Overview

This course provides hands-on training in the selection procedures, contractual issues, negotiation techniques and contract management for hiring and supervising consultants for projects funded by the World Bank and other International Financing Institutions (IFIs). The course will also address the broader topic of policy and legal issues related to the hiring of intellectual services: professional liability and conflicts of interest and provisions in the World Bank´s new risk-based Procurement Framework. It will also discuss issues pertaining to environmental, social, and responsible (ESRP) procurement in the context of consulting services as well as analyze how transparency and competition in the selection and contracting of consultants are addressed in the UNCITRAL Model Law and the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA).

Format

The seminars are currently offered both in-person and online simultaneously, at the choice of the participant. This choice must be indicated at the time of registration. A small number of courses are scheduled to be delivered exclusively in person or online, and are indicated as such in the 2024 schedule. In-Person Only seminars usually start at 9:30 am Washington D.C. time. Daily sessions usually end at 4:00 pm. Breaks (including the lunch break) are allocated as appropriate. Online Only seminars will be delivered through five (for 1-week course) or ten (for 2-weeks course) live online sessions via videoconferencing platform. Each session will last approximately 3.5 hours and will be scheduled to start within a time window of 7:00 am – 8:30 am Washington D.C. time. Hybrid In-Person/Online seminars will start at a time most convenient to both in-person and online participants, and will generally follow the In-Person seminar format. We expect the classes to be highly interactive and can include presentations, case studies and exercises.

Course Outline

Overview of Procurement of Consulting Services

• New World Bank Risk-based Procurement Framework
• Consulting services distinguished from goods, works and technical services
• Historical development and evolved practices
• Risks in procurement
• Special features in hiring consultants: preparation of Terms of Reference, cost as a selection factor, burden of professional liability, intellectual property issues, conflicts of interest, ESRP considerations

Typical Consulting Contracts

• Lump-sum, time-based, indefinite delivery, and percentage contracts
• Important contract provisions: payments, liabilities, conflicts of interest, and intellectual property matters

Hiring of Consultants in IFI-funded Projects

• Selection procedures
• Terms of reference, requests for proposal
• Choice of contract
• Evaluation of proposals
• Resolution of complaints
• Fraud and corruption
• Contract negotiations
• Contract management

Case studies and exercises: Preparation of TORs, RFPs, Evaluation of proposals, identification of risks and resolution of cases involving contract management issues, conflicts of interest and fraudulent and corrupt practices.

Course Advisor

Sabine Engelhard is a lawyer specialized in procurement whose career focus has been in international development, capacity building and governance-related issues. She held various senior positions at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). She also worked at the World Bank, with a prominent international law firm, and headed the Washington office of an international consulting firm. Sabine has been involved in high-profile initiatives with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), to strengthen country procurement governance. Today Ms. Engelhard consults for different international organizations. She is an independent expert with the United Nations (UN) Award-Review Board, advising on procurement challenges resolution. She is a course advisor and a lecturer at the International Law Institute (ILI) in Washington DC, and lectures in the Procurement Master’s Program of the International Training Center of the International Labour Organization (ITC/ILO) in Turin, Italy. She holds master-level and post-graduate degrees in Law, International Relations, and European Studies.