Instruction to Bidders

GENERAL PROVISIONS
1.1 Bidders shall adhere to all the requirements of this RFP, including any
1. Introduction
amendments in writing by UNDP. This RFP is conducted in accordance
with the UNDP Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures
(POPP) on Contracts and Procurement which can be accessed at
https://popp.undp.org/SitePages/POPPBSUnit.aspx?TermID=254a9f96-
b883-476a-8ef8-e81f93a2b38d
1.2 Any Proposal submitted will be regarded as an offer by the Bidder and
does not constitute or imply the acceptance of the Proposal by UNDP.
UNDP is under no obligation to award a contract to any Bidder as a result
of this RFP.
1.3 As part of the bid, it is desired that the Bidder registers at the United
Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM) website (www.ungm.org). The
Bidder may still submit a bid even if not registered with the UNGM.
However, if the Bidder is selected for contract award, the Bidder must
register on the UNGM prior to contract signature.

2. Fraud & 2.1 UNDP strictly enforces a policy of zero tolerance on proscribed
Corruption, practices, including fraud, corruption, collusion, unethical or
Gifts and unprofessional practices, and obstruction of UNDP vendors and requires
Hospitality all bidders/vendors observe the highest standard of ethics during the
procurement process and contract implementation. UNDP’s Anti-Fraud
Policy can be found at
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/operations/accountabili
ty/audit/office_of_audit_andinvestigation.html#anti
2.2 Bidders/vendors shall not offer gifts or hospitality of any kind to UNDP
staff members including recreational trips to sporting or cultural events,
theme parks or offers of holidays, transportation, or invitations to
extravagant lunches or dinners.
2.3 In pursuance of this policy, UNDP
(a) Shall reject a proposal if it determines that the selected bidder has
engaged in any corrupt or fraudulent practices in competing for the
contract in question;
(b) Shall declare a vendor ineligible, either indefinitely or for a stated
period of time, to be awarded a contract if at any time it determines
that the vendor has engaged in any corrupt or fraudulent practices in
competing for, or in executing a UNDP contract.
2.4 All Bidders must adhere to the UN Supplier Code of Conduct, which may
be found at http://www.un.org/depts/ptd/pdf/conduct_english.pdf

3. Eligibility 3.1 A vendor should not be suspended, debarred, or otherwise identified as

ineligible by any UN Organisation or the World Bank Group or any other
international Organisation. Vendors are therefore required to disclose to
UNDP whether they are subject to any sanction or temporary suspension
 imposed by these organisations.
3.2 It is the Bidder’s responsibility to ensure that its employees, joint venture
members, sub-contractors, service providers, suppliers and/or their
employees meet the eligibility requirements as established by UNDP.

4. Conflict of 4.1 Bidders must strictly avoid conflicts with other assignments or their own
Interests interests, and act without consideration for future work. Bidders found
to have a conflict of interest shall be disqualified. Without limitation on
the generality of the above, Bidders, and any of their affiliates, shall be
considered to have a conflict of interest with one or more parties in this
solicitation process, if they:
a) Are or have been associated in the past, with a firm or any of its
affiliates which have been engaged by UNDP to provide services for
the preparation of the design, specifications, Terms of Reference,
cost analysis/estimation, and other documents to be used for the
procurement of the goods and services in this selection process;
b) Were involved in the preparation and/or design of the
programme/project related to the services requested under this RFP;
or
c) Are found to be in conflict for any other reason, as may be
established by, or at the discretion of UNDP.
4.2 In the event of any uncertainty in the interpretation of a potential conflict
of interest, Bidders must disclose to UNDP, and seek UNDP’s
confirmation on whether such a conflict exists.
4.3 Similarly, the Bidders must disclose in their proposal their knowledge of
the following:
a) If the owners, part-owners, officers, directors, controlling
shareholders, of the bidding entity or key personnel are family
members of UNDP staff involved in the procurement functions
and/or the Government of the country or any Implementing Partner
receiving services under this RFP; and
b) All other circumstances that could potentially lead to actual or
perceived conflict of interest, collusion or unfair competition
practices.
Failure to disclose such an information may result in the rejection of the
proposal or proposals affected by the non-disclosure.
4.4 The eligibility of Bidders that are wholly or partly owned by the
Government shall be subject to UNDP’s further evaluation and review of
various factors such as being registered, operated and managed as an
independent business entity, the extent of Government
ownership/share, receipt of subsidies, mandate and access to
information in relation to this RFP, among others. Conditions that may
lead to undue advantage against other Bidders may result in the eventual
rejection of the Proposal.
 PREPARATION OF PROPOSALS
5.1 In preparing the Proposal, the Bidder is expected to examine the RFP in
5. General
Considerations detail. Material deficiencies in providing the information requested in the
RFP may result in rejection of the Proposal.
5.2 The Bidder will not be permitted to take advantage of any errors or
omissions in the RFP. Should such errors or omissions be discovered, the
Bidder must notify the UNDP
6.1 The Bidder shall bear any and all costs related to the preparation and/or
6. Cost of
Preparation of submission of the Proposal, regardless of whether its Proposal was
Proposal selected or not. UNDP shall not be responsible or liable for those costs,
regardless of the conduct or outcome of the procurement process.
7. Language 7.1 The Proposal, as well as any and all related correspondence exchanged
by the Bidder and UNDP, shall be written in the language (s) specified in
the BDS.

8. Documents 8.1 The Proposal shall comprise of the following documents:

Comprising the
a) Documents Establishing the Eligibility and Qualifications of the
Proposal
Bidder;
b) Technical Proposal;
c) Financial Proposal;
d) Proposal Security, if required by BDS;
e) Any attachments and/or appendices to the Proposal.

9. Documents 9.1 The Bidder shall furnish documentary evidence of its status as an eligible
Establishing the and qualified vendor, using the Forms provided under Section 6 and
Eligibility and providing documents required in those forms. In order to award a
Qualifications contract to a Bidder, its qualifications must be documented to UNDP’s
of the Bidder satisfaction.

10. Technical 10.1 The Bidder is required to submit a Technical Proposal using the Standard
Proposal Forms and templates provided in Section 6 of the RFP.
Format and
10.2 The Technical Proposal shall not include any price or financial
Content
information. A Technical Proposal containing material financial
information may be declared non-responsive.
10.3 Samples of items, when required as per Section 5, shall be provided
within the time specified and unless otherwise specified by UNDP, and at
no expense to UNDP
10.4 When applicable and required as per Section 5, the Bidder shall describe
the necessary training programme available for the maintenance and
operation of the services and/or equipment offered as well as the cost to
the UNDP. Unless otherwise specified, such training as well as training
materials shall be provided in the language of the Bid as specified in the
BDS.
11. Financial 11.1 The Financial Proposal shall be prepared using the Standard Form
Proposals provided in Section 6 of the RFP. It shall list all major cost components
associated with the services, and the detailed breakdown of such costs.
11.2 Any output and activities described in the Technical Proposal but not
priced in the Financial Proposal, shall be assumed to be included in the
prices of other activities or items, as well as in the final total price.
11.3 Prices and other financial information must not be disclosed in any other
place except in the financial proposal.

12. Proposal 12.1 A Proposal Security, if required by BDS, shall be provided in the amount
Security and form indicated in the BDS. The Proposal Security shall be valid up to
thirty (30) days after the final date of validity of the Proposal.
12.2 The Proposal Security shall be included along with the Technical Proposal.
If Proposal Security is required by the RFP but is not found along with the
Technical Proposal, the Proposal shall be rejected.
12.3 If the Proposal Security amount or its validity period is found to be less
than what is required by UNDP, UNDP shall reject the Proposal.
12.4 In the event an electronic submission is allowed in the BDS, Bidders shall
include a copy of the Bid Security in their proposal and the original of the
Proposal Security must be sent via courier or hand delivery as per the
instructions in BDS.
12.5 The Proposal Security may be forfeited by UNDP, and the Proposal
rejected, in the event of any one or combination, of the following
conditions:
a) If the Bidder withdraws its offer during the period of the Proposal
Validity specified in the BDS, or;
b) In the event if the successful Bidder fails:
i. to sign the Contract after UNDP has issued an award; or
12.6 to furnish the Performance Security, insurances, or other documents that
UNDP may require as a condition precedent to the effectivity of the
contract that may be awarded to the Bidder.

13. Currencies 13.1 All prices shall be quoted in the currency or currencies indicated in the
BDS. Where Proposals are quoted in different currencies, for the
purposes of comparison of all Proposals:
a) UNDP will convert the currency quoted in the Proposal into the UNDP
preferred currency, in accordance with the prevailing UN operational
rate of exchange on the last day of submission of Proposals; and
b) In the event that UNDP selects a proposal for award that is quoted in
a currency different from the preferred currency in the BDS, UNDP
shall reserve the right to award the contract in the currency of
UNDP’s preference, using the conversion method specified above.
 14.1 If the Bidder is a group of legal entities that will form or have formed a
14. Joint Venture,
Consortium or Joint Venture (JV), Consortium or Association for the Proposal, they shall
Association confirm in their Proposal that : (i) they have designated one party to act
as a lead entity, duly vested with authority to legally bind the members
of the JV, Consortium or Association jointly and severally, which shall be
evidenced by a duly notarized Agreement among the legal entities, and
submitted with the Proposal; and (ii) if they are awarded the contract,
the contract shall be entered into, by and between UNDP and the
designated lead entity, who shall be acting for and on behalf of all the
member entities comprising the joint venture.
14.2 After the Deadline for Submission of Proposal, the lead entity identified
to represent the JV, Consortium or Association shall not be altered
without the prior written consent of UNDP.
14.3 The lead entity and the member entities of the JV, Consortium or
Association shall abide by the provisions of Clause 9 herein in respect of
submitting only one proposal.
14.4 The description of the organisation of the JV, Consortium or Association
must clearly define the expected role of each of the entity in the joint
venture in delivering the requirements of the RFP, both in the Proposal
and the JV, Consortium or Association Agreement. All entities that
comprise the JV, Consortium or Association shall be subject to the
eligibility and qualification assessment by UNDP.
14.5 A JV, Consortium or Association in presenting its track record and
experience should clearly differentiate between:
a) Those that were undertaken together by the JV, Consortium or
Association; and
b) Those that were undertaken by the individual entities of the JV,
Consortium or Association.
14.6 Previous contracts completed by individual experts working privately but
who are permanently or were temporarily associated with any of the
member firms cannot be claimed as the experience of the JV, Consortium
or Association or those of its members, but should only be claimed by the
individual experts themselves in their presentation of their individual
credentials.
14.7 JV, Consortium or Associations are encouraged for high value, multi-
sectoral requirements when the spectrum of expertise and resources
required may not be available within one firm.

15. Only One 15.1 The Bidder (including the individual members of any Joint Venture) shall
Proposal submit only one Proposal, either in its own name or as part of a Joint
Venture.
15.2 Proposals submitted by two (2) or more Bidders shall all be rejected if
they are found to have any of the following:
 a) they have at least one controlling partner, director or shareholder in
common; or
b) any one of them receive or have received any direct or indirect
subsidy from the other/s; or
c) they have the same legal representative for purposes of this RFP; or
d) they have a relationship with each other, directly or through common
third parties, that puts them in a position to have access to
information about, or influence on the Proposal of, another Bidder
regarding this RFP process;
e) they are subcontractors to each other’s Proposal, or a subcontractor
to one Proposal also submits another Proposal under its name as lead
Bidder; or
f) some key personnel proposed to be in the team of one Bidder
participates in more than one Proposal received for this RFP process.
This condition relating to the personnel, does not apply to
subcontractors being included in more than one Proposal.

16. Proposal 16.1 Proposals shall remain valid for the period specified in the BDS,
Validity Period commencing on the Deadline for Submission of Proposals. A Proposal
valid for a shorter period may be rejected by UNDP and rendered non-
responsive.
16.2 During the Proposal validity period, the Bidder shall maintain its original
Proposal without any change, including the availability of the Key
Personnel, the proposed rates and the total price.

17. Extension of 17.1 In exceptional circumstances, prior to the expiration of the proposal
Proposal validity period, UNDP may request Bidders to extend the period of
Validity Period validity of their Proposals. The request and the responses shall be made
in writing, and shall be considered integral to the Proposal.
17.2 If the Bidder agrees to extend the validity of its Proposal, it shall be done
without any change in the original Proposal.
17.3 The Bidder has the right to refuse to extend the validity of its Proposal,
and in which case, such Proposal will not be further evaluated.

18. Clarification of 18.1 Bidders may request clarifications on any of the RFP documents no later
Proposal than the date indicated in the BDS. Any request for clarification must be
sent in writing in the manner indicated in the BDS. If inquiries are sent
other than specified channel, even if they are sent to a UNDP staff
member, UNDP shall have no obligation to respond or confirm that the
query was officially received.
18.2 UNDP will provide the responses to clarifications through the method
specified in the BDS.
18.3 UNDP shall endeavour to provide responses to clarifications in an
expeditious manner, but any delay in such response shall not cause an
obligation on the part of UNDP to extend the submission date of the
Proposals, unless UNDP deems that such an extension is justified and
 necessary.

19. Amendment of 19.1 At any time prior to the deadline of Proposal submission, UNDP may for
Proposals any reason, such as in response to a clarification requested by a Bidder,
modify the RFP in the form of an amendment to the RFP. Amendments
will be made available to all prospective bidders.
19.2 If the amendment is substantial, UNDP may extend the Deadline for
submission of proposal to give the Bidders reasonable time to
incorporate the amendment into their Proposals.

20. Alternative 20.1 Unless otherwise specified in the BDS, alternative proposals shall not be
Proposals considered. If submission of alternative proposal is allowed by BDS, a
Bidder may submit an alternative proposal, but only if it also submits a
proposal conforming to the RFP requirements. UNDP shall only consider
the alternative proposal offered by the Bidder whose conforming
proposal ranked the highest as per the specified evaluation method.
Where the conditions for its acceptance are met, or justifications are
clearly established, UNDP reserves the right to award a contract based
on an alternative proposal.
20.2 If multiple/alternative proposals are being submitted, they must be
clearly marked as “Main Proposal” and “Alternative Proposal”

21. Pre-Bid 21.1 When appropriate, a Bidder’s conference will be conducted at the date,
Conference time and location specified in the BDS. All Bidders are encouraged to
attend. Non-attendance, however, shall not result in disqualification of
an interested Bidder. Minutes of the Bidder’s conference will be
disseminated on the procurement website and shared by email or on the
e-Tendering platform as specified in the BDS. No verbal statement made
during the conference shall modify the terms and conditions of the RFP,
unless specifically incorporated in the Minutes of the Bidder’s
Conference or issued/posted as an amendment to RFP.
SUBMISSION AND OPENING OF PROPOSALS
22. Submission 22.1 The Bidder shall submit a duly signed and complete Proposal comprising
the documents and forms in accordance with the requirements in the
BDS. The submission shall be in the manner specified in the BDS.
22.2 The Proposal shall be signed by the Bidder or person(s) duly authorized
to commit the Bidder. The authorization shall be communicated through
a document evidencing such authorization issued by the legal
representative of the bidding entity, or a Power of Attorney,
accompanying the Proposal.
22.3 Bidders must be aware that the mere act of submission of a Proposal, in
and of itself, implies that the Bidder fully accepts the UNDP General
Contract Terms and Conditions.
Hard copy 22.4 Hard copy (manual) submission by courier or hand delivery allowed or
(manual) specified in the BDS shall be governed as follows:
submission
g) The signed Proposal shall be marked “Original”, and its copies
marked “Copy” as appropriate. The number of copies is indicated in
the BDS. All copies shall be made from the signed original only. If
there are discrepancies between the original and the copies, the
original shall prevail.
h) The Technical Proposal and the Financial Proposal envelopes MUST
BE COMPLETELY SEPARATE and each of them must be submitted
sealed individually and clearly marked on the outside as either
“TECHNICAL PROPOSAL” or “FINANCIAL PROPOSAL”, as appropriate.
Each envelope SHALL clearly indicate the name of the Bidder. The
outer envelopes shall:
i. Bear the name and address of the bidder;
ii. Be addressed to UNDP as specified in the BDS
iii. Bear a warning that states “Not to be opened before the time
and date for proposal opening” as specified in the BDS.

If the envelopes and packages with the Proposal are not sealed and
marked as required, UNDP shall assume no responsibility for the
misplacement, loss, or premature opening of the Proposal.

Email Submission 22.5 Email submission, if allowed or specified in the BDS, shall be governed as
follows:
a) Electronic files that form part of the proposal must be in accordance
with the format and requirements indicated in BDS;
b) The Technical Proposal and the Financial Proposal files MUST BE
COMPLETELY SEPARATE. The financial proposal shall be encrypted
with different passwords and clearly labelled. The files must be sent
to the dedicated email address specified in the BDS.
c) The password for opening the Financial Proposal should be provided
only upon request of UNDP. UNDP will request password only from
bidders whose Technical Proposal has been found to be technically
responsive. Failure to provide correct password may result in the
e-Tendering proposal being rejected.
submission
22.6 Electronic submission through eTendering, if allowed or specified in the
BDS, shall be governed as follows:
a) Electronic files that form part of the proposal must be in accordance
with the format and requirements indicated in BDS;
b) The Technical Proposal and the Financial Proposal files MUST BE
COMPLETELY SEPARATE and each of them must be uploaded
individually and clearly labelled.
 d) The Financial Proposal file must be encrypted with a password so that
it cannot be opened nor viewed until the password is provided. The
password for opening the Financial Proposal should be provided only
upon request of UNDP. UNDP will request password only from
bidders whose technical proposal has been found to be technically
responsive. Failure to provide the correct password may result in the
proposal being rejected.
c) Documents which are required to be in original form (e.g. Bid
Security, etc.) must be sent via courier or hand delivery as per the
instructions in BDS.
d) Detailed instructions on how to submit, modify or cancel a bid in
the eTendering system are provided in the eTendering system
Bidder User Guide and Instructional videos available on this link:
https://www.undp.org/procurement/business/resources-for-bidders

23. Deadline for 23.1 Complete Proposals must be received by UNDP in the manner, and no
Submission of later than the date and time, specified in the BDS. UNDP shall only
Proposals and recognize the date and time that the bid was received by UNDP
Late Proposals
23.2 UNDP shall not consider any Proposal that is submitted after the deadline
for the submission of Proposals.

24. Withdrawal, 24.1 A Bidder may withdraw, substitute or modify its Proposal after it has been
Substitution, submitted at any time prior to the deadline for submission.
and
Modification of 24.2 Manual and Email submissions: A bidder may withdraw, substitute or
Proposals modify its Proposal by sending a written notice to UNDP, duly signed by
an authorized representative, and shall include a copy of the
authorization (or a Power of Attorney). The corresponding substitution
or modification of the Proposal, if any, must accompany the respective
written notice. All notices must be submitted in the same manner as
specified for submission of proposals, by clearly marking them as
“WITHDRAWAL” “SUBSTITUTION,” or “MODIFICATION”
24.3 eTendering: A Bidder may withdraw, substitute or modify its Proposal by
Canceling, Editing, and re-submitting the proposal directly in the system.
It is the responsibility of the Bidder to properly follow the system
instructions, duly edit and submit a substitution or modification of the
Proposal as needed. Detailed instructions on how to cancel or modify a
Proposal directly in the system are provided in Bidder User Guide and
Instructional videos.
24.4 Proposals requested to be withdrawn shall be returned unopened to the
Bidders (only for manual submissions), except if the bid is withdrawn
after the bid has been opened

25. Proposal 25.1 There is no public bid opening for RFPs. UNDP shall open the Proposals
Opening in the presence of an ad-hoc committee formed by UNDP, consisting of
at least two (2) members. In the case of e-Tendering submission, bidders
 will receive an automatic notification once their proposal is opened.
EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
26. Confidentiality 26.1 Information relating to the examination, evaluation, and comparison of
Proposals, and the recommendation of contract award, shall not be
disclosed to Bidders or any other persons not officially concerned with
such process, even after publication of the contract award.
26.2 Any effort by a Bidder or anyone on behalf of the Bidder to influence
UNDP in the examination, evaluation and comparison of the Proposals or
contract award decisions may, at UNDP’s decision, result in the rejection
of its Proposal and may be subject to the application of prevailing UNDP’s
vendor sanctions procedures.

27. Evaluation of 27.1 The Bidder is not permitted to alter or modify its Proposal in any way
Proposals after the proposal submission deadline except as permitted under Clause
24 of this RFP. UNDP will conduct the evaluation solely on the basis of
the submitted Technical and Financial Proposals.
27.2 Evaluation of proposals is made of the following steps:
i) Preliminary Examination
j) Minimum Eligibility and Qualification (if pre-qualification is not done)
k) Evaluation of Technical Proposals
l) Evaluation of Financial Proposals

28. Preliminary 28.1 UNDP shall examine the Proposals to determine whether they are
Examination complete with respect to minimum documentary requirements, whether
the documents have been properly signed, and whether the Proposals
are generally in order, among other indicators that may be used at this
stage. UNDP reserves the right to reject any Proposal at this stage.

29. Evaluation of 29.1 Eligibility and Qualification of the Bidder will be evaluated against the
Eligibility and Minimum Eligibility/Qualification requirements specified in the Section 4
Qualification (Evaluation Criteria).
29.2 In general terms, vendors that meet the following criteria may be
considered qualified:
a) They are not included in the UN Security Council 1267/1989
Committee's list of terrorists and terrorist financiers, and in UNDP’s
ineligible vendors’ list;
b) They have a good financial standing and have access to adequate
financial resources to perform the contract and all existing
commercial commitments,
c) They have the necessary similar experience, technical expertise,
production capacity where applicable, quality certifications, quality
assurance procedures and other resources applicable to the
provision of the services required;
d) They are able to comply fully with UNDP General Terms and
Conditions of Contract;
e) They do not have a consistent history of court/arbitral award
 decisions against the Bidder; and
f) They have a record of timely and satisfactory performance with
their clients.

30. Evaluation of 30.1 The evaluation team shall review and evaluate the Technical Proposals
Technical and on the basis of their responsiveness to the Terms of Reference and other
Financial RFP documents, applying the evaluation criteria, sub-criteria, and point
Proposals system specified in the Section 4 (Evaluation Criteria). A Proposal shall be
rendered non-responsive at the technical evaluation stage if it fails to
achieve the minimum technical score indicated in the BDS. When
necessary and if stated in the BDS, UNDP may invite technically
responsive bidders for a presentation related to their technical proposals.
The conditions for the presentation shall be provided in the bid
document where required.
30.2 In the second stage, only the Financial Proposals of those Bidders who
achieve the minimum technical score will be opened for evaluation. The
Financial Proposals corresponding to Technical Proposals that were
rendered non-responsive shall remain unopened, and, in the case of
manual submission, be returned to the Bidder unopened. For emailed
Proposals and e-tendering submissions, UNDP will not request for the
password of the Financial Proposals of bidders whose Technical Proposal
were found not responsive.
30.3 The evaluation method that applies for this RFP shall be as indicated in
the BDS, which may be either of two (2) possible methods, as follows: (a)
the lowest priced method which selects the lowest evaluated financial
proposal of the technically responsive Bidders; or (b) the combined
scoring method which will be based on a combination of the technical
and financial score.
30.4 When the BDS specifies a combined scoring method, the formula for the
rating of the Proposals will be as follows:

Rating the Technical Proposal (TP):

TP Rating = (Total Score Obtained by the Offer / Max. Obtainable Score

for TP) x 100

Rating the Financial Proposal (FP):

FP Rating = (Lowest Priced Offer / Price of the Offer Being Reviewed) x

100

Total Combined Score:

Combined Score = (TP Rating) x (Weight of TP, e.g. 70%) + (FP Rating) x
(Weight of FP, e.g., 30%)

31. Due Diligence 31.1 UNDP reserves the right to undertake a due diligence exercise, also called
post qualification, aimed at determining to its satisfaction, the validity of
the information provided by the Bidder. Such exercise shall be fully
 documented and may include, but need not be limited to, all or any
combination of the following:
a) Verification of accuracy, correctness and authenticity of information
provided by the Bidder;
b) Validation of extent of compliance to the RFP requirements and
evaluation criteria based on what has so far been found by the
evaluation team;
c) Inquiry and reference checking with Government entities with
jurisdiction on the Bidder, or with previous clients, or any other
entity that may have done business with the Bidder;
d) Inquiry and reference checking with previous clients on the
performance on on-going or contracts completed, including physical
inspections of previous works, as necessary;
e) Physical inspection of the Bidder’s offices, branches or other places
where business transpires, with or without notice to the Bidder;
f) Other means that UNDP may deem appropriate, at any stage within
the selection process, prior to awarding the contract.

32. Clarification of 32.1 To assist in the examination, evaluation and comparison of Proposals,
Proposals UNDP may, at its discretion, ask any Bidder for a clarification of its
Proposal.
32.2 UNDP’s request for clarification and the response shall be in writing and
no change in the prices or substance of the Proposal shall be sought,
offered, or permitted, except to provide clarification, and confirm the
correction of any arithmetic errors discovered by UNDP in the evaluation
of the Proposals, in accordance with RFP.
32.3 Any unsolicited clarification submitted by a Bidder in respect to its
Proposal, which is not a response to a request by UNDP, shall not be
considered during the review and evaluation of the Proposals.

33. Responsiveness 33.1 UNDP’s determination of a Proposal’s responsiveness will be based on

of Proposal the contents of the Proposal itself. A substantially responsive Proposal is
one that conforms to all the terms, conditions, TOR and other
requirements of the RFP without material deviation, reservation, or
omission.
33.2 If a Proposal is not substantially responsive, it shall be rejected by UNDP
and may not subsequently be made responsive by the Bidder by
correction of the material deviation, reservation, or omission.

34. Nonconformiti 34.1 Provided that a Proposal is substantially responsive, UNDP may waive any
es, Reparable non-conformities or omissions in the Proposal that, in the opinion of
Errors and UNDP, do not constitute a material deviation.
Omissions
34.2 UNDP may request the Bidder to submit the necessary information or
documentation, within a reasonable period of time, to rectify
nonmaterial nonconformities or omissions in the Proposal related to
documentation requirements. Such omission shall not be related to any
 aspect of the price of the Proposal. Failure of the Bidder to comply with
the request may result in the rejection of its Proposal.
34.3 For Financial Proposal that has been opened, UNDP shall check, and
correct arithmetical errors as follows:
a) if there is a discrepancy between the unit price and the line item
total that is obtained by multiplying the unit price by the quantity,
the unit price shall prevail and the line item total shall be corrected,
unless in the opinion of UNDP there is an obvious misplacement of
the decimal point in the unit price; in which case the line item total
as quoted shall govern and the unit price shall be corrected;
b) if there is an error in a total corresponding to the addition or
subtraction of subtotals, the subtotals shall prevail, and the total
shall be corrected; and
c) if there is a discrepancy between words and figures, the amount in
words shall prevail, unless the amount expressed in words is
related to an arithmetic error, in which case the amount in figures
shall prevail.
34.4 If the Bidder does not accept the correction of errors made by UNDP, its
Proposal shall be rejected.
AWARD OF CONTRACT
35. Right to 35.1 UNDP reserves the right to accept or reject any Proposal, to render any
Accept, Reject, or all of the Proposals as non-responsive, and to reject all Proposals at
Any or All any time prior to award of contract, without incurring any liability, or
Proposals obligation to inform the affected Bidder(s) of the grounds for UNDP’s
action. UNDP shall not be obliged to award the contract to the lowest
priced offer.

36. Award Criteria 36.1 Prior to expiration of the proposal validity, UNDP shall award the contract
to the qualified Bidder based on the award criteria indicated in the BDS.

37. Debriefing 37.1 In the event that a Bidder is unsuccessful, the Bidder may request a
debriefing from UNDP. The purpose of the debriefing is to discuss the
strengths and weaknesses of the Bidder’s submission, in order to assist
the Bidder in improving its future proposals for UNDP procurement
opportunities. The content of other proposals and how they compare to
the Bidder’s submission shall not be discussed.

38. Right to Vary 38.1 At the time of award of Contract, UNDP reserves the right to vary the
Requirements quantity of services and/or goods, by up to a maximum twenty-five per
at the Time of cent (25%) of the total offer, without any change in the unit price or other
Award terms and conditions.

39. Contract 39.1 Within fifteen (15) days from the date of receipt of the Contract, the
Signature successful Bidder shall sign and date the Contract and return it to UNDP.
Failure to do so may constitute enough grounds for the annulment of the
 award, and forfeiture of the Proposal Security, if any, and on which event,
UNDP may award the Contract to the Second Ranked Bidder or call for
new Proposals.

40. Contract Type 40.1 The types of Contract to be signed and the applicable UNDP Contract
and General General Terms and Conditions, as specified in BDS, can be accessed at
Terms and http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/procurement/business/
Conditions how-we-buy.html

41. Performance 41.1 40.1 A performance security, if required in BDS, shall be provided in the
Security amount specified in BDS and form available at
https://popp.undp.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/UND
P_POPP_DOCUMENT_LIBRARY/Public/PSU_Solicitation_Performance%2
0Guarantee%20Form.docx&action=default within fifteen (15) days of
the contract signature by both parties. Where a performance security is
required, the receipt of the performance security by UNDP shall be a
condition for rendering the contract effective.

42. Bank 42.1 Except when the interests of UNDP so require, it is UNDP’s preference to
Guarantee for make no advance payment(s) (i.e., payments without having received any
Advanced outputs). If an advance payment is allowed as per BDS, and exceeds 20%
Payment of the total contract price, or USD 30,000, whichever is less, the Bidder
shall submit a Bank Guarantee in the full amount of the advance payment
in the form available at
https://popp.undp.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/UND
P_POPP_DOCUMENT_LIBRARY/Public/PSU_Contract%20Management%
20Payment%20and%20Taxes_Advanced%20Payment%20Guarantee%2
0Form.docx&action=default

43. Liquidated 43.1 If specified in BDS, UNDP shall apply Liquidated Damages resulting from
Damages the Contractor’s delays or breach of its obligations as per the Contract.

44. Payment 44.1 Payment will be made only upon UNDP's acceptance of the work
Provisions performed. The terms of payment shall be within thirty (30) days, after
receipt of invoice and certification of acceptance of work issued by the
proper authority in UNDP with direct supervision of the Contractor.
Payment will be affected by bank transfer in the currency of contract.

45. Vendor Protest 45.1 UNDP’s vendor protest procedure provides an opportunity for appeal to
those persons or firms not awarded a contract through a competitive
procurement process. In the event that a Bidder believes that it was not
treated fairly, the following link provides further details regarding UNDP
vendor protest procedures:
https://www.undp.org/procurement/business/protest-and-sanctions

46. Other 46.1 In the event that the Bidder offers a lower price to the host Government
Provisions (e.g. General Services Administration (GSA) of the federal government of
the United States of America) for similar services, UNDP shall be entitled
 to same lower price. The UNDP General Terms and Conditions shall have
precedence.
46.2 UNDP is entitled to receive the same pricing offered by the same
Contractor in contracts with the United Nations and/or its Agencies. The
UNDP General Terms and Conditions shall have precedence.
46.3 The United Nations has established restrictions on employment of
(former) UN staff who have been involved in the procurement process as
per bulletin ST/SGB/2006/15
http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=ST/SGB/2006/
15&referer