Overview
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is a multilateral development bank operating in the Caribbean that collaborates with its Member Countries to promote sustainable social and economic development, economic cooperation and regional integration. CDB has allocated financing towards the cost of a consultancy to review CDB’s governance framework which will:
(a) review the governance arrangements for CDB to assess whether they are consistent with best practice, designed and operating in a way that delivers CDB’s mandate and allows the institution to operate effectively and efficiently, maximising development impact and value for money, providing adequate accountability of senior management and heads of independent offices to their Board, minimising risk and providing the shareholders with a proportionate voice in decision-making. In particular, the review will assess whether the right arrangements and structures are in place for control and oversight, monitoring, reporting, transparency and accountability at all levels, including whether there are clear mechanisms to review performance and risks; and avoid conflicts of interest; and
(b) following the assessment, make recommendations to strengthen the governance of the Bank, taking account of the unique characteristics of CDB.
The consultancy will involve a first phase which will include inter alia (i) desk-based reviews of the CDB Charter and by-laws, and other relevant CDB policies and guidance documents; (ii) interviews with all members of the Board of Directors and any Governors that so wish, as well as senior management, heads of independent offices and others; (iii) a sample of in-country consultations; and (iv) staff consultations and/or surveys. The second phase will include a combination of interviews with key stakeholders and benchmarking against other comparable institutions that have recently undergone similar exercises.
A full Terms of Reference will be shared with short-listed Consultants. The duration of the assignment is expected to be for a period of seven (7) months.
CDB now invites interested eligible consulting firms to submit Expressions of Interest for the provision of these consultancy services.
Eligibility
A Consultant shall be eligible to participate if they fulfil the following requirements:
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are not subject to United Nations (UN) Security Council sanctions, under Chapter VII of the Charter of the UN;
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has not 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];
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are not suspended or debarred by CDB for engaging in the Prohibited Practices referenced in (b) above;
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are not 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
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are not 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:
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Conflict between consulting activities and procurement of goods, works or non-consulting services; or
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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.
Consultants from all countries are eligible to participate.
In the assessment of submissions, consideration will be given to technical competence, qualifications and experience, including experience on similar assignments, financial capability and existing commitments.
However, the Consultant should:
a. demonstrate in-depth knowledge and experience of corporate governance, with at least 15 years experience in leading the development and implementation of corporate governance frameworks, policies, structures and programmes;
b. governance experience in the context of international financial institutions and be able to demonstrate relevant recent experience of MDB governance reform, ideally in at least one regional development bank;
c. should have international recognition in this field and demonstrate they are at the forefront of current and anticipated trends in corporate governance; and
d. demonstrate they have a suitable pool of experts to undertake such assignments.
Instructions
All information must be submitted in English. Further information may be obtained from the first address below Monday to Thursday between 8.30 am and 4.30 pm Barbados time and between 8.30 am and 12 pm Barbados time on Friday.
Interested consultant teams are required to submit their Expression of Interest using the "EOI Consulting Firms template" attached to this REOI.
Electronic submissions of the Expressions of Interest must be received at the second address below no later than 11: 59 pm Barbados time, on April 4, 2025. 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 a Review of the Governance Framework of the Caribbean Development Bank.”
The selection method shall be Quality Based selection. Following the assessment of Expressions of Interest, a short-list of not less than three and not more than six applicants will be provided with full terms of reference and invited to submit technical and financial proposals to undertake the assignment. Only the financial proposal of the Consultant with the highest scoring and responsive technical proposal shall be opened and, if substantively responsive, the Consultant shall be invited to technical and financial negotiations. 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 for information on how CDB manages and protects personal data.
