Japan
International
Cooperation
SystemJICS GUIDELINESFOR
THE PROCUREMENTOF
CONSULTANT SERVICESAPRIL 2012
JAPAN INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION SYSTEM

Part Ⅰ Basic Principles .................................................................................................... 3
Section 1.01
Application............................................................................................ 3
Section 1.02
Purpose.................................................................................................. 3
Section 1.03
Need for Services Procurement of a Consultant ................................... 3
Part Ⅱ Consulting Services .............................................................................................. 4
Section 2.01
Services of a Consultant........................................................................ 4
Section 2.02
Responsibilities of a Consultant............................................................ 4
Section 2.03 Fairness and Impartiality of a Consultant ............................................. 4
Section 2.04
Misprocurement .................................................................................... 5
Part Ⅲ Selection Procedures ............................................................................................ 6
Section 3.01
Rules for Selection of a Consultant ...................................................... 6
Section 3.02 Establishment of a Consultant Selection Committee............................ 6
Section 3.03 Selection Procedures............................................................................. 6
Section 3.04 Selection of a Specific Consultant ........................................................ 6
Section 3.05 Evaluation by the Committee................................................................ 7
Section 3.06 Preparation of Terms of Reference ....................................................... 7
Section 3.07
Public Announcement for Submission of Proposals............................. 8
Section 3.08
Prequalification ..................................................................................... 8
Section 3.09 Preparation of a Short List of Consultants for Submission of Proposals ......... 8
Section 3.10
Preparation of Letter of Invitation ........................................................ 9
Section 3.11
Sending a Letter of Invitation to Consultants ....................................... 9
Section 3.12
Submission of Proposals ....................................................................... 9
Section 3.13
Evaluation of Proposals ...................................................................... 10
Section 3.14
Ranking of Proposals for Contract Negotiation.................................. 10
Section 3.15
Contract Negotiations ......................................................................... 11
Section 3.16 Informing Unsuccessful Consultants .................................................. 11
Section 3.17
Announcement of the Result of the Contract...................................... 11Part Ⅳ Contract .............................................................................................................. 12
Section 4.01
General................................................................................................ 12
Section 4.02
Contract............................................................................................... 12Part Ⅴ Supervision of Consulting Services.................................................................... 14
Section 5.01 Supervision of Consulting Services .................................................... 14
Section 5.02 Examination of Consulting Services................................................... 142

Part Ⅰ Basic Principles
Section 1.01

Application“JICS Consultant Services Procurement Guideline” is applicable to contracts
which the Japan International Cooperation System (hereinafter referred to as“JICS”) concludes for employment of a consultant on behalf of the governmentof the recipient country in implementation of the projects stipulated in Article
4 of “The Articles of Incorporation of Japan International Cooperation System(JICS)” with persons or juridical persons (including universities, NGOs, andothers) with expertise and experience regarding grant aid projects utilizing
funds provided for recipient countries (hereinafter referred to as“Consultants”, including candidates for the selection of Consultants as thecontext requires). In this Guideline, the “Contract” refers to any suchcontract. This Guideline shall be applied except in the case where guidelines
issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan or other institutions
prevail.

Section 1.02

PurposeThe purpose of this Guideline is to set forth the general rules to be followed by
JICS when JICS requires the services procurement of a Consultant for the
implementation of a project. The general rules are stipulated for the proper
selection of a Consultant and the full utilization of his/her expertise, as well as
ensuring the impartiality of the same.

Section 1.03

Need for Services Procurement of a Consultant

A recipient country (the government or the executing agency of the recipient
country) and JICS will retain a Consultant in cases where the recipient
country and JICS agree on the need to retain a Consultant, for the efficientand proper preparation and implementation of a project.

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Part Ⅱ Consulting Services
Section 2.01

Services of a Consultant

The services of a Consultant comprise the services related to the following as
to the preparation and implementation of a project:(1) Studies for planning a project;(2) Studies and designing;(3) Procedures for procurement and construction work;(4) Supervision of procurement and construction work;(5) Monitoring after procurement or construction is completed; and(6) Others if necessary.

Section 2.02

Responsibilities of a Consultant

1

JICS shall ensure that a Consultant is at all times to exercise allreasonable skill, care and diligence in the discharge of their duties, and to
be responsible for the quality and performance of his/her work.

2

JICS shall have a Consultant act as a faithful adviser to JICS on
professional matters.

Section 2.03

Fairness and Impartiality of a Consultant

1

JICS shall request the Consultant that the goods and services used for a
project are suitable and their costs are reasonable, and JICS shall also
request the Consultant that designs and specifications of such project in noway limit competition, and that the Consultant on a project managed by
JICS shall be fair and impartial to all the parties concerned in thecompetition.

2

JICS shall disqualify a Consultant and any of his/her
associates/affiliates (inclusive of parent firms) from working in any othercapacity on the same project, other than in the continuation of theConsultant's earlier consulting services as further described in Section
3.04.

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Section 2.04

Misprocurement

1

JICS shall request that a Consultant observes the highest standards of
ethics in providing services for a project financed by Japan’s Official
Development Assistance (ODA).

2JICS shall not conclude a Contract with a Consultant who is deemed to
be engaged, or have been engaged, in fraudulent or corrupt practices in
ODA projects.

5Part Ⅲ Selection Procedures
Section 3.01

Rules for Selection of a Consultant

JICS sets forth the proper rules for selection of a Consultant for entering intoa Contract for a project, for which qualifications such as special knowledge
and expertise are essential, taking into consideration the competence of theConsultant and the costs needed for the performance of the services.

Section 3.02
Committee

Establishment of a Consultant Selection

JICS shall establish a consultant selection committee (hereinafter referred toas the “Committee”), comprised of three or more members, for selection of a
Consultant.

Section 3.03

Selection Procedures

Procedures for selecting a Consultant for the contact party are, as a rule, as
follows:(1) Preparation of terms of reference;(2) Public announcement for invitation to submit proposals (technicalproposals);(3) Prequalification;(4) Preparation of a short list of consultants to submit proposals;(5) Invitation to submit proposals;(6) Evaluation of proposals;(7) Contract negotiation; and(8) Award and conclusion of a Contract.

Section 3.04

Selection of a Specific Consultant

JICS may select a Specific Consultant for the contact party after evaluationby the Committee, without going through the procedures specified in Section
3.03, in any of the following cases:(1) Where a candidate Consultant has a special intellectual property such as a
copyright or an industrial property right which is necessary for the
implementation of consulting services.

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(2) Where it extends the services procurement of a Consultant who has beenretained, through the stipulated selection procedures, for the provision ofcertain services, in the event that it requires a further period to implement
the whole process of the services under the Contract with such Consultant.
(3) Where it is necessary that a Consultant cooperates successively for the
projects of the related parties and the related parties recommend such
Consultant who has participated in the said project for the contract party.
(4) Where there is a special reason such as a need for emergency procurement.

Section 3.05

Evaluation by the Committee

JICS shall have the Committee evaluate the following items for selection of a
Consultant for the contract party:(1) Consultant selection method;(2) Terms of reference;(3) Public announcement;(4) Prequalification;(5) Evaluation method of proposals;(6) Presentation by Consultants on their proposals;(7) Preparation of a short list of Consultants for submission of proposals;(8) Proposal evaluation and priority ranking for contract negotiation; and(9) Others if necessary.

Section 3.06

Preparation of Terms of Reference

The terms of reference presented to Consultants shall describe the following.
(1) Contents of the consulting services such as the background, purpose,target area, scope of the consulting services, procedures for preparation ofreports, and others;(2) Conditions under which the consulting services shall be performed such asprocess, estimated quantity of services, convenience provided by the target
country, list of materials to be rented, and others;(3) Evaluation method of proposals;(4) Method of submission of estimated prices and the basis for estimation; and(5) Others (procedures for submission of proposals, contract procedures, noticefor submission of proposals in cases where it is deemed necessary to invitepresentation of proposals from Consultants according to Section 3.05 (6)).

7Section 3.07

Public Announcement for Submission of Proposals

To commence the selection procedures, JICS shall post a publicannouncement as regards information on such matters as the name of the
project, the outline of the project, qualifications of the Consultant, the method
for submitting a Letter of Intent, etc. To post the announcement, JICS shall
pay due attention to establishing an adequate interval between theannouncement and the deadline for submission of proposals and also to utilize
proper media to reach prospective Consultant candidates.

Section 3.08

Prequalification

JICS is entitled to prequalify certain Consultants who have submitted a
Letter of Intent, according to the public announcement stipulated in Section
3.07 and are registered in a list of prospective Consultants. Prequalification
shall be conducted to examine whether such Consultants have the capability
and resources to perform the Contract taking into account, inter alia, thefollowing:(1) Their experience of and past performance on similar projects;(2) Their capabilities with respect to human resources; and(3) Their financial position.

Section 3.09
Preparation of a Short List of Consultants for
Submission of Proposals
1

JICS shall register the said Consultants on a short list of Consultantsfor submission of proposals after conducting Prequalification as stipulated
in Section 3.08.

2

Provided that the Committee deems it necessary, JICS may, without
following the procedures of public announcement of the project, appoint
Consultants who are regarded as appropriate and register them on a shortlist of Consultants for submission of proposals considering the following
criteria as a whole:(1) Technical capabilities for implementation of the project, such as
knowledge, experience, and skill;(2) Experience of project execution in or near the country concerned, orsimilar countries;(3) Experience of projects similar to the project concerned; and(4) Financial position and credit status.

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3

As a rule, not less than three Consultants shall be registered on a Short
List of Consultants for submission of proposals.

Section 3.10

Preparation of Letter of Invitation

1

The following items shall be mentioned in the letter of invitation tosubmit proposals:(1) Items stipulated in the terms of reference;(2) The selection of a Consultant to be invited to negotiate a Contract will
be made on the basis of evaluation of competence of the firms and thequality of their proposals regarding approach and methodology, as wellas any information on the estimated cost or financial terms of theirservices; and(3) The details of the selection procedure to be followed, including thetechnical evaluation categories and an indication of the weight to be
distributed to each of the technical evaluation categories andestimated cost.

2

The invitation shall allow an adequate interval for preparing a proposal
from the date of the actual mailing of the letter of invitation to thedeadline for submission of proposals.

3

The letter of invitation shall also request Consultants to notify JICS
within a specified time whether or not they intend to submit proposals.

Section 3.11

Sending a Letter of Invitation to Consultants

After preparing a short list, a letter of invitation and the terms of reference inaccordance with the provisions of the foregoing sections, JICS shall invite all
the Consultants on the short list to submit proposals by mailing to each ofthem the letter of invitation with the terms of reference attached to it.

Section 3.12

Submission of Proposals

1
JICS shall ensure that proposals to be submitted by Consultants
mention, but are not limited to, the following matters:(1) Experience and capabilities of the Consultant
Past performance, experience of similar projects, experience of project
execution in or near the country concerned, or similar countries,
information on the project, technical staff information, financial position

9and other information serving as a reference for implementation of theservices;(2) Policy for implementation of the services
Basic policy for implementation of the services, method for
implementation of the services, work plan, staffing plan, contents of thework assigned to each staff member (domestic and overseas), support
system, and equipment necessary for on-site service;(3) Experience and capabilities of the staff members to be assigned to thework
Each staff member’s experience of similar projects, experience ofoverseas studies, experience of project execution in or near the country
concerned, or similar countries, familiarity with the language required,education, diploma, and qualification. As for a responsible person,
experience and capability as the responsible person are required; and(4) Estimated price and the calculation thereof.
2

Consultants shall submit their proposals attaching the documents
stated in the foregoing paragraphs from (1) through (3), and the document
stated in (4) separately put in the envelopes that are then properly sealed.
A Consultant may modify or withdraw the whole or part of his/her proposal
before the deadline for submission of proposals.

3

JICS shall not receive more than one proposal from a single Consultant.

Section 3.13

Evaluation of Proposals

Evaluation of proposals shall be carried out according to the documents statedin the foregoing paragraphs from (1) through (3), technical aspects; and (4),estimated price. In this case, evaluation of proposals shall be carried out
based on the weight distribution of technical evaluation points and priceevaluation points, which is otherwise stipulated.

Section 3.14

Ranking of Proposals for Contract Negotiation

JICS shall evaluate received proposals according to a stipulated method toestablish a priority ranking order for contract negotiation starting from the
proposal which obtained the highest evaluation points to the one with thelowest.

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Section 3.15
1

Contract Negotiations

JICS shall enter into negotiations with the highest-ranked Consultant
on a Contract amount and other necessary matters to conclude a Contract
within the stipulated period.

2

In contract negotiations, the Contract amount shall be reasonable inlight of the contents of the services and the terms of validity of the offeredprice shall be properly set.
3
If the two parties are unable to reach agreement on a Contract within areasonable period of time, JICS shall terminate the negotiations with thefirst Consultant and invite the Consultant who ranked second in theevaluation to enter into contract negotiations. This procedure shall befollowed until an agreement is reached.

Section 3.16

Informing Unsuccessful Consultants

Promptly after completion of negotiations with the selected Consultant, JICS
shall notify those Consultants who submitted proposals but were not selectedthat they have been unsuccessful.

Section 3.17

Announcement of the Result of the Contract

After concluding a Contract with the selected Consultant, upon obtaining
approval by the donor of the grant, JICS may announce the outline of the
project (its name and purpose of the services etc.), the name of the contracted
party, the date of conclusion, the Contract amount and other matters if
necessary.

11Part Ⅳ

Contract

Section 4.01

GeneralThe Contract between JICS and the Consultant shall be prepared in suchdetail as to adequately protect the interests of each party to the Contract.

Section 4.02

Contract

The Contract shall describe the clauses outlined below.
(1) Scope of the project and the consulting services
The Contract shall describe the scope of the project and of the consulting
services to be rendered by the Consultant.
(2) Duration of the Contract
The Contract shall specify the dates for the beginning and the completionof the Consultant's services.
(3) Responsibilities of the parties
The Contract shall clearly state the responsibilities of JICS and of theConsultant and the relationship between them. In the case where theConsultant is a joint venture, the scope of responsibilities among member
companies shall also be stated.
(4) Contract amountThe Contract shall state clearly the total amount to be paid to theConsultant.
(5) Description of contract amountThe Contract shall describe the costs necessary for the fulfillment of theconsulting services.
(6) Conditions of payment
The Contract shall specify the conditions of payment such as the scheduleand methods of payment. In the case where an advance payment isallowed, the Contract shall specify an advance payment bond.
(7) Performance bond
JICS is entitled to collect a performance bond or other performance
security in order to guarantee a faithful performance and completion of
the Contract. When the Contract is completed, the performance bond orother performance security shall be immediately returned to theConsultant.
(8) Ownership and disposal of equipment
The Contract shall describe the ownership of equipment to be procured,and the manner of disposal of any equipment remaining after the services
have been completed.
(9) Privileges and immunities of the Consultant
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The Contract shall describe clearly what privileges and immunities theConsultant will be accorded, especially as regards visas and work permits,
corporate and personal income taxes and other dues, customs duties, etc.
(10) Reports
The Contract shall specify the scope, number, type (reports such asmonthly reports and overall reports) and frequency of the reports to besubmitted by the Consultant to JICS.
(11) Confidentiality
The Consultant shall not disclose confidential information obtained
during the term of the Contract and thereafter.
(12) Protection of personal information
The Consultant shall not disclose personal information obtained during
the term of the Contract and thereafter.
(13) Copyright
JICS shall retain copyrights in all drawings, specifications and otherdocuments prepared by the Consultant under the Contract.
(14) Force majeure
The Contract shall clearly establish JICS’s and the Consultant's rights
and obligations under the conditions of force majeure, and the procedures
to be followed by the Consultant regarding determination and notificationof any such conditions.
(15) Examination by JICS
JICS shall examine whether the project is completed in accordance with
the Contract or other related documents.
(16) Settlement of disputes
The Contract shall describe the procedures to be followed in the event of adispute arising between the parties in connection with the Contract.
(17) Cancellation of the Contract
The Contract shall describe the conditions and procedures to be taken forcancellation of the Contract.
(18) Applicable laws
The Contract shall specify the law which governs the Contract between
the parties.
(19) Language
The Contract shall be prepared in English. If another language is used in
the Contract, a full English text shall be incorporated in the Contract andit shall be clearly stipulated that such language governs.

13Part Ⅴ

Supervision of Consulting Services

Section 5.01

Supervision of Consulting Services

1

JICS shall supervise the consulting services, through close
communication with the parties concerned during the contract period, tomake sure that the consulting services stipulated in the Contract areproperly executed.

2
JICS shall request the Consultant to submit reports such as monthly
reports and overall reports.

Section 5.02

Examination of Consulting Services

JICS shall conduct the following examination within the scope stipulated in
the Contract:(1) Confirmation of completion of the services as described in the Contract orother relevant documents;(2) Confirmation of delivery period, delivery site, quantity and other things
based on the Contract or other relevant documents; and(3) Other things if necessary.

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