Any Government, Public Sector, University or Research and Training Institution following the Public Procurement regulatory framework and NGOs/CBOs involved in Public Procurement Management, awareness and communication and Oversight Support in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka can submit Case Stories for consideration. Officers and staff nominated by the countries and partner agencies as part of the selection mechanism cannot submit a Case Story.

• Staff from Public Procurement Policy unit/nodal/regulatory office that is part of the South Asia Public Procurement Network (SAPPN) will not be eligible to participate in the competition.
• Winners of South Asia Procurement Innovation Awards 2017 are not eligible for applying for the same Case Story for 2018 Awards.
• There are no limitations for the number of Case Stories an applicant can submit.

The five-page Case Story shall include the following information:

Each Case Story will be assessed depending on the following criteria. Each criterion will be marked between 1 (minimum score) and 5 (Maximum score). Each Case Story shall clearly explain why it is considered an innovative one and or a best practice and what the level of innovation, best practice is, how it could be replicated and if it could be sustainable, considering the awarding criteria below.

1. Level of innovation and or achievements of best practice: Innovation in this context is defined as solutions that differ from mainstream practices and can create measurable value in public procurement (i.e. it considers the following business processes: planning, tendering, contract management, spent analysis or supply chain management, etc.). Best practice is defined as a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to any other alternatives, because it produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means, or because it has become a standard way of doing things. The Case Story must provide evidence of creation by the innovation and or best practice of value for the procurement process and the organization. Value can be expressed in different ways (monetary value is the most obvious but not the only one) but it must be measurable. Value can be in terms of value for money, efficiency, and integrity of the procurement process.

   Score	Awarding Criterion
   1	The Case Story does not describe innovation and or a best practice and basically builds on old ways of conducting procurement in the organization. Moreover, the submission is unable to provide evidence on how much value the Case Story is creating.
   2	The Case Story describes innovation and or a best practice, but the submission is unable to provide evidence on how much value the Case Story is creating.
   3	The Case Story describes innovation and or a best practice and there is clear evidence of creation of value. Nonetheless, this value is constrained to parts of the procurement cycle.
   4	The Case Story describes innovation and or best practice, there is clear evidence of value creation across the whole procurement process. This value is either monetary or non-monetary.
   5	The Case Story describes innovation and or best practice; there is clear evidence of value creation across the whole procurement process. This value is monetary and non-monetary.

2. Replicability: This criterion measures whether the innovation and or best practice can be replicated within the organization impacting additional processes, other organizations in the country or in a different country. For example, innovations/best practices that are constrained to specific sectors or require specific legislation or systems may encounter replication difficulties.

   Score	Awarding Criterion
   1	The Case Story is too specific and cannot be replicated within the organization
   2	The Case Story can be replicated to a few procurement operations, but it cannot be mainstreamed in the organization
   3	The Case Story can be mainstreamed in the organization/system
   4	The Case Story can be adopted by other public entities within the country
   5	The Case Story can be easily replicated by public agencies in different countries

3. Sustainability of the innovation/best practice: This criterion assesses whether the innovation and or best practice is sustainable in the long terms. For example, it assesses if it is financially sustainable, if it is endorsed by formal regulation, if it is properly embedded in ICT systems, if it mobilizes many stakeholders, if it is aligned with the organization strategic objectives, if it is aligned with the organization’s culture or if it is endorsed openly by senior management.

   Score	Awarding Criterion
   1	The Case Story is not sustainable or there is no evidence on how sustainability will be achieved
   2	The Case Story has resources to work in the short term but there is no explanation how it will operate in the long term
   3	The Case Story has a clear financial sustainability strategy
   4	The Case Story has a clear financial and organizational sustainability strategy
   5	The Case Story has a clear financial and organizational sustainability strategy and its fully embedded in the organization

The World Bank, Governance Global Practice, Solutions and Innovations in Procurement (SIP-South Asia) acts as the Secretariat for Award selection. The Secretariat shall establish an evaluation committee that will assess all entries using the above mentioned criteria with a view to establishing a country wise ranking shortlist. From among the country winners, a team consisting of Chair SAPPN, World Bank and other developmental partners will select a Regional Winner and Runner Up. Practice Manager, GGP-SIP, World Bank South Asia Region will be the Chair of the Jury.

Queries:

Any queries regarding the participation and selection in South Asia Public Procurement Innovation Awards 2018 may be sent to:

Plamen Kirov,
Coordinator, South Asia Public Procurement Innovation Awards
The World Bank
pkirov@worldbank.org

Yodit Teamir Rezene,
Program Assistant
The World Bank
yrezene@worldbank.org