The world of today and tomorrow

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Capacity building
0.1
CAPACITY BUILDING OF LOCAL CONSULTING
FIRMS Eigil Steen Pedersen
BIMILACI 2001
Biennial Meeting of the Lending Agencies and the
Consulting Industry Washington DC, 17-18 May 2001
INFORMATION
Contact FIDIC Secretariat for information Text
available at www.fidic.org
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Capacity building
0.2
THE WORLD OF TODAY AND TOMORROW
In the Information Age knowledge is power. Each
nations primary assets will be its citizens
skills and insights, and the jobs of the
future will be knowledge based jobs.
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Capacity building
0.3
FIDIC recommends the following initiatives

• 1. Capacity Benchmarking System for the CE
  industry
• 2. Supporting Initiatives at Government level
• 3. Review of IFI Procurement Policies
• 4. Management Training
• 5. Integrity Management

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Capacity building
1.1
Capacity Benchmarking

• Problem Lack of visibility
• Solution Information on
• - capabilities, references
• - staff skills, experience, number
• - facilities
• - ownership, financial background etc.

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Capacity building
1.2
Capacity Benchmarking

• at Individual Firm Levela tool to enhance skills
  in individual firms
• at National Levela tool to assess the total
  consulting capacity of individual countries

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Capacity building
1.3
Capacity Benchmarking

• at Firm Level
• - National operating environment
• - Financial performance
• - balance sheet
• - operating results
• -Staff performance
• -Services

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Capacity building
1.4
Capacity Benchmarking

• at National Industry Level
• - Same generic indicators as for individual firms
• - Reporting at four levels
• - firm
• - association
• - national industry sector
• - country
• with a total of 16-18 indicators

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Capacity building
1.5
Capacity Benchmarking
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Capacity building
1.6
Capacity Benchmarking

• National Capacity Index
• - pilot project since 1999 together with French
  Member Association
• - accessible at
• http//www.FIDIC.org/annualsurvey

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Capacity building
2.0
Recommended Government Initiatives

• - Policy Initiatives
• - Financial Initiatives
• - Legislative Actions

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Capacity building
2.1.1
Recommended Government Initiatives
Policy Initiatives

• a) Declare strong government support for the
  consulting engineering industry through its
  established industry association.
• b) Establish strong, high level liaison contacts
  with the industry through its industry
  association.
• c) Declare a public policy for enhanced national
  consulting engineering firm participation in
  domestic and IFI funded projects.

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Capacity building
2.1.2
Recommended Government Initiatives
Policy Initiatives

• d) Cooperate with the national consulting
  engineering industry association to develop an
  understanding of expected government
  requirements.
• e) Promote excellence in education of
  engineers, technicians, and allied
  professionals.
• f) Minimize the use of in-house government
  engineering units.
• g) Recognize only those consulting engineering
  firms that operate competitively in the
  private sector marketplace.

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Capacity building
2.2
Recommended Government Initiatives
Financial Initiatives

• Development fund for expansion of the consulting
  industry.
• Attract venture capital for technological
  innovation.
• Support for education.
• Support for technology transfer - contracts for
  engineering services in LDC's

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Capacity building
2.3
Recommended Government Initiatives
Legislative Actions

• a) Recognize individual engineering
  professionals through legislation
• b) Recognize through legislation consulting
  engineering as a special self-governing area
  of practice with well defined admission
  criteria
• c) Create a legislative environment in which a
  professional liability insurance industry can
  operate successfully
• d) Establish tax laws and related policies that
  will stimulate growth

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Capacity building
3.1
IFIs Procurement Policies

• FIDIC has reviewed the Procurement Guidelines of
• - The World Bank
• - Asian Development Bank
• - African Development Bank and -Fund

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Capacity building
3.2
IFIs Procurement Policies
Recommended Improvements

• Transparency of the consultant selection process
• Encouragement of meaningful participation of
  developing country consulting firms in projects
• Contractual terms that disproportionally affect
  developing country consulting firms

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Capacity building
3.3.1
IFIs Procurement Policies
Transparency of the Consultant Selection Process

• a) FIDIC recommends that the guidelines
• i) Ensure that the scope of work of each
  assignment is clearly defined
• ii) Ensure that quality standards on all
  projects are clearly defined and rigorously
  enforced
• iii) Caution borrowers on the use of QCBS for
  projects of "intermediate complexity"

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Capacity building
3.3.2
IFIs Procurement Policies
Transparency of the Consultant Selection Process

• b) FIDIC believes that consultants should have
  the right to an open debriefing following a
  proposal competition
• c) FIDIC recommends that the Guidelines require
  disclosure before proposal submission of the
  detailed rating system to be used

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Capacity building
3.4
IFIs Procurement Policies
Encouragement of Meaningful Participation of
Developing Country Consulting Firms

• a) Encouraging the use of consulting firms,
  not individuals
• b) Clarifying eligibility of developing country
  firms for preferential treatment
• c) Avoiding price competition between private
  sector consulting firms and government-owned
  enterprises and NGO's

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Capacity building
3.5
IFIs Procurement Policies
Contract Terms Disproportionately Affecting
Developing Country Consulting Firms

• Contract terms to minimize negative effects from
• Prolonged waiting periods for payment,
  especially if operating as a subconsultant
• Payment in local currency in the absence of
  protection against cost escalation and
  currency devaluation
• Inability to acquire new technology due to
  shortage of capital

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Capacity building
4
Management Training

• Re-issue of the World Bank Manual in an
  updated version
• Establishing a global network between
  professionals in the individual LDCs
• Focus on training the trainers
• Stimulate bi- and/or multilateral financial
  support for this programme

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