For procurements that include a pre-qualification stage, the procurement process is officially launched when the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is issued. The RFQ typically includes enough information on the project for potential bidders to decide whether they are interested, and information on how the project will be procured. It should also clearly set out the process and requirements for the qualification process.
Information on the project at this stage could include an overview of technical and service requirements, key commercial terms (although not typically a draft contract), and a list of the further information that will be made available at the procurement stage. Information on the qualification process typically includes the qualification criteria (see Box 3.12: Firm Qualification Criteria), the information required from firms and the format in which that information should be presented, and the timeline and process for evaluation. The following resources describe further the typical content of RFQ documents:
• South Africa PPP Manual procurement module [#219, pages 23-24] outlines the content of the RFQ document. This includes information about the project, procurement processes, instructions to respondents, information required about bidders, and the evaluation process
• Singapore's PPP Handbook [#216, pages 56-60] lists RFQ contents, highlighting that it is not required to include the draft contract at this stage
• Australia's National PPP Practitioners' Guide [#16] calls the RFQ Expressions of Interest (EoI). Pages 11-14 list the content that Request for EoIs should include-background, project scope and timetable, financial and commercial information, evaluation criteria, general terms and conditions, and EoI response requirements
• The World Bank's toolkit for concessions in highways [#282] section on "prequalification" describes the information that should be included in the RFQ, and the information that should be requested from companies.
The following provide model, or example RFQ documents:
• India Planning Commission Guidelines for PPPs: Pre-Qualification of Bidders [#147] includes a model RFQ, as well as guidance on the steps of a qualification process
• World Bank Sample Bidding Documents for Management Contracts [#278] include a sample RFQ
• The World Bank PPP in Infrastructure Resource Center website [#286] includes a page on 'Procurement Processes and Standardized Bidding Documents' available at http://ppp.worldbank.org/ public-private-partnership/content/procurement-processes-and-standardized-bidding-documents, with a link to a draft standard RFQ for Power Purchase Agreements, as well as links to actual bidding documents, including RFQs.
Some governments require approval of the RFQ documents, before issuing the procurement notice as described in Section 3.5.2: Marketing the PPP. The procurement notice typically advises companies on how to obtain the RFQ package. Governments may also alert investors directly that the RFQ package is available.