Doing business with DfID: A procurement process guide

After tightening its criteria for awarding grants, the U.K. Department for International Development last year released a code of conduct for implementing partners, which, among other things, underscores the donor country’s emphasis on achieving value for money. The United Kingdom has pledged to bring foreign aid spending to 0.7 percent of gross national income by 2015, a promise U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne renewed recently in his 2014 budget statement to the Parliament. This means the donor country is likely to spend as much as 12 million pounds ($19.8 million) in official development assistance this year. The more stringent procurement policies were implemented partly to assuage public outcry over foreign aid spending — and DfID’s ring-fenced budget — amid a weak domestic economy but also to respond to internal and independent reviews over DfID’s use of technical experts. On top of these changes, U.K. Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening has said that all contracts worth more than 1 million pounds must go to her for review and approval. But despite the stricter guidelines, the basic procurement process at DfID has remained essentially the same. The process generally starts once DfID publishes prior information notices that outline contract details and requirements. All firms that submit bids are evaluated on the basis of their financial standing, and technical and professional capability. In assessing a consulting firm’s financial standing, DfID may require the company to submit documents such as proof of professional risk indemnity insurance, statements of accounts, three-year financial statement and turnover relating to works, goods or services that are of relevance to the contract it is applying for. In evaluating a candidate’s technical and professional capability, depending on the nature of the contract, DfID may require the bidding firm to submit a list of work it has carried out over the past five years, a statement of goods sold over the past three years and a statement detailing services that it can provide. The infographic below provides a basic guide to DfID’s procurement process. Read more: ▪ Top DfID private sector implementers: A primer ▪ Top DfID NGO partners: A primer Join the Devex community and access more in-depth analysis, breaking news and business advice — and a host of other services — on international development, humanitarian aid and global health.