| Generally a feedback period is allowed after the first stage of tendering. In this stage many countries allow further exchange of information between the bidders and the government 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 and common level of understanding about the project. The information exchange within a stipulated time frame serves three important purposes. | Why information exchange is needed |
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• 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 of conditions of the intended contract in order to make it more robust and viable considering the feedback from the prequalified 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 1st round the bidders are required to submit a draft proposal with conceptual designs for scrutiny by 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.