Asia/Pacific Procurement Forum

Technical Assistance Concept Paper Summary

1. Project Description:
Procurement is at the heart of the effective and efficient delivery of public services. It also involves the management
of large amounts of money and is the largest single cause for allegations of corruption and government inefficiency.
Weak procurement policies and practices constrain development and waste scarce public funds. Through the Paris
Declaration (declaration of the Second High Level Forum on Aide Effectiveness, or HLF 2) ADB member countries
committed to develop reliable procurement systems (indicator 2b). This was affirmed in September 2008 at HLF 3.
At the same time, procurement has been identified in GACAP II as a governance thematic priority which must be
assessed at country and sector level to inform preparation of the CPS. Procurement risks identified in ADB priority
sectors should inform design of ADB programs and projects in those sectors. A review of current ROBPs and
RCSPs does not reveal direct links to public procurement, Abut a review of CSPs does. The Philippines CSP, for
example, identifies (i) weak institutional capacity to deliver public goods and services and prone to corruption; (ii)
fiscal imbalance related to public expenditure management (of which procurement is a key component); and (iii)
strengthening the civil service through improved public procurement.

The RETA seeks to further ADB’s commitments under HLF2 (affirmed by HLF3) and GACAP II, and to address the
development constraints posed by weak procurement as identified in CSPs. By networking procurement policy
officials in a minimum of 20 DMCs, it will facilitate sharing of experiences and develop common agendas to move
the public procurement systems of member countries toward international best practice. The objective is for one
third of ADB DMCs to improve their procurement systems by a minimum of one point on four-point OECD/DAC
scale by 2014 (ie, from A to B, or B to C, etc.). Over the 3.5 year implementation period the TA will fund (i) 4
regional conferences; (ii) 8 subregional meetings; (iii) the development of a functioning web site providing resource
materials and forum facilities; and (iv) the production of a bi-monthly newsletter. Currently there is no forum that
brings together DMC procurement policy officials to share experiences, identify common issues and seek
coordinated solutions. Establishment of one will help raise the level of participating countries' procurement systems
toward international best practice. Moreover, as public procurement is closely linked to trade, a coordinated
procurement policy environment will contribute to regional economic integration and growth.

2. Consulting inputs:
The TA will recruit two individual national consultants in HQ on part-time basis for the duration of the TA to assist
with organizing conferences and meetings, to prepare the newsletter and to manage the web site content. The
consultants will be engaged by ADB in accordance with the Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2007, as
amended from time to time).

3. Nature/extent of government/beneficiary involvement in identifying or conceptualizing the assistance:

COSO surveyed 16 officials from 8 DMCs and found strong support for the initiative. A report on the survey is
available from COSO. ADB donor partners (AusAID, DFID, JBIC, UNDP, World Bank) have been consulted and all
support the initiative.

4. Timetable for processing and implementation:

• Concept Clearance: 13 March 09
• Fact-finding (consultation with stakeholders: DMCs, donors, civil cosiaty organizations): 24-25 August 09
• Staff Review Committee: October 09
• Approval: November 09
• Commencement (consultant recruited):December 09

5. Cost Estimates:
The total cost of the TA is estimated at $1,500,000 equivalent. It is proposed that the ADB provide $1,400,000
equivalent on a grant basis from TASF-IV and other trust fund. Participating Governments and donor partners will
finance the remaining $100,000 equivalent through in-kind through a cooperation agreement (not included in the TA
financing plan) to support and provision of resources, and funding of conferences and meetings.

6. For Inquiries on the concept paper:

• Robert Rothery Local Number: (63) 2 632 5598 Email Address: rrothery@adb.org
• Omar Tiwana Local Number: (63) 2 632 4410 Email Address: tomar@adb.org
• Mart Khaltarpurev, Local Number: (63) 2 632 6326 Email Address: mkhaltarpurev@adb.org
PRELIMINARY DESIGN AND MONITORING FRAMEWORK
Design
Summary
Impact
Significant number of
participating ADB DMCs
will move procurement
systems towards
international best practice
Outcome
Strengthened capacity of
public procurement policy
bodies, primarily through
cross-country sharing of
knowledge of effective
procurement systems
Outputs
1. Regional conference
2. Subregional meeting
3. Web site
4. Newsletter
Activities with Milestones
• Conduct 4 regional conferences with minimum 20 participating DMCs by 2012
• Conduct 8 subregional meetings, each with minimum 8 participating DMCs plus other
by 2012.
• Establish functioning web site by 2010 and continue to develop over course of TA
• Initiate bi-monthly newsletter by 2010 and continue to develop over course of TA
Performance
Targets/Indicators
One third of ADB DMCs will
improve procurement
systems by minimum of
one point on four-point
OECD/DAC scale by 2014
(ie, from A to B, or B to C,
etc)
An established and effective
network of procurement
policy officials from a
minimum of 20 ADB DMC’s
who meet regularly and
have established
mechanisms so as to share
experiences and jointly
develop programs to move
their procurement systems
toward international best
practice
• 4 regional conferences
• 8 subregional meetings
• Functioning web site
providing resource
materials and forum
facilities
• Bi-monthly newsletter,
assessed as useful by
its recipients
Data Sources/Reporting
Mechanisms
OECD/DAC Baseline
Indicator (BLI) assessments
ADB survey, procurement
risk assessments of CSPs,
web sites of country
procurement agencies
ADB report
Assumptions and Risks
BLI assessments will be conducted
and validated in sufficient number
of countries
(note that 8 ADB DMCs have
conducted baseline studies and
therefore have starting-point data)
Participation and political
commitment by DMC officials
Successful delivery of program by
ADB
DMC officials can be identified and
will willingly participate and
contribute.
(note: COSO survey has identified
officials from 16 member countries
who support the concept)
Inputs
• ADB $1,400,000 to fund
conferences and meetings,
develop web site, and produce
newsletter, including consulting
services to assist with these
activities
• Governments: in-kind support
when hosting conferences and
meetings
• Cofinancing: none identified as
of writing of concept paper.
Based on past work, in-kind
support expected through
cooperation agreement from
World Bank, JBIC, DFID, UNDP,
and AusAID to participate with
conferences, meetings,
newsletter, and web site
• Others: initial discussions with
UNDP indicates willingness to
host web site on its Procurement
Capacity Development web site