Dear Concerned, 

We are writing on behalf of Oxford Policy Management (OPM) in regard to the "RFP FOR TPV, PERFORMANCE AUDIT, MONITORING AND VERIFICATION OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES & TRACER RESEARCH UNDER THE INITIATIVE OF ‘REVAMPING IT INDUSTRY LANDSCAPE"(Ref: P93043).

We would kindly request clarification on the following points to enable us to prepare a fully compliant proposal.

1. Bid Security vs. Bid Securing Declaration

The Procurement Notice (Section 4) states that bid security may be submitted in the form of "Pay Order, Demand Draft or Bid Securing Declaration." BDS Clause 12 (ITB 8.1 & 8.2) specifies the Bid Security shall be in the form of "Pay Order, Demand Draft" only, while ITB 7.1 separately states the bid must contain a bid security or bid securing declaration "as a complementary bid securing instrument." Kindly confirm whether bidders have the option to submit a Bid Securing Declaration in lieu of a Pay Order/Demand Draft, whether both instruments are required together, or whether a Pay Order/Demand Draft of PKR 1,500,000 alone is sufficient.

2. Acceptable Instrument Type - Cheque

Please confirm whether a crossed/certified cheque would be accepted as an alternative to a Pay Order or Demand Draft for the bid security, or whether only Pay Order/Demand Draft instruments will be accepted as stated in BDS Clause 12.

3. Return/Release of Bid Security

Kindly confirm the timeline and procedure for return of the bid security instrument (Pay Order/Demand Draft) to (a) unsuccessful bidders, and (b) the successful bidder following contract signing and furnishing of the performance guarantee.

4. Minimum Key Experts' Time Input

BDS Clause 8 (ITB 10.2) leaves the minimum required Key Experts' time-input (in person-months) blank. Please confirm the minimum time-input requirement, if any, so proposals can be evaluated on a consistent basis.

5. Terms of Reference - Specifications/Requirements

The TORs section (pages 29-31) lists each deliverable/position but leaves the "Specifications/Requirements" field blank against each. Can you please provide the detailed technical specifications and requirements for each deliverable, or confirm that the Required Services and Objectives/Scope of Work sections constitute the complete specification.

6. Special Conditions of Contract - Incomplete Fields

Several SCC clauses appear to be template placeholders that were not completed in the published document, specifically:

 a) GCC 11.1 - Effectiveness conditions and the time period for termination if the contract fails to become effective;

 b) GCC 13.1 - Number of days after the Effective Date within which Services must commence;

 c) GCC 14.1 - Contract expiration period (noting BDS refers to a 2-year tenure - please confirm this);

 d) GCC 24.1 - Minimum professional liability insurance coverage amount;

 e) GCC 42.2 - Contract payment ceiling amount(s) in local currency;

 f) GCC 46.1(a) - Advance payment percentage/amount and associated bank guarantee requirements, if any;

 g) GCC 47.1 - Applicable annual interest rate for delayed payments.

Kindly confirm the applicable values for the above or advise if these will be finalized at the negotiation stage.

7. Sector Relevance - Evaluation Criterion

Under the Evaluation Criteria (Sector Relevance: IT/ITeS, TVET, Skills, Employability, Workforce Development, Labour Market or Public Sector Programme Evaluation), please confirm whether general labour market/tracer/TPV/TPM assignments outside the IT/ITeS sector (e.g., in TVET, skills development, or public-sector programme evaluation more broadly) qualify fully for these marks, or whether IT/ITeS-specific experience is weighted differently within this criterion.

8. Arithmetic Correction - Blacklisting Trigger

The Bid Securing Declaration lists "disagreement to arithmetical correction made to the Bid price" as a ground for blacklisting/debarment. Please clarify the process by which a bidder may formally raise a good-faith objection to a computational correction without triggering this consequence.

Thank you for your consideration and support.