Overview
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
The Office of Independent Evaluation (OIE) of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) intends to contract a Consultant to conduct the Multicycle Evaluation of the Unified Special Development Fund (SDF), Eighth and Ninth Cycles.
The objective of the consultancy is to assess the merits of SDF 8 and 9, including achievements at the outcome-level, and gather insights that would contribute to improvements in the design and implementation of next cycles of SDF, particularly of SDF 11 whose replenishment phase will start in March 2024. In addition, the evaluation is intended to contribute to the body of knowledge on the implementation of the Bank’s strategic priorities and make this knowledge available to internal and external stakeholders involved in the implementation of SDF. The duration of the assignment is expected to involve up to 150 person-days, spread across a period of up to six (6) months, commencing September 2023. A copy of the draft Terms of Reference is attached.
Eligibility
CDB now invites interested eligible consulting firms to submit Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the provision of these consultancy services. Eligible countries are any country however, in order to comply with CDB’s integrity requirements, consultants shall not:
(a) be subject to sanctions under the United Nations (UN) Security Council taken under Chapter VII of the Charter of the UN;
(b) have engaged in Prohibited Practices, as detailed in Paragraph 2.02 a) of the Procedures for Dealing with Fraud and Corruption in CDB-Financed Projects (October 2014 or as updated from time to time)[1];
(c) be suspended or debarred by CDB for engaging in the Prohibited Practices referenced in 2) (b) above;
(d) be publicly debarred by a Multilateral Development Bank subject to the Agreement on Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions[2] in their own right, or under abovementioned agreement; and
(e) be subject to a conflict of interest that would undermine the Consultant's ability to provide professional, objective, and impartial advice.
CDB requires that all parties involved in the procurement process avoid and declare promptly and proactively in writing to CDB any potential, apparent or actual conflicts of interest. Without limitation on the generality of the foregoing, the Consultant shall not be hired under the following circumstances: Conflict between consulting activities and procurement of goods, works or non-consulting services, conflict among consulting assignments, and/or close relationships with CDB staff or other stakeholders involved in or expected to be involved in the procurement or subsequent contract management.
[1]https://www.caribank.org/sites/default/files/publication-resources/Procedures_FraudandCorruptioninCDB-financedProjects.pdf
[2] http://lnadbg4.adb.org/oai001p.nsf/
Instructions
In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to technical competence, qualifications and experience, local and regional experience on similar assignments, existing commitments and Consultants:
(a) Demonstrate significant experience in two or more of the thematic areas of SDF 8 and 9 and in the cross-cutting areas of SDF 8 and 9;
(b) Have a track record of experience of conducting of evaluations, particularly of policies and strategies;
(c) Possess the ability to deploy experienced and proven experts to work on this assignment who have worked on similar assignments in the past and whom are staff of the Consultant or have worked extensively with the Consultant;
(d) Have experience of working with small island developing states, preferably with experience of working in the Caribbean; and
(e) Be able to prepare high quality documents and work in professional and collaborative manner with a wide range of stakeholders.
Interested consultant teams are required to submit:
(a) A letter of interest including their evaluation profile / experiences and expertise as a firm as well as the individuals who would be part of this assignment, their interest in undertaking the review, as well as a statement confirming their availability given the timeframe.
(b) CVs of the proposed key experts, including the Team Leader.
(c) A completed EOI Consulting Firms template attached.
All information must be submitted in English. Further information/clarification about the evaluation may be obtained from the first address below between 09:00 and 16:00 hours EST Monday to Friday.
Electronic submissions of the Expressions of Interest must be received at the first address below and copied to the second address below no later than 16:00 EST on Friday, July 21, 2023. The Expression of Interest will be deemed to have been received at the time that it is received by CDB. The burden of proving receipt of the e-mail will be on the applicant and will not be met solely by a read receipt or sent items report generated by the Consultant’s computer. The e-mail containing each submission should include the name and address of the applicant. The subject line shall be clearly marked “Expression of Interest – Consultancy Services for Multicycle Evaluation of the Unified Special Development Fund, Eighth and Ninth Cycles”.
The selection method shall be Consultants’ Qualifications selection. Therefore, following the assessment of submissions, firms shall be assessed and compared, and the best qualified and experienced firm shall be selected. Only the selected firm shall be asked to submit a combined technical and financial proposal and, if such proposal is responsive and acceptable, be invited to negotiate a contract. CDB reserves the right to accept or reject late applications or to cancel the present invitation partially or in its entirety. It will not be bound to assign any reason for not short-listing any applicant and will not defray any costs incurred by any applicant in the preparation and submission of Expressions of Interest.
Consultants are advised to view CDB’s General Privacy Notice[3] for information on how CDB manages and protects personal data.
Contact
Address 1
Caribbean Development Bank
Address 2
Caribbean Development Bank