, this database provides a good guide to new projects being considered by bank staff and provides contact information for key officials.

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External Project and Contract Databases

• Accessible Information on Development Activities (AiDA)
  A Development Gateway database listing more than 500,000 historical and current development activities, drawn from major international donors, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and foundations. Project records can be viewed by region, country, topics and sponsoring organization.