Viet Nam: Second Secondary Education Sector Development Program

Education / Education sector development

1. Quality and relevance of secondary education improved

2. Equity of access to secondary education enhanced

3. Educational governance and management strengthened

3. Consulting Services Contracts Estimated to Cost $100,000 or More

The following table lists consulting services contracts for which the recruitment activity is either ongoing or expected to commence within the next 18 months.

Package 1: Program implementation consulting firm, $2,641,950, QCBS

(80:20), prior review, 1Q17, FTP, International and National Consultants

Package 2: International Specialist for model resource schools (6 PM), $140,000, ICS, prior review, 4Q16, BTP, Advanced Action

International Specialist

Package 3: Program Audit (3 x 2 years contracts), $300,000, LCS, prior review, 2Q17, STP, National Firm Subject to ADB Standardized External Financial Audit of APFS

A. Advance Contracting and Retroactive Financing

All advance contracting and retroactive financing will be undertaken in conformity with ADB Procurement Guidelines (2015, as amended from time to time) and ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2013, as amended from time to time). The issuance of invitations to bid under advance contracting will be subject to ADB approval. The borrower and MOET have been advised that approval of advance contracting does not commit ADB to finance the program.

Advance contracting. To expedite start up and early implementation of the project loan, MOET and ADB agreed to use advance actions on selected consulting services packages. Under ADB approved advance action, the EA will carry out initial program activities prior to loan effectiveness including preparation of bid documents, request for proposals, and advertisement for Expression of Interest (EOI) from consulting firms and individual start up consultants. These actions are expected to expedite procurement and recruitment of consultants following loan effectiveness. Advance actions for the recruitment of consulting firm will include preparation of detailed Terms of Reference (TOR), preparation of Request for Proposals (RFP), upon approval of ADB (Submission 0) advertisement for expressions of interest (EOI), evaluation of EOIs and shortlisting (Submission 1). Upon loan effectiveness, RFPs will be issued to shortlisted firms. For recruitment of individual consultants for project start-up, model resource school and STEM, the CPMU will prepare detailed TORs and advertise for EOIs. The EOIs will be evaluated and then submitted to ADB for approval. Upon approval of ADB, contract negotiations with the first ranked candidates will be carried out and the contracts will be signed immediately after loan effectiveness. Advance action will also include preparation of bidding documents for procurement equipment for the CPMU. No contract shall be signed before loan effectiveness. The issuance of invitations to bid under advance action will be subject to ADB approval.

Retroactive financing. No retroactive financing is required for the program.

B. Procurement of Goods, Works, and Consulting Services

All procurement of goods and services to be finance by the ADB project loan will be carried out in accordance with ADB's Procurement Guidelines (2015, as amended from time to time). For goods and services valued at more than $2,000,000, procurement will be carried out following ICB procedures. NCB procedures acceptable to the ADB will be followed for contracts for goods and services valued at less than $2,000,000, but more than $100,000. Contracts for goods valued at less than $100,000 will be procured following shopping procedures. Procurement through NCB will follow the government's Law on Procurement No. 43/2013/QH13 dated November 26, 2013 (_Law on Procurement_) and Decree No. 63/2014/ND-CP dated June 26, 2014 (collectively, _National Procurement Laws_) subject to the modifications described in the NCB Annex attached to the Procurement Plan. In case of inconsistency between ADB procedures and government procedures, ADB procedures will prevail. The proceeds of the loans will be disbursed in line with ADB's Loan Disbursement Handbook (July 2012, as amended from time to time). Appendix 2 provides details regarding procurement procedures.

Procurement of goods and services following ICB, NCB and shopping procedures will be carried out by the CPMU with support and assistance from consultants from the program implementation consulting firm. All ICB contracts will require ADB prior approval. The first contract under NCB, and shopping procedures will be subject to ADB prior approval but subsequent contracts of similar nature will be subject to ADB post approval. Prior and post review thresholds are included in the procurement plan in Section D below.

Before the start of any procurement, ADB and the government will review the public procurement laws of the central and state governments to ensure consistency with ADB's Procurement Guidelines (2015, as amended from time to time).

An 18-month procurement plan indicating threshold and review procedures, goods, works, and consulting service contract packages and national competitive bidding guidelines is in Section C.

The program will require assistance from international and national consultants during implementation. Approximately 77 person-months of international consultants and 166 person-months of national consultants are required. Program implementation will require the services of international and domestic advisers to help set up the financial management system, manage procurement, develop staff, and coordinate consultants' inputs. Program implementation will also require specialists input in education, human resources policies; STEM; vocational education: health; financial management; and accountability as well as large scale assessment. All ADB-financed consultants will be selected and engaged by the CPMU in accordance with ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (March 2013 as amended from time to time). Six consultants (12 person-months international, 21 person-months national) will be recruited following individual consultant selection procedures to ensure early implementation of startup activities. All other consultants will be recruited through a firm following quality- and cost-based selection (QCBS) procedures with a quality/cost ratio of 80:20 to provide assistance during implementation as well as technical expertise. The TOR for consulting services are detailed in Section D.