Information exchange and feedback from the bidders A feedback period can be considered after the first stage of tendering. In this
stage, many countries allow further exchange of information between the bidders
and the implementing agency within a specified time period mentioned in the RFP.
The bidders may request any clarification in this period. The main purpose of this
stage is to ensure that all intending bidders have the same understanding about the
project. The information exchange serves three important purposes.
• It helps the prequalified bidders better understand the terms and
conditions of the contract and undertake due diligence, and thus better
decide whether to participate in the final stage.
• It allows the government to amend the terms and conditions of the
intended contract in order to make it more robust and viable considering
the feedback from the contesting bidders.
• It allows the government to clarify any issues raised by the bidders.
The bidders with highest evaluations are asked to submit comprehensive
proposals in the second stage. In some countries, for some projects (such as a large
housing project or a community/cultural facility) at the end of the 1
st
round the
bidders are required to submit a draft proposal with conceptual designs for scrutiny
by the stakeholders. For this purpose, a public participation process is designed as
an in-built mechanism of the procurement process. The preliminarily selected
bidders are then asked to submit their final bids with greater details of their
conceptual design and the basic proposal. This process helps to avoid costly design
exercise by the bidders at the outset which may in fact limit competition.
Finalization and Issuance of final tender: Second stage of tendering Considering the feedback received from the first round of selected bidders,
the implementing agency may like to amend the tender document at the end of the
information exchange and market feedback period. If any such amendment is carried
out, the same is made known to all the bidders well in advance of the closing date.
The whole process may take several months depending on the complexity of the
project.
