The public entity might find it useful to hire consultants to help with selecting the private partner for the project, carrying out the feasibility studies, project structuring, bid documentation, bid process management, and post award contract management. An indicative list of consultants to be engaged would include market study consultant(s), technical consultant(s) for carrying out technical feasibility studies, finance experts for undertaking financial feasibility studies, procurement experts for bid process management, legal experts for drafting and vetting of contractual documents, among others.
These consultants - one individual or several - can advise the public entity at every stage of the project development process.
A single consultant who provides help from start to finish is known as a 'transaction advisor'. Whenever a consultant is appointed, the procedure will have to be consistent with the rules on transparency in the procurement of services.
Sometimes, the public entities look at hiring Transaction Advisors (TA) on a success-fee basis. In such cases it forces the TA to 'force-fit' a PPP onto a project just so that they can be paid their success fee. It is useful to select TA based on their past experience. In cases where a success fee is used as means for selection of TA, the public entity would need to ensure the certainty with which a PPP can be awarded before deciding the mode by which they would engage with a TA.
Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure has issued model RFP for Selection of Financial Consultants and Transaction Advisers vide Office Memorandum No. 24(32)/PF-II/2009 dated March 2010. This could be used by all administrative Ministries and other public entities intending to procure the services of financial consultants and transaction advisors.