Who Should Attend
Accounting Officers, Procurement/Supply, Chain Managers, Tender Committee members, Bid Evaluation Committee members, Bid Adjudication Committee members, Project Directors, Permanent Secretaries/Directors, Finance Managers, Internal Audit, Legal and compliance officers
WEEK 1 — PROCUREMENT & TENDER GOVERNANCE
Day 1 — Understanding Major Project Procurement
- Procurement fundamentals
- Procurement versus strategic procurement
- Procurement life cycle
- Public procurement versus donor-funded procurement
- Procurement principles
- Transparency
- Competition
- Fairness
- Integrity
- Accountability
- Value for money
- Risk-based procurement
A particularly important contemporary theme is Value for Money (VfM). AfDB’s 2026 framework specifically addresses VfM in MDB-financed infrastructure procurement.
Day 2 — Procurement Planning & Tender Strategy
Participants learn how to develop:
- Procurement plans
- Procurement strategies
- Procurement schedules
- Market analysis
- Procurement methods
- Tender packaging
- Lotting strategies
- Prequalification
- Expression of Interest
- Request for Proposal
- Request for Bids
- Single-source procurement
- Competitive procurement
We introduce the Project Procurement Strategy for Development (PPSD) concept used in World Bank-financed projects. The World Bank currently provides PPSD and procurement-regulation resources for borrowers.
Day 3 — Preparing the Tender
Participants examine:
Tender documentation
- Terms of Reference
- Scope of Work
- Technical specifications
- Employer’s requirements
- Bills of quantities
- Pricing schedules
- Conditions of contract
- Qualification requirements
- Evaluation criteria
- Mandatory requirements
- Rated criteria
- Financial requirements
We use actual-style tender documentation rather than lecture notes.
Day 4 — Tender Evaluation
This is one of the most commercially valuable components.
Participants learn:
- Administrative compliance
- Preliminary examination
- Mandatory requirements
- Technical evaluation
- Financial evaluation
- Qualification assessment
- Evaluation methodology
- Weighted scoring
- Rated criteria
- Pass/fail criteria
- Clarifications
- Abnormally low bids
- Arithmetic errors
- Alternative bids
- Conflicts of interest
- Evaluation consensus
The World Bank currently provides specific resources around rated criteria, making this an important modern component of the course.
Day 5 — Tender Committee Governance
Now we move from technical evaluation to decision governance.
Topics:
- Roles and responsibilities of committee members
- Separation of duties
- Committee quorum
- Declaration of interests
- Confidentiality
- Conflict of interest
- Committee deliberations
- Decision-making
- Minutes
- Audit trail
- Recommendations
- Approval authority
- Handling disagreements
- Managing external influence
This is particularly important because tender committee members must be able to demonstrate why a decision was made, not simply what decision was made.
WEEK 2 — DONOR-FUNDED & COMPLEX PROCUREMENT
Day 6 — Donor-Funded Procurement
We introduce the major development-finance environment:
- World Bank
- African Development Bank
- Other MDBs
- UN procurement
- Bilateral donors
- Development agencies
- Grant-funded programs
Participants learn why donor-funded procurement can differ from ordinary national procurement.
The AfDB, for example, requires procurement under Bank-financed projects to follow the applicable Procurement Framework and provides standard bidding documents for borrowers.
We also introduce the UN Procurement Practitioner’s Handbook as a reference for strategic procurement practice.
Day 7 — Evaluating Large & Complex Projects
This is where we differentiate ourself as a training service provider
Focus on:
- Infrastructure projects
- EPC contracts
- Design & Build
- Engineering services
- Construction
- ICT projects
- Energy projects
- Mining projects
- Transport projects
- Water projects
- Health infrastructure
Participants examine complex procurement scenarios, rather than only purchasing goods.
Day 8 — Contract Award & Contract Management
A tender does not end when the committee selects the winner.
Topics:
- Notice of award
- Contract negotiations
- Standstill/complaint considerations where applicable
- Contract signing
- Performance security
- Advance payment
- Mobilization
- Variations
- Change orders
- Extensions
- Claims
- Liquidated damages
- Performance management
- Contract close-out
Day 9 — Procurement Risk, Fraud & Ethics
This should be our major differentiator.
Procurement risks
- Bid rigging
- Collusion
- Conflict of interest
- Fraud
- Corruption
- Insider information
- Bid manipulation
- Specification manipulation
- Unfair evaluation
- Undue influence
- False documentation
- Splitting of contracts
- Poor record keeping
Participants learn how to identify red flags and how committee members should respond.
Day 10 — MASTER TENDER COMMITTEE SIMULATION