ECOWAS Tenders Code Section VII: Provisions Applying to Intellectual Services Article 47: Request for Proposals 1. A procuring entity shall request proposals for services or, where appropriate, invite consultants to submit expressions of interest in order to shortlist candidates from which proposals can be requested. This invitation shall comply with Articles 29 (1) (2) (Advertisement) of this Code. 2. Where the request for expression of interest procedure is used, a shortlist of at least 6 candidates, based on their capacity to perform the required service, is established in order to ensure adequate competition in line with the provisions of Article 41 of this Code as evaluated from their expression of interest documents submitted. 3. The procuring entity shall use criteria established by it and endorsed by the approving authority to evaluate the proposals and determine the relative weight to be accorded to each such criterion and the manner in which they are to be applied in the evaluation of proposals. The criteria shall be in the request for proposals document and may only be applicable to the following: a) The qualifications, experience, reputation, reliability and professional and managerial competence of the provider and of the personnel to be involved in providing the services; b) The responsiveness and quality of the technical approach and methodology of the proposal to the requirements of the procuring entity, as indicated in the Terms of Reference; c) The extent of participation by ECOWAS citizens staff; d) Any other requirements for administrative and scientific development, operational skills and in some specific circumstances training and transfer of knowledge. e) The financial proposal, including any ancillary or related costs; 4. a) A firm that has been engaged by the procuring entity to provide goods, works or services other than consulting services for a project, and any of its affiliates, shall be disqualified from providing subsequent consulting services related to those goods, works or services. b) Conversely, a firm hired to provide consulting services for the preparation or implementation of a project, and any of its affiliates, shall be disqualified from subsequently providing goods or works or services other than consulting services resulting from or directly related to the firm’s consulting services. c) For such preparations or implementation, for the purpose of this paragraph, services other than consulting services are defined as those leading to a measurable physical output, for example surveys, exploratory drilling, aerial photography and satellite imagery. Article 48: Selection Process 1. The selection shall be based on the technical quality of the proposal, that is, the consultant’s relevant experience and the expertise of its staff, and the proposed work methodology, as well as the price of the proposal.; Final Page 22