When the need for the hospital management services of a private sector partner has been identified, a TOR becomes necessary to enable the procurement team to initiate its activities. Without a TOR, the BAC secretariat could not prepare the invitation for bids or the appropriate bidding documents. The TOR describes the specifications of the goods and services required by the end user, as in the case of procurement of goods or civil works. The TOR guides the prospective bidders in deciding whether they should bid and, if so, up to what price ceilings they would submit their offers. (Depending on the PPP modality, the bidders may have the option to quote a specific amount for their professional services, a certain percentage that it is willing to share to its government partner, e.g. 10% of net income, or a combination of both.) The TOR should be thorough enough to make it easy for the bidder to fully understand what the organization needs.
In addition to the standard background and rationale, the TOR should indicate the following:
(i) detailed specifications of the required services;
(ii) qualifications and experience of those expected to perform the services;
(iii) financial capacity required of the firm or individuals expected to perform the services;
(iv) target schedule for completion of the required services;
(v) expected outputs, documents, or reports, if any; and
(vi) payment terms, where applicable.