Catalog

2.5 Consulting Services Guidelines

The Guidelines on the Use of Consultants by the Asian Development Bank and its Borrowers defines ADB’s policies and procedures for selecting, contracting, and monitoring consultants required for loan and technical assistance (TA) projects financed in wholly or partly by loans from, grants by, or funds administered by ADB.

The Guidelines on the Use of Consultants provides a statement of applicable ADB policies and procedures; further clarifications are included in ADB’s project administration instructions (PAIs) and/or harmonized requests for proposals (RFPs). For the Guidelines on the Use of Consultants, the term "consultant" covers a wide variety of private and public entities, including international and national consulting firms, engineering firms, construction firms, management firms, procurement agents, inspection agents, auditors, United Nations (UN) agencies and other multinational organizations, universities, research institutions, government agencies, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), and individuals. ADB or its borrowers use these organizations as consultants to help in a wide range of activities such as policy advice; institutional reforms; management; engineering services; construction supervision; financial services; procurement services; social and environmental studies; and identification, preparation, and implementation of projects to complement borrowers’ or ADB’s capabilities in these areas.

The Guidelines on the Use of Consultants serves as a manual that provides guidance on the effective use of consultants, with special emphasis on the use of consulting firms normally employed to provide teams of experts, groups of trainers, and advisers to agencies involved in projects the ADB may assist. The Guidelines on the Use of Consultants aims to simplify and streamline the process of selecting, hiring, and supervising consulting firms and individual consultants needed by ADB’s borrowers.